The Role of Pharmacists in Primary Care Settings

Introduction: The profession of pharmacy has evolved from a dispensing role to an interdisciplinary clinical role in patient care. One area of patient care expertise is Medication Therapy Management Services (MTM), which includes services such as pharmacotherapy, medication therapy reviews, disease management, immunizations and other clinical services. Various studies have shown that pharmacists conducting MTM improve patient outcomes in some clinical settings. Amidst the valuable services all healthcare professionals are providing, increasing medical costs and a lack of primary care physicians have become overwhelming, potentially leading to negative patient outcomes. Gaps in communication between hospital, primary care clinics and community pharmacies also contribute to negative patient outcomes. Pharmacists can help bridge the gap in miscommunication and help improve patient outcomes by working in primary care settings. Objective: To determine if the addition of pharmacists providing clinical services (i.e. MTM) in a primary care setting can support the prescribers’ patient care demands. Methods: The study is an observational, exploratory study. All Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in Ohio will be invited to participate. FQHCs are identified from the HRSA Office of Pharmacy Affairs as Consolidated Health Center Programs. IRB approval will be acquired. A Qualtrics survey will be administered via email to the participants which will include a consent form, information about the study and a link to the survey. The survey will include demographic, open-ended and 5-point Likert-type scale (1=strongly agree, 5=strongly disagree) questions. Reliability and validity of the survey will be established by a thorough search of the literature and expert review. Results: Upon approval from the IRB, data will be collected from summer 2014 to summer 2015. Submitted surveys will be analyzed with the appropriate statistical tests in SPSS. Data will be presented in spring of 2016

The Pivotal Role of the Pharmacist in a Primary Care Office

Abstract The profession of pharmacy has evolved from a dispensing role to an interdisciplinary clinical role in patient care. One area of patient care expertise is Medication Therapy Management (MTM), which includes services such as pharmacotherapy, medication therapy reviews, disease management, immunizations and other clinical services. In various studies, pharmacists conducting MTM have shown improved patient outcomes in community pharmacy and hospital settings. Amidst the valuable services all healthcare professionals are providing, increasing medical costs and consequences have become overwhelming, leading to negative patient outcomes. A lack of primary care physicians (PCPs) may contribute to these distressing facts. Gaps in communication between hospital, PCPs and community pharmacies also contribute to negative patient outcomes. Pharmacists can bridge the gap in miscommunication and help improve patient outcomes. Thus far in practice, pharmacists have had a limited role in primary care settings. The objective of this study is to determine if the addition of pharmacists providing clinical services (i.e. MTM) in a primary care setting can support the prescribers’ patient care demands. For this observational, exploratory research, the primary care settings under study will be all Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in Ohio. IRB approval will be acquired before contact is made with participants. The contact person from each FQHC has been identified from the HRSA Office of Pharmacy Affairs. A script will be used to gather email addresses for the manager, physician, nurse and pharmacist, if available, from the contact person. A Qualtrics survey will be administered to these participants via email. The purpose of this study is to establish components of patient care in a primary care office, specifically FQHCs, that other medical professionals identify as lacking, which pharmacists can provide. A consent form, information about the study and a link to the survey will be provided in an email. The survey will include demographic, open-ended and 5-point Likert-type scale (1=strongly agree, 5=strongly disagree) questions. Reliability and validity of the survey will be established by a thorough search of the literature and expert review. Submitted answers will be analyzed with the appropriate statistical tests