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Pharmacy
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Impact of Pharmacists in the Community Setting
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Impact of Pharmacists in the Community Setting

A special issue of Pharmacy (ISSN 2226-4787).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2018) | Viewed by 34058

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Anandi Law

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Western University of Health Sciences, 309 E. Second St., Pomona, CA 91766, USA
Interests: improving medication use outcomes for patients using pharmacist interventions; development and validation of patient-reported outcome measures (PROs); educational assessment and outcomes; leadership, self-awareness, grit, and the growth mindset in student pharmacists
Dr. Micah Hata

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Western University of Health Sciences, 309 E. Second St., Pomona, CA 91766, USA
Interests: preventative medicine and the implementation of medication therapy management services within the community pharmacy setting

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The community pharmacy setting presents both a challenge in providing direct patient care services, given the lack of streamlined infrastructure and time; as well as an opportunity in terms of pharmacist touch points. Pharmacists have made great strides in patient care in the community setting in recent years. Examples include disease management, medication therapy management and, more recently, comprehensive medication management and transitions of care. Along the way, various innovative interventions have emerged such as teach back techniques and medication synchronization that have helped improve medication use processes and outcomes for patients.

We have a Special Issue focused on the impact pharmacists have made in the community setting in terms of innovations. We invite you and your colleagues to work on an article for this Special Issue. We welcome both pilot studies with preliminary evidence, as well as completed research studies, examining recent innovative interventions of pharmacists that improve patient medication taking behavior and/or outcomes, methods that increase patient engagement in these services, models that improve communication and collaboration between prescribers and the community pharmacy, changing and emerging roles of pharmacists and their impact on patient care, policy changes that have affected practice and the development of new services, patient and prescriber’s perceptions of pharmacist interventions in the community setting.

Prof. Dr. Anandi Law
Dr. Micah Hata
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmacy is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Community pharmacist interventions
  • Medication therapy management
  • Patient outcomes
  • Patient perceptions
  • Medication synchronization

 

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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8 pages, 185 KiB  
Article
Development of a Communication Strategy to Increase Interprofessional Collaboration in the Outpatient Setting
by Chelsea Phillips Renfro, Stefanie Ferreri, Tiffany Graham Barber and Stephanie Foley
Pharmacy 2018, 6(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy6010004 - 6 Jan 2018
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 9865
Abstract
Managing patient health is a complex task, requiring the support of an interprofessional healthcare team. Collaboration between neighboring community pharmacies and primary care practices can be an alternate solution for team-based patient care. The purpose of this project was to design and implement [...] Read more.
Managing patient health is a complex task, requiring the support of an interprofessional healthcare team. Collaboration between neighboring community pharmacies and primary care practices can be an alternate solution for team-based patient care. The purpose of this project was to design and implement a communication strategy for patients with diabetes and hypertension between a community pharmacy and physician practice. An interprofessional team for the practice settings was formed to develop a strategy for collaboration. After agreeing on the common goals and target patient population for the disease states, the team devised a way to communicate via electronic health record (EHR). The communication strategy allowed for more frequent follow-up with the patients which has the potential to result in better clinical outcomes. A communication strategy between a community pharmacy and a physician practice office can be achieved using EHR technology. The greatest outcome of this project was the formation of the collaborative team between the practice settings that continues to work together on additional patient-centered initiatives. Further research is warranted to allow for incorporation of patient perspectives in development of communication strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Pharmacists in the Community Setting)
1260 KiB  
Article
Analysis of a Community Pharmacy Intervention to Improve Low Adherence Rates to Oral Diabetes Medications
by Jerica Singleton, Stevie Veach, Christine Catney and Matthew Witry
Pharmacy 2017, 5(4), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy5040058 - 19 Oct 2017
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5159
Abstract
For patients with diabetes, suboptimal medication adherence contributes to disease progression, complications, and increased healthcare costs. Identification of, and intervention for patient-identified reasons for nonadherence are essential to improving medication adherence. This prospective, quality improvement study was conducted at an independent community pharmacy [...] Read more.
For patients with diabetes, suboptimal medication adherence contributes to disease progression, complications, and increased healthcare costs. Identification of, and intervention for patient-identified reasons for nonadherence are essential to improving medication adherence. This prospective, quality improvement study was conducted at an independent community pharmacy in the Mid-West United States. Patients with a proportion of days covered (PDC) for their oral antidiabetic medications of less than 80% were contacted by telephone and interviewed by a clinical pharmacist. The interviews and corresponding adherence interventions were guided by an abbreviated version of the Drug Adherence Work-Up (DRAW©) tool that focused on oral medications for diabetes. The change in PDC 120-days post-interview was assessed to determine the change in adherence rates. Patients receiving the pharmacist-delivered adherence intervention had significantly higher 120 day PDC values which are likely to indicate more regular medication-taking at home. Almost half of study patients signed up for medication synchronization and these patients trended toward higher PDC values, although the relative difference was not statistically significant from those receiving the intervention and not opting to have their medications synchronized. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Pharmacists in the Community Setting)
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211 KiB  
Article
Integrating Medication Therapy Management (MTM) Services Provided by Community Pharmacists into a Community-Based Accountable Care Organization (ACO)
by Brian Isetts
Pharmacy 2017, 5(4), 56; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy5040056 - 16 Oct 2017
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5897
Abstract
(1) Background: As the U.S. healthcare system evolves from fee-for-service financing to global population-based payments designed to be accountable for both quality and total cost of care, the effective and safe use of medications is gaining increased importance. The purpose of this project [...] Read more.
(1) Background: As the U.S. healthcare system evolves from fee-for-service financing to global population-based payments designed to be accountable for both quality and total cost of care, the effective and safe use of medications is gaining increased importance. The purpose of this project was to determine the feasibility of integrating medication therapy management (MTM) services provided by community pharmacists into the clinical care teams and the health information technology (HIT) infrastructure for Minnesota Medicaid recipients of a 12-county community-based accountable care organization (ACO). (2) Methods: The continuous quality improvement evaluation methodology employed in this project was the context + mechanism = outcome (CMO) model to account for the fact that programs only work insofar as they introduce promising ideas, solutions and opportunities in the appropriate social and cultural contexts. Collaborations between a 12-county ACO and 15 community pharmacies in Southwest Minnesota served as the social context for this feasibility study of MTM referrals to community pharmacists. (3) Results: All 15 community pharmacy sites were integrated into the HIT infrastructure through Direct Secure Messaging, and there were 32 recipients who received MTM services subsequent to referrals from the ACO at 5 of the 15 community pharmacies over a 1-year implementation phase. (4) Conclusion: At the conclusion of this project, an effective electronic communication and MTM referral system was activated, and consideration was given to community pharmacists providing MTM in future ACO shared savings agreements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Pharmacists in the Community Setting)
230 KiB  
Article
Pharmacists’ Attitudes and Perceived Barriers to Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Services
by Tessa J. Hastings, Lindsey A. Hohmann, Stuart J. McFarland, Benjamin S. Teeter and Salisa C. Westrick
Pharmacy 2017, 5(3), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy5030045 - 7 Aug 2017
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 5510
Abstract
Use of non-traditional settings such as community pharmacies has been suggested to increase human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake and completion rates. The objectives of this study were to explore HPV vaccination services and strategies employed by pharmacies to increase HPV vaccine uptake, pharmacists’ [...] Read more.
Use of non-traditional settings such as community pharmacies has been suggested to increase human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake and completion rates. The objectives of this study were to explore HPV vaccination services and strategies employed by pharmacies to increase HPV vaccine uptake, pharmacists’ attitudes towards the HPV vaccine, and pharmacists’ perceived barriers to providing HPV vaccination services in community pharmacies. A pre-piloted mail survey was sent to 350 randomly selected community pharmacies in Alabama in 2014. Measures included types of vaccines administered and marketing/recommendation strategies, pharmacists’ attitudes towards the HPV vaccine, and perceived system and parental barriers. Data analysis largely took the form of descriptive statistics. 154 pharmacists completed the survey (response rate = 44%). The majority believed vaccination is the best protection against cervical cancer (85.3%), HPV is a serious threat to health for girls (78.8%) and boys (55.6%), and children should not wait until they are sexually active to be vaccinated (80.1%). Perceived system barriers included insufficient patient demand (56.5%), insurance plans not covering vaccination cost (54.8%), and vaccine expiration before use (54.1%). Respondents also perceived parents to have inadequate education and understanding about HPV infection (86.6%) and vaccine safety (78.7%). Pharmacists have positive perceptions regarding the HPV vaccine. Barriers related to system factors and perceived parental concerns must be overcome to increase pharmacist involvement in HPV vaccinations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Pharmacists in the Community Setting)

Review

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11 pages, 375 KiB  
Review
Antibiotic Stewardship in Community Pharmacies: A Scoping Review
by Shazia Jamshed, Fadzlan Padzil, Siti Hadijah Shamsudin, Siti Halimah Bux, Abdul Aziz Jamaluddin, Akshaya Srikanth Bhagavathula, Saira Azhar and Mohamed Azmi Hassali
Pharmacy 2018, 6(3), 92; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy6030092 - 23 Aug 2018
Cited by 33 | Viewed by 6730
Abstract
The increase in antibiotic resistance has frequently been linked to unrestrained antibiotic dispensing. This review was conducted to mainly assess the perception and attitudes of community pharmacists towards antibiotic dispensing. This scoping review was performed between June 2016 and September 2016 to identify [...] Read more.
The increase in antibiotic resistance has frequently been linked to unrestrained antibiotic dispensing. This review was conducted to mainly assess the perception and attitudes of community pharmacists towards antibiotic dispensing. This scoping review was performed between June 2016 and September 2016 to identify published studies related to the perception and attitudes of community pharmacists towards antibiotic dispensing. The combination of terms such as ‘antibiotic dispensing’, ‘antimicrobial resistance’, ‘community pharmacy’, and ‘community pharmacists’ were searched in electronic databases such as PubMed, ProQuest, Google Scholar, and Science Direct. Only published articles within the last 12 years were included. A total of 13 studies were identified. In general, community pharmacists have good awareness and knowledge of antibiotic dispensing. However, the majority of them are still selling antibiotics to their customers and/or patients for unjustified reasons. The community pharmacists seem well aware of the antimicrobial resistance crisis and considered it a significant health issue. However, many embraced the concept that dispensing antibiotics without medical prescription (DAwMP) can be one of the key features in the dissemination of multidrug resistant bacteria. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Pharmacists in the Community Setting)
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