Preliminary findings from a student pharmacist operated transitions of care pilot service

Vavra, Kari; Paluzzi, Matthew; Voest, Margaret de; Raguckas, Sarah; Slot, Martha G.

doi:10.1016/j.cptl.2017.09.018

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…This experience is in alignment with other published student involvement with TCM activities in both extendership and size of population managed. 6,7 Another publication continues the positive benefits of organized student involvement in TCM showing a decrease in 30-day hospital readmission rates and cost-effectiveness. 8 The unique approach explored in this pilot study allowed a focus on ED-specific TCM, which has not been previously shared in the literature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of a Student Pharmacist Pilot Focused on the Transitions of Care Process From Emergency Department Visits to Family Medicine Follow-Up in a Rural Patient Setting

DeRemer

Lyons

Harman

et al. 2020

Journal of Pharmacy Practice

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Introduction: Few would argue that emergency department utilization volumes do not tax the health system. Currently, there is not a process defined by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for transitioning this patient population back to their primary physicians following emergency department visits. Resource limitations in a rural family medicine setting create barriers to dedicate focus on this important transitional care management from urgent care visits to primary care office. Objective: To describe a novel pilot process for transitional care management from the emergency department utilizing pharmacy student extenders to overcome resource limitation at a rural family medicine clinic and establish follow-up primary physician contact. Methods: From a master list provided, student pharmacists proactively telephoned patients and reviewed medication changes while assisting with scheduling follow-up appointments at the patient’s primary physician clinic. Results: The result of these efforts increased the communication with patients and resulted in a 26% (10/38) increase in follow-up appointments scheduled with a total increase of an additional 7 patients adhering to follow-up transitional appointment. Conclusion: This approach utilizing student extenders is a feasible and sustainable process that can increase patient contact when resources are limited, while serving as an educational tool for next generation providers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of a Student Pharmacist Pilot Focused on the Transitions of Care Process From Emergency Department Visits to Family Medicine Follow-Up in a Rural Patient Setting

DeRemer

Lyons

Harman

et al. 2020

Journal of Pharmacy Practice

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The second aspect of this pilot study is to assess the feasibility of utilizing APPE pharmacy students in performing transition of care activities, hence improve and sustain pharmacy patient care services. Several literature and organizations voiced concern about resources limitation when extending pharmacy services, especially for clinical activities such as medication reconciliation, the transition of care, patient education, care coordination ( Hume et al, 2012 , Couture et al, 2016 , Scott et al, 2017 ) Abundance of studies described successful experiences in employing Pharmacy extenders such as residents, APPE and IPPE students and pharmacy technicians to deliver discrete functions that match their level of knowledge and training ( Dalal et al, 2010 , Dang et al, 2012 , Hayes and Hutchison, 2013 , Stebbins et al, 2013 , Szkiladz et al, 2013 , Adams et al, 2015 , Beggs and Karst, 2016 , Church et al, 2016 , Albano 2017, Hertig et al, 2017 , Rogers et al, 2017 , Vavra et al, 2018 , Plakogiannis et al, 2019 , O'Reilly et al, 2020 , Suen et al, 2020 ). Indeed, students in this study were able to implement a simple and structured transition of care program at no excess cost while ensuring such service is offered to patients at high risk of readmission.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, students in this study were able to implement a simple and structured transition of care program at no excess cost while ensuring such service is offered to patients at high risk of readmission. Vavra et al, described a pilot student-operated TOC that demonstrated APPE students ability to be highly engaged in broadening clinical pharmacy services ( Vavra 2018 ). The study described a TOC pilot service that required APPE students to perform, under preceptor supervision, a checklist of activities that included medication reconciliation on admission, during the hospital stay, and upon discharge, assess adherence, provide discharge counseling, and prepare care document for the primary care provider.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Student-Led discharge counseling program for High-Risk medications in a teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia: A pilot study

Bawazeer

Sales

et al. 2021

Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal

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Discharge counseling by pharmacists reduces adverse medication events, emergency department visits, and readmissions. Studies indicate that pharmacy students in advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPE) can deliver effective medication-related activities. An open label randomized controlled trial was conducted in adults discharged on warfarin, insulin, or both. Pharmacy students performed medication reconciliation, structured medication counseling, and follow-up calls 72-hours post-discharge. The usual care arm received traditional education. The primary outcome was the 30-day readmission rate post-discharge. Ninety-eight patients on high-risk medications were randomized to intervention (n = 51) or usual care (n = 47). The 30-day hospital readmission rate was lower in the intervention group (8/51, 15% vs. 11/47, 23%); (p = 0.48). There was no statistical difference in the time to first unplanned health care use (hazard ratio = 0.49 (95 %CI, 0.19–1.24), or the time-to-first clinic visit post-discharge (p = 0.94) between the two arms. Students identified 26 drug-related problems during reconciliation. Patients in the intervention arm reported high satisfaction with the service (mean 3.94; SD 0.11). Involving APPE students in the transition of care activities presents an excellent opportunity to minimize pharmacists' workload while maintaining patient care services.

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“…The authors, however, did not assess the impact of patient counseling. 8 Future studies are warranted to explore the feasibility of using student pharmacists as pharmacist extenders, particularly with regards to education delivery and clinical outcomes in the transplant population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of a student pharmacist‐led inpatient medication counseling initiative on medication safety in kidney transplant recipients

Gonzales

Orara

Patel

et al. 2021

J Am Coll Clin Pharm

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Introduction: Engaging student pharmacists as pharmacist extenders to facilitate medication education may represent a unique pathway for preventing medication safety issues and mitigating downstream consequences in the high-risk kidney transplant (KTX) population. The aim of this study was to describe the implementation and impact of a student pharmacist-led counseling initiative designed to promote patient and caregiver understanding of transplant medications.Methods: This is a single-center, retrospective quality improvement initiative comparing adult KTX recipients who received interventional student pharmacist-led education vs a historical cohort. Data on clinical outcomes, including the incidence of medication errors (MEs), adverse drug events (ADEs), and readmissions, was extracted from the patient's electronic medical record. In the intervention cohort, attendee satisfaction was assessed based on responses obtained from surveys distributed to patients and caregivers on the day they attended the student pharmacistled class.Results: A total of 311 KTX recipients were included in this analysis; 149 in the intervention cohort and 162 in the historical cohort. Patients in the intervention cohort experienced more MEs than those in the historical cohort (31 vs 11; P < .001). Rates of ADEs within the first 30 days post-transplant were comparable across cohorts (56 vs 52; P = .406). No significant difference in readmissions at days 7, 14, and 30 was observed between groups. Attendee satisfaction was high across all survey response fields. Conclusion:The results of this study demonstrate that KTX recipients who participated in student-pharmacist led medication counseling had comparable rates of ADEs and readmissions to those who did not, but were more likely to experience MEs. Future research is needed to explore the role of structured medication counseling and the utility of student pharmacists in the clinical setting.

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Preliminary findings from a student pharmacist operated transitions of care pilot service

Cited by 13 publications

References 8 publications

Impact of a Student Pharmacist Pilot Focused on the Transitions of Care Process From Emergency Department Visits to Family Medicine Follow-Up in a Rural Patient Setting

Impact of a Student Pharmacist Pilot Focused on the Transitions of Care Process From Emergency Department Visits to Family Medicine Follow-Up in a Rural Patient Setting

Student-Led discharge counseling program for High-Risk medications in a teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia: A pilot study

The impact of a student pharmacist‐led inpatient medication counseling initiative on medication safety in kidney transplant recipients

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