Credentialing & Privileging (I)

Joseph Saseen, Pharm.D., BCPS, BCACP, CLS - Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and Family Medicine, University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences - discusses the various credentials pharmacists can earn following graduation and licensure.

Key Lessons

• Credentials include degrees, licensure, post-graduate training, and board certification.
• Earning a certificate is not synonymous with becoming board certified.
• Board certification requires candidates to meet specific eligibility criteria and pass a comprehensive examination to validate the breadth and depth of knowledge in the area of specialization.
• Board certification can give pharmacists a competitive advantage for employment and open doors to new opportunities.
• Candidates should consider preparing for a board certification exam either through a formal, structured program or forming a study group ... or both.
• Obtaining advanced credentials is ultimately about improving the quality of care pharmacists provide to patients.

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Opioid Overdose Crisis (III)

Carol Ott, Pharm.D., BCPP - Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Purdue University College of Pharmacy and Residency Program Director for the Eskenazi Health/Purdue University PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Residency Program - discusses how sigma adversely impacts patients with opioid use disorder and how the BoilerwoRx program is helping to address the opioid crises at the community level.

Key Lessons

• Health professionals too often use stigmatizing language when describing patients with a substance use disorder and their behaviors.
• We need to critically examine our unconscious biases toward patients with substance use disorder.
• Substance use disorders are most often co-morbid with other mental health conditions.
• Needle exchange programs are an evidence-based intervention that can reduce harm by preventing the spread of infectious diseases and be an important touchpoint to get people into treatment.
• There are numerous ways pharmacists can help patients with substance use disorders - approaching them with empathy, volunteering, and using evidence-based resources to guide care and combat misinformation.

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Opioid Overdose Crisis (II)

Suzanne Nesbit, Pharm.D., BCPS - Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Pain and Palliative Care at the Johns Hopkins Health System - and Lucas Hill, Pharm.D., BCPS, BCACP - Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin and Director of Operation Naloxone - discuss how to improve patient safety by implementing opioid stewardship and harm-reduction strategies.

Key Lessons

• Opioid stewardship requires multiple components starting first with a commitment to change and includes opioid prescribing guidelines, provider feedback, and patient education.
• Discussing the goals of therapy, intended treatment duration, and realistic expectations with patients when opioids are prescribed is critical.
• Patients at high risk of opioid overdose should receive naloxone and trained how to use it.
• Naloxone standing orders or collaborative practice agreements can facilitate access.
• Information from prescription drug monitoring programs can be helpful during the medication review process but providers must recognize their limitations.
• Pain relief requires a patient-specific approach. Patients with a substance use disorder deserve to have their pain addressed too.

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Pharmacists Patient Care Process (I)

Todd Sorensen, Pharm.D. - Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Care and Health Systems at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy and Executive Director of the Alliance for Integrated Medication Management talks with us about the importance of applying a systematic process of care during every patient encounter.

Key Lessons: All health professions have a similar process of care but each has a different focus and assessment strategy; inconsistencies in the process of care provided by pharmacists has led to inconsistent outcomes in clinical trials; several new resources are available to help pharmacy practitioners deliver the pharmacists patient care process with greater "fidelity."

Helpful Resources:  Check out the Patient Care Process chapter in Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach and the Patient Care Process for Delivering Comprehensive Medication Management report.

Digital Health Devices and Apps! (III)

Cody Clifton, Pharm.D. - Clinical Pharmacist and Special Projects Manager at Moose Pharmacy and Coordinator of Quality Assurance and Best Practices for the Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network U.S.A. (CPESN-USA) - talks about the use of mobile devices and apps to remotely monitor patients to improve medication adherence, effectiveness, and safety.

Key Lessons: Numerous devices and apps are available to assist patients with medication adherence; the Spencer device (by Spencer Health Solutions)* provides medication monitoring data and helps connect patients, caregivers, and pharmacists; pharmacists can partner with accountable care organizations (ACOs) to improve outcomes and reduce healthcare cost using mHealth devices and apps.

*Please note that PharmacyForward does not endorse or recommend any products or services.  The Spencer device is one of several potential options that pharmacists and patients may wish to consider when adopting a mHealth solution.

Digital Health Devices and Apps! (II)

Julie Lauffenburger, Pharm.D., Ph.D. - Assistant Director of the Center for Healthcare Delivery Sciences at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and co-investigator for the MedISAFE-BP study talks to us about the use of smartphone applications to improve medication adherence.

Key Lessons: Improvements in medication adherence don't necessarily lead to improvements in outcomes (e.g. blood pressure control or cardiovascular events) unless patient-monitoring data is shared and used by clinicians to make medication adjustments; smartphone apps should provide nudges to patients in a manner they find most useful; technology should make the medication use process easier, not more difficult.

It’s All About Quality (II)

Laura Cranston, R.Ph. - Chief Executive Office of the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) - talks about the work of PQA and the National Quality Strategy which aims to make care delivery higher quality and more affordable to achieve healthier people and communities. 

Key Lessons:  PQA plays an important role by convening key stakeholders and creating quality measures that are used by the payer community.  Pharmacists and student pharmacists can play an important role in PQA's work.  

It’s All About Quality (I)

Troy Trygstad, Pharm.D., MBA, Ph.D. - Executive Director of CPESN-USA, a network of pharmacies that provides a portfolio of medication optimization and patient care services - talks about the "quality movement" and how it's impacting the practice of pharmacy in community and ambulatory care settings.

Key Lessons:  Create supports to help patients to optimally use medications; follow-up is critical; fully engage staff and student pharmacists to deliver care.

Relationship Building to Advance Your Practice (III)

Dr. Jean-Venable "Kelly" Goode from the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) talks about relationship building in the community setting.  Dr. Goode is Past-President of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) and helped develop several innovative community-based pharmacy practices during her career. She serves as the residency program director for the highly regarded VCU Community-based Residency Program.

Key Lessons:  understand the needs first, make time to meet providers in their space, consider practice model changes, and always follow through.