To compare stress levels of pharmacy students in high-stakes, performance-based assessments (PBAs) administered during skills-based laboratory courses in normal classroom environments versus pandemic classroom environments impacted by COVID-19. Methods. In 2019, prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) student stress levels were assessed via a voluntary, paper-based survey before and after PBAs. Students were given a modified version of this survey in 2020 during the pandemic. The 2019 and 2020 survey responses were compared utilizing Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests.Results. Pharmacy students reported higher perceived stress levels before PBAs (3.78 vs. 3.45) and after PBAs (2.84 vs. 2.52) prior to the pandemic compared to amid pandemic. Students identified stress as negatively impacting their PBA performance in both years (3.42 vs. 3.1). Students had similar interest in wellness activities in both phases. Conclusion.Colleges of Pharmacy should consider implementing stress relief programs around high-stakes assessments as well as prioritizing wellness initiatives within curricula.

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Objective: Few community pharmacies have access to health information exchange (HIE) data. We conducted a first-of-its-kind usability evaluation of a HIE interface prototype (referred to throughout as the “HIE-Pioneer mock-up”) developed with pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to aid future implementation in community pharmacies. Methods: Community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians were recruited to complete usability evaluations with the HIE-Pioneer mock-up. Each usability evaluation lasted up to 60 mins. System usability scale (SUS) scores were collected from each participant following each usability evaluation session and summarized with descriptive statistics. Usability evaluation videos were reviewed for common usability attributes, such as the impact of identified usability problems, learnability, and efficiency. Time on task, task success rates, and prototype utilization were also recorded. Results: Sixteen total participants completed usability testing across three community pharmacies. The average SUS score was 69.7 (scale 0 – 100, where 100 is the best), with pharmacists on average reporting higher satisfaction than technicians (74.1 vs. 65.3, respectively). Altogether, we identified 23 distinct usability problems. Key problems identified included needed clarification in tool label names and accessibility of HIE links within existing workflow. Overall, the usability of the HIE-Pioneer mock-up generally fostered pharmacy professionals’ ease of learning and efficiency. Conclusion: Our study identified key areas, and potential solutions, to improve the usability of the HIE-Pioneer mock-up. Overall, pharmacy professionals viewed the HIE-Pioneer mock-up positively, with good satisfaction ratings. The HIE-Pioneer mock-up provides a blueprint for future HIE implementation in community pharmacy settings, which would increase community pharmacy teams’ access to HIE data nationwide. Community pharmacy access to bi-directional HIE is expected to improve communication amongst more healthcare professionals involved in patient care and equip pharmacy professionals with needed information for improved clinical decision making.