Objectives. To assess the breadth, depth, and perceived importance of pharmacogenomics instruction and level of faculty development in this area in schools and colleges of pharmacy in the United States. Methods. A questionnaire used and published previously was further developed and sent to individuals at all US schools and colleges of pharmacy. Multiple approaches were used to enhance response. Results. Seventy-five (83.3%) questionnaires were returned. Sixty-nine colleges (89.3%) included pharmacogenomics in their PharmD curriculum compared to 16 (39.0%) as reported in a 2005 study. Topic coverage was ,10 hours for 28 (40.6%), 10-30 hours for 29 (42.0%), and 31-60 hours for 10 (14.5%) colleges and schools of pharmacy. Fewer than half (46.7%) were planning to increase course work over the next 3 years and 54.7% had no plans for faculty development related to pharmacogenomics. Conclusions. Most US colleges of pharmacy include pharmacogenomics content in their curriculum, however, the depth may be limited. The majority did not have plans for faculty development in the area of pharmacogenomic content expertise.

Most medication errors reported from US family physician offices were related to prescribing errors and more than half of the errors reached patients. The errors were prevented by pharmacists, patients and physicians. More than half of the errors could be prevented by electronic tools.

Purpose A collaborative pharmacist-physician (PharmD-MD) team approach to medication therapy management (MTM), with pharmacists initiating and changing medications at separate office visits, holds promise for cost-effective management of blood pressure (BP), but has not been evaluated in many systematic trials. The primary objective of this study was to examine BP control for hypertensive patients managed by a newly formed PharmD-MD MTM team vs. versus usual care (UC) in a university primary care clinic. Methods This was a randomized, pragmatic, clinical trial of hypertensive patients randomly selected for the PharmD-MD MTM team or UC. In the PharmD-MD MTM group pharmacists managed drug therapy initiation, monitoring, medication adjustments, biometric assessments, laboratory tests, and patient education. In the UC group, patients continued to see their primary care provider (PCP). Participants were age 18 years or over, diagnosed with hypertension, most recent BP ≥140/90 mmHg or ≥130/80 mmHg if co-diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, on at least one anti-hypertensive medication, and English speaking. Primary outcome was the difference in mean change in systolic BP (SBP) at 6 months. Secondary outcomes included percent achieving therapeutic BP goal, mean change in diastolic BP, LDL and HDL cholesterol. Findings A total of 75 patients were in the PharmD-PCP MTM group and 91 in the UC group. Mean reduction in SBP was significantly greater in the PharmD-PCP MTM group at 6 months [−7.1 (SD=19.4) vs. +1.6 (SD=21.0) mm Hg, (p=0.008)] but the difference was no longer statistically significant at 9 months [−5.2 (SD=16.9) vs. −1.7 (SD=17.7) mmHg, (p=0.22)] based on intent to treat analysis. In the intervention group, a greater percentage of patients who continued to see the MTM pharmacist vs. those who returned to their PCP were at goal at 6 months (88.5% vs. 63.6%) and 9 months (78.9% vs. 47.4%). No significant difference in change of LDL or HDL was detected at 6 or 9 months between groups, however mean initial visit values were near recommended levels. The PharmD-PCP MTM group had significantly fewer mean number of PCP visits than the UC group [1.8 (SD=1.5) vs 4.2 (SD=1.0), p<0.001) Implications A PharmD-PCP collaborative MTM service was more effective in lowering blood pressure than UC at 6 months for all patients and at 9 months for patients who continued to see the pharmacist. Incorporating pharmacists in the primary care team can be a successful strategy for managing medication therapy, improving patient outcomes and possibly extending primary care capacity.