Sudanese community pharmacy practice and its readiness for change to patient care

Background: Pharmacy internships provide students with practical experiences that lead to enhancement of clinical skills and personal growth. Objective: To describe the design and implementation of a structured 10-week summer pharmacy internship program in a supermarket chain pharmacy. Methods: The pharmacy leadership team developed and piloted a new format of the pharmacy internship during the summer of 2013. Pharmacy students in professional year 1 (P1), 2 (P2), and 4 (P4) were invited to apply for a paid internship. Pharmacy students were recruited from all colleges of pharmacy in the state of Michigan. The goal of the new program was to create a focused learning opportunity that encouraged students to develop knowledge, skills, and abilities about patient care, pharmacy management, and working within a team. Results: A total of 19 interns were recruited (P1 = 7, P2 = 7, and P4 = 5). Students practiced 40 hours per week and participated in the medication dispensing process and employee biometrics screening program. Interns provided approximately 500 assessments on pharmacy employees and all P1 and P2 interns completed a patient care project. Conclusions: The restructured internship program provided pharmacy students with a 10-week program that exposed them to many aspects of community pharmacy practice. The program needs future refinement and assessment measures to verify interns improve skills throughout the program.

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Scaling Community Pharmacy Transformation with the ‘Flip the Pharmacy’ Implementation Model: Program Origins

INNOVATIONS in pharmacy ◽

10.24926/iip.v11i3.3399 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 22

Author(s):

Anne Marie Kondic ◽

Troy Trygstad ◽

Randy McDonough ◽

Matt Osterhaus

Keyword(s):

Community Pharmacy ◽

Patient Care ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Pharmacy Practice ◽

Community Based ◽

Care Community ◽

Implementation Model ◽

Care Services ◽

Community Pharmacy Practice ◽

Payment Models

The rising costs of healthcare, increased chronic illnesses, and healthcare provider burnout has led to an environment desperate for scalable solutions to ease practice burdens. With a projected shortage in the number of primary healthcare providers available to provide team-based care, community-based pharmacy practitioners are accessible and eager to assist. In order to provide enhanced patient care services to aid their clinician colleagues, community-based pharmacists will have to transform their practices to support the provision of enhanced services and medication optimization in value-based payment models. The purpose of this article is to define how multiple factors in pharmacy, healthcare, technology and payment models aligned to create an opportunity for the Community Pharmacy Foundation and CPESN® USA to implement a nationwide community pharmacy practice model called ‘Flip the Pharmacy’. This new model aims to scale community pharmacy practice transformation and move beyond filling prescriptions at a moment-in-time to caring for patients over time through a 24-month step-wise program paired with in-person pharmacist coaching. Preliminary observations from the first six months of the program highlight community pharmacy as a site of care with community-based pharmacist practitioners providing and documenting targeted patient care interventions. Article Type: Commentary

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The Optimizing Care Model: Final Findings of a Novel Community Pharmacy Practice Model to Enhance Patient Care Delivery using Technician Product Verification

Journal of the American Pharmacists Association ◽

10.1016/j.japh.2021.09.006 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Kenneth C. Hohmeier ◽

Alec Sain ◽

Aaron Garst ◽

Lucy Shell ◽

Shane Desselle ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Pharmacy ◽

Patient Care ◽

Care Delivery ◽

Pharmacy Practice ◽

Care Model ◽

Practice Model ◽

Community Pharmacy Practice ◽

Patient Care Delivery ◽

Enhance Patient Care ◽

Product Verification

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Tech-Check-Tech in Community Pharmacy Practice Settings

Journal of Pharmacy Technology ◽

10.1177/8755122516683519 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

pp. 47-52 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Timothy P. Frost ◽

Alex J. Adams

Keyword(s):

Community Pharmacy ◽

Patient Care ◽

Relevant Literature ◽

Pharmacy Practice ◽

Direct Patient Care ◽

Community Settings ◽

Practice Model ◽

Term Care ◽

Institutional Settings ◽

Community Pharmacy Practice

Objective: The benefit of a tech-check-tech (TCT) practice model in institutional settings has been well documented. To date, few studies have explored TCT beyond institutional settings. This article summarizes the existing evidence in community pharmacy–based TCT research with respect to dispensing accuracy and pharmacist time devoted to direct patient care. Data Sources: A literature review was conducted using MEDLINE (January 1990 to August 2016), Google Scholar (January 1990 to August 2016), and EMBASE (January 1990 to August 2016) using the terms “tech* and check,” “tech-check-tech,” “checking technician,” and “accuracy checking tech*”. Bibliographies were reviewed to identify additional relevant literature. Study Selection and Data Extraction: Studies were included if they analyzed TCT and were conducted in a community pharmacy practice site, inclusive of chain, independent, mass merchant, supermarket, and mail order pharmacies. Studies were excluded if the TCT practice model was conducted in an institutional or long-term care setting. Survey data on theoretical models of TCT in community pharmacy practice settings were also excluded. Data Synthesis: Over the past 14 years, 4 studies were identified indicating TCT has been performed safely and effectively in community settings. The studies demonstrate that trained community technicians perform as accurately as pharmacists and that TCT increased the amount of pharmacist time devoted to clinical activities. In the 2 studies that reported accuracy rates, pharmacy technicians performed at least as accurately as pharmacists (99.445 vs 99.73%, P = .484; 99.95 vs 99.74, P < .05). Furthermore, 3 of the studies reported gains in pharmacist time, with increases between 9.1% and 19.18% of pharmacist time for consultative services. Conclusions: The present studies demonstrate that TCT can be safe and effective in community pharmacy practice settings, with results similar to those found in institutional settings. It is anticipated more states will explore TCT in community settings in the years ahead as a strategy to improve patient care.

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Comparing the Research Contributions of Community Pharmacy Foundation Funding on Practice Innovation Between Non-Academics and Academics

INNOVATIONS in pharmacy ◽

10.24926/iip.v8i3.528 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 3 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anthony W Olson ◽

Brian Isetts ◽

Anne Marie Kondic ◽

Jon Schommer

Keyword(s):

Community Pharmacy ◽

Patient Care ◽

Quantitative Data ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

A Priori ◽

Pharmacy Practice ◽

Threshold Level ◽

Original Research ◽

Continuous Quality ◽

Community Pharmacy Practice

Objective: Evaluate and compare the research contributions of Community Pharmacy Foundation (CPF) funding on community pharmacy practice innovation between non-academic and academic principal investigators (PIs) with respect to the following measurements: 1) “Pharmacy Practice Activity Classifications” (PPAC); 2) CPF “Coordinated Use of Medications”; and 3) CPF Investigator Impact. Methods: Quantitative data for all 124 CPF-funded grants awarded from 2002-2016 were obtained from the CPF website and personnel, while ethnographic qualitative data was generated from queries of PIs. Grant categorization was conducted by researchers serving as judges trained on the rules and procedures for coding. A threshold level of 90% agreement in scores of independent judging was established a priori. Findings were summarized and groups were compared using descriptive statistics for quantitative data and a thematic analysis of PI ethnographic reflections for qualitative data. Results: There were no differences between non-academic and academic PI groups for Coordinated Use of Medications and PPAC domains, but non-academics contributed more to two dispensing-related PPAC subclasses: ‘Preparing the Product’ (10% vs. 2%) and ‘Delivering the Medication or Device’ (13% vs. 2%). Analysis of investigator reflections revealed similarities between groups regarding impact on practice innovations, expanded collaborations, new practice tools, and patient-care financing models. Conclusions: CPF funding contributed new knowledge and resources for expanding and enhancing practice innovations as shown by quantitative (PPAC & Coordinated Use of Medications) and qualitative (PI impact) measures. Similarities between PI groups suggest that the CPF has established a funding niche with unique diversity of practice innovation opportunities. This investigation’s findings may be useful to the CPF’s continuous quality improvement efforts, as well as future grant applicants to assess research gaps in the medication use process and develop sustainable, transferable, and replicable patient-care innovations in community pharmacy practice. Conflict of Interest This program evaluation analysis was funded by the Community Pharmacy Foundation (CPF). Co-author Anne Marie Kondic is Executive Director and Grants Administrator for the Community Pharmacy Foundation. The ideas articulated in the manuscript are those of the authors to characterize historical CPF grant funding and do not necessarily indicate or impact future funding priorities. Type: Original Research

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Practice Change in Community Pharmacy: A Case Study of Multiple Stakeholders' Perspectives

INNOVATIONS in pharmacy ◽

10.24926/iip.v3i3.265 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Shara Elrod ◽

Margie E. Snyder ◽

Deanne Hall ◽

Melissa A. Somma McGivney ◽

Randall B. Smith

Keyword(s):

Community Pharmacy ◽

Patient Care ◽

Participant Observation ◽

Pharmacy Practice ◽

Practice Change ◽

Care Practice ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Community Pharmacy Practice ◽

Multi Stakeholder

Objective: To obtain a multi-stakeholder perspective of community pharmacy practice change. Design: Qualitative study. Setting: Community pharmacy in rural Mississippi. Participants: Fourteen key stakeholders of the patient care practice including pharmacists (n=4), support staff (n=2), collaborating providers (n=4), patients (n=3), and a payer (n=1). Intervention: Semi-structured interviews and participant-observation techniques were used. Main outcome measures: Description of the community pharmacy's practice and business model and identification of practice change facilitators. Results: Change facilitators for this practice included: a positive reputation in the community, forming solid relationships with providers, and convenience of patient services. Communication in and outside of the practice, adequate reimbursement, and resource allocation were identified as challenges. Conclusions: This case study is a multi-stakeholder examination of community pharmacy practice change and readers are provided with a real-world example of a community pharmacy's successful establishment of a patient care practice. Type: Case Study

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