scholarly journals Pharmacist Segments Identified from 2009, 2014, and 2019 National Pharmacist Workforce Surveys: Implications for Pharmacy Organizations and Personnel

Pharmacy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Schommer ◽  
William Doucette ◽  
Matthew Witry ◽  
Vibhuti Arya ◽  
Brianne Bakken ◽  
...  

Background/Objective: Findings from the 2009 and 2014 National Pharmacist Workforce Surveys showed that approximately 40% of U.S. pharmacists devoted their time primarily to medication providing, 40% contributed a significant portion of their time to patient care service provision, and the remaining 20% contributed most of their time to other health-system improvement activities. The objective of this study was to characterize the U.S. pharmacist workforce into segments based on the proportion of time they spend in medication providing and patient care services and compare changes in these segments between 2009, 2014, and 2019. Methods: Data from 2009, 2014, and 2019 National Pharmacist Workforce Surveys were analyzed. Responses from 1200 pharmacists in 2009, 1382 in 2014, and 4766 in 2019 were used for analysis. Respondents working in the pharmacy or pharmacy-related fields reported both their percent time devoted to medication providing and to patient care services. Medication providing included preparing, distributing, and administering medication products, including associated professional services. Patient care services were professional services designed for assessing and evaluating medication-related needs, monitoring and adjusting patient’s treatments, and other services designed for patient care. For each year of data, pharmacist segments were identified using a two-step cluster analysis. Descriptive statistics were used for describing the characteristics of the segments. Results: For each year, five segments of pharmacists were identified. The proportions of pharmacists in each segment for the three surveys (2009, 2014, 2019) were: (1) medication providers (41%, 40%, 34%), (2) medication providers who also provide patient care (25%, 22%, 25%), (3) other activity pharmacists (16%, 18%, 14%), (4) patient care providers who also provide medication (12%, 13%, 15%), and (5) patient care providers (6%, 7%, 12%). In 2019, other activity pharmacists worked over 45 hours per week, on average, with 12 of these hours worked remotely. Patient care providers worked 41 hours per week, on average, with six of these hours worked remotely. Medication providers worked less than 40 hours per week, on average, with just one of these hours worked remotely. Regarding the number of patients with whom a respondent interacted on a typical day, medication providers reported 18 per day, patient care providers reported 11 per day, and other activity pharmacists reported 6 per day. In 2009, 8% of patient care providers worked in a setting that was not licensed as a pharmacy. In 2019, this grew to 17%. Implications/Conclusions: The 2019 findings showed that 34% of U.S. pharmacists devoted their time primarily to medication providing (compared to 40% in 2009 and 2014), 52% contributed a significant portion of their time to patient care service provision (compared to 40% in 2009 and 2014), and the remaining 14% contributed most of their time to other health-system improvement activities. Distinguishing characteristics of the segments suggested that recent growth in the pharmacist workforce has been in the patient care services, with more being provided through remote means in organizations that are not licensed as pharmacies. The findings have implications for pharmacist training, continuing education, labor monitoring, regulations, work systems, and process designs. These changes will create new roles and tasks for pharmacy organizations and personnel that will be needed to support emerging patient care services provided by pharmacists.

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon C. Schommer ◽  
Lourdes G. Planas ◽  
Kathleen A. Johnson ◽  
William R. Doucette ◽  
Caroline A. Gaither ◽  
...  

Objective: The overall goal for this study was to conduct a segment analysis of the pharmacist workforce during 2009 based upon time spent in medication providing and in patient care services. Methods: Data for this study were obtained from the 2009 National Pharmacist Workforce Survey in which a random sample of 3,000 pharmacists was selected. Cluster analysis was used for identifying pharmacist segments and descriptive statistics were used for describing and comparing segments. Results: Of the 2,667 surveys that were presumed to be delivered to a pharmacist, 1,395 were returned yielding a 52.3% overall response rate. Of these, 1,200 responses were usable for cluster analysis. Findings from this study revealed five segments of pharmacists: (1) Medication Providers, (2) Medication Providers who also Provide Patient Care, (3) Other Activity Pharmacists, (4) Patient Care Providers Who also Provide Medication, and (5) Patient Care Providers. The results showed that, in 2009, 41% of U.S. pharmacists were devoted wholly to medication providing (Medication Providers). Forty-three percent of pharmacists contributed significantly to patient care service provision (Medication Providers who also Provide Patient Care, Patient Care Providers who also Provide Medication, and Patient Care Providers) and the remaining 16% (Other Activity Pharmacists) contributed most of their time to business / organization management, research, education, and other health-system improvement activities. Conclusions: Based on the findings, we propose that the pharmacy profession currently has, and will continue to build, capacity for contributing to the U.S. health care system in new roles for which they have been identified. However, as shifts in professional roles occur, a great deal of capacity is required related to new service provision. Resources are scarce, so an understanding of the most appropriate timing for making such changes can lead to cost-effective use of limited resources for improving patient care. Type: Original Research


2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aine Kavanagh ◽  
Sally Wielding ◽  
Rosemary Cochrane ◽  
Judith Sim ◽  
Anne Johnstone ◽  
...  

BackgroundThe phrase ‘termination of pregnancy’ has recently been adopted by a number of British medical institutions as a preferred descriptor of induced abortion. How it is used by abortion care providers is unclear, although the ongoing stigmatisation of abortion may play a role.MethodsA mixed methods study of the views of abortion care providers in Scotland, UK. Self-administered anonymous questionnaires were distributed to abortion care providers at a national conference (Scottish Abortion Care Providers). The main outcomes measured were the proportion of respondents reporting that they found the terms ‘abortion’ and ‘termination of pregnancy’ to be distressing, and their preferred terminology for use in consultations with women. In-depth interviews were conducted with 19 providers from a single clinic in Scotland to contextualise use of the terminology.ResultsThe questionnaire was completed by 90/118 delegates (76%). More respondents indicated they found the term ‘abortion’ distressing (28%), compared with those who found ‘termination of pregnancy’ distressing (6%; P<0.0001). Interview participants reported that ‘termination of pregnancy’ was the default phrase used in consultations. Some respondents stated that they occasionally purposely used ‘abortion’ in consultations to emphasise the seriousness of the procedure (morally, physically and/or emotionally).Conclusions‘Termination of pregnancy’ is the most commonly used term to describe induced abortion in patient consultations in Scotland. This and the term ‘abortion’ appear to play different roles, with the former being used euphemistically, and the latter as a more emphatic term. Further research is warranted to investigate how this interacts with patient care, service provision, and abortion stigma.


1978 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 88-93
Author(s):  
Peter P. Lamy ◽  
Arthur N. Riley

Pharmaceutical Patient Care Services to the ambulant pediatric patient will only be effective if special considerations are given to the patient's peculiarities. From the very young to the adolescent, each presents with special problems. Often, they cannot communicate effectively. Their health status frequently depends on the health behavior of the mother. Adolescents, in particular, present many unique medical and social problems. Pediatric patients receive fewer prescription medications than do adult patients, but drugs are administered frequently in the clinic. More often than not, nonprescription drugs are prescribed. This study could not document any particular physician concern with patient education or compliance.


2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luu Trong Tuan

Purpose – Brand equity of hospitals is built on patient care service quality. Through the testing of the hypotheses on the relationships between brand equity and its precursors, the purpose of this paper is to examine if clinical governance effectiveness is driven by corporate social responsibility (CSR), and if clinical governance effectiveness influences patient care service quality which in turn influences brand equity. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 417 responses in completed form returned from self-administered structured questionnaires relayed to 835 clinical staff members underwent the structural equation modeling-based analysis. Findings – CSR, as the data divulges, is a strong predictor of clinical governance effectiveness which yields high patient care quality and brand equity of the hospital. Originality/value – The expedition to test research hypotheses constructed layer by layer of CSR-based model of hospital brand equity in which high levels of CSR among clinical members in the hospital activates clinical governance mechanism, without which, initiatives to improve patient care service quality may not be successfully implemented to augment brand equity of Vietnam-based hospitals.


2020 ◽  
pp. 073346482092533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Lyons ◽  
Beatrice Alba ◽  
Andrea Waling ◽  
Victor Minichiello ◽  
Mark Hughes ◽  
...  

Being comfortable in disclosing one’s sexual orientation to health and aged care providers is important for older lesbian and gay adults, given that nondisclosure is associated with poorer health and well-being outcomes. In a sample of 752 lesbian and gay adults aged 60 years and older living in Australia, we found only 51% of lesbian women and 64% of gay men felt fully comfortable to disclose their sexual orientation to health and aged care service providers. For both the women and the men, those who felt fully comfortable to disclose reported significantly less internalized homophobia; had fewer experiences of discrimination in the past year; and reported greater lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) community connectedness. Feeling fully comfortable was also predicted by fewer experiences of lifetime discrimination among the men. These findings may help those seeking to assist older lesbian and gay people in feeling comfortable and being open with health and aged care service providers.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce Siette ◽  
Mikaela L. Jorgensen ◽  
Andrew Georgiou ◽  
Laura Dodds ◽  
Tom McClean ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Measuring person-centred outcomes and using this information to improve service delivery is a challenge for many care providers. We aimed to identify predictors of QoL among older adults receiving community-based aged care services and examine variation across different community care service outlets.Methods A retrospective sample of 1141 Australians aged ≥ 60 years receiving community-based care services from a large service provider within 19 service outlets. Clients’ QoL was captured using the ICEpop CAPability Index. QoL scores and predictors of QoL (i.e.sociodemographic, social participation and service use) were extracted from clients’ electronic records and examined using multivariable regression.Funnel plots were used to examine variation in risk-adjusted QoL scores across service outlets.Results Mean age was 81.5 years (SD = 8) and 75.5% were women. Clients had a mean QoL score of 0.81 (range 0–1, SD = 0.15). After accounting for other factors, being older (p < 0.01), having lower-level care needs (p < 0.01), receiving services which met needs for assistance with activities of daily living (p < 0.01), and having higher levels of social participation (p < 0.001) were associated with higher QoL scores. Of the 19 service outlets, 21% (n = 4) had lower mean risk-adjusted QoL scores than expected (< 95% control limits) and 16% (n = 3) had higher mean scores than expected.Conclusion Using QoL as an indicator to compare care quality may be feasible, with appropriate risk adjustment. Implementing QoL tools allows providers to measure and monitor their performance and service outcomes, as well as identify clients with poor quality of life who may need extra support.Trial registration: Australian and New Zealand clinical trial registry number: ACTRN12617001212347. Registered 18/08/2017


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Zhang ◽  
Marlien Varnfield ◽  
Liesel Higgins ◽  
Vanessa Smallbon ◽  
Julia Bomke ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND An ageing population, accompanied by the prevalence of age-related diseases, present significant burden to health systems. This is exacerbated by an increasing shortage of aged care staff due to existing workforce entering their retirement and fewer young people being attracted to work in aged care. In line with consumer preferences and potential cost-efficiencies, government and aged care providers are increasingly seeking options to move care and support to the community or home, as opposed to residential care facilities. However, compared to residential care, home environments may provide limited opportunity for monitoring patients progression/decline in functioning and therefore limited opportunity to provide timely intervention. To address this, the Smarter Safer Homes (SSH) platform was designed to enable self-monitoring and/or management, and to provide aged care providers with support to deliver their services. The platform uses open Internet of Things (IoT) communication protocols to easily incorporate commercially available sensors into the system. OBJECTIVE Our research aims to detail the benefits of utilising the SSH platform as a service in its own right as well as a complimentary service to more traditional/historical service offerings in aged care. It is anticipated to validate the capacity and benefits of the SSH platform to enable older people to self-manage, and aged care service providers to support their clients to live functionally and independently in their own home, for as long as possible. METHODS A single-blinded, stratified, 12-month randomized controlled trial with participants recruited from three aged care providers, in Queensland, Australia. The study aimed to recruit 200 people, including 145 people from metropolitan- and 55 from regional areas. Participants were randomised to the intervention group (having SSH platform installed to assist age care service providers to monitor and provide timely supports) and the control group (receiving their usual aged care services from providers). Data on community care, health and social related quality of life, health service utilization, care giver burden and user experience of both groups were collected at the start, the middle (6 month) and the end of the trial (12 month). RESULTS The trial recruited its first participant in April 2019, and finished data collection of the last participant in November 2020. The study also received participants’ health service data from government data resources in June 2021. CONCLUSIONS A crisis is looming to support the ageing population. Digital solutions, such as the SSH platform, has the potential to address this crisis and support aged care in the home and community. The outcomes of this study could improve and support the delivery of aged care services and provide better quality of life to older Australians in various geographical locations. CLINICALTRIAL Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) - ACTRN12618000829213


1999 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Eduardo Leite Arieta ◽  
Newton Kara José ◽  
Djalma Moreira Carvalho Filho ◽  
Milton Ruiz Alves

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 5-16
Author(s):  
Abdul Kader Mohiuddin

Patient satisfaction is a useful measure for providing quality indicators in health-care services. Concern over the quality of health-care services in Bangladesh has resulted in a loss of faith in health-care providers, low use of public health facilities, and increased outflows of patients from Bangladesh to hospitals abroad. The main barriers to accessing health services are inadequate services and poor quality of existing facilities, shortage of medicine supplies, busyness of doctors due to high patient load, long travel distance to facilities, and long waiting times once facilities were reached, very short consultation time, lack of empathy of the health professionals, their generally callous and casual attitude, aggressive pursuit of monetary gains, poor levels of competence and occasionally, disregard for the suffering that patients endure without being able to voice their concerns. All of these service failures are frequently reported in the print media. Such failures can play a powerful role in shaping patients’ negative attitudes and dissatisfaction with health-care service providers and health-care itself.


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