Hoai-An Truong

Pharmacy Residencies and Dual Degrees as Complementary or Competitive Advanced Training Opportunities

The impact of pharmacy practice has been enhanced through additional graduate training opportunities, such as pharmacy residencies and dual-degree programs. This article compares and contrasts key aspects of pharmacy residencies and dual-degree programs, as well as examines the efforts of US colleges and schools of pharmacy in promoting these advanced training opportunities on their Web sites. Pharmacy residencies and dual-degree programs are complementary opportunities that allow student pharmacists to gain advanced knowledge and specialized skills beyond the traditional Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree. The combination of these credentials can be highly advantageous in a variety of practice settings. As pharmacists collaborate with healthcare providers and professionals from other disciplines, more support is needed to expand the availability and use of these cross-profession, advanced training opportunities to enhance the future of the pharmacy profession.

Planning and Implementation of a Student-led Immunization Clinic

Students and faculty planned and implemented a pharmacist-led influenza clinic on election day. A needs assessment was conducted, and a core team was convened for planning and reaching out to health departments. Stakeholders helped to identify polling sites and obtain sponsorship for vaccinations. Standing orders and a protocol were considered and university legal counsel addressed potential liability issues. Volunteers were trained, and the event was promoted through media outlets. This pharmacist-led immunization clinic provided 153 vaccinations; 42 individuals received an influenza vaccination for the first time. Over 30 students and faculty members were involved in the clinic. Lessons learned, including challenges, opportunities, and practical recommendations, are provided for students and faculty pharmacists who wish to conduct similar programs.

The Assessment, Development, Assurance Pharmacist's Tool (ADAPT) for Ensuring Quality Implementation of Health Promotion Programs

Objective. To develop and validate the Assessment, Development, Assurance Pharmacists Tool (ADAPT), an instrument for pharmacists and student pharmacists to use in developing and implementing health promotion programs. Methods. The 36-item ADAPT instrument was developed using the framework of public healths 3 core functions (assessment, policy development, and assurance) and 10 essential services. The tools content and usage was assessed and conducted through peer-review and initial validity testing processes. Results. Over 20 faculty members, preceptors, and student pharmacists at 5 institutions involved in planning and implementing health promotion initiatives reviewed the instrument and conducted validity testing. The instrument took approximately 15 minutes to complete and the findings resulted in changes and improvements to elements of the programs evaluated. Conclusion. The ADAPT instrument fills a need to more effectively plan, develop, implement, and evaluate pharmacist-directed public health programs that are evidence-based, high-quality, and compliant with laws and regulations and facilitates documentation of pharmacists’ contributions to public health.

Impact of Medication Therapy Management on Underserved, Primarily Hispanic Patients with Diabetes

BACKGROUND Diabetes-related complications are more pronounced in Hispanic patients versus patients of other ethnicities. It is documented that medication therapy management (MTM) can improve diabetes outcomes; however, data regarding Hispanic patients are limited. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the impact of MTM on hemoglobin A1c (A1C), blood pressure (BP), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in underserved, primarily Hispanic patients who use a safety-net clinic as their medical home. METHODS A retrospective, observational study of uninsured, primarily Hispanic patients with diabetes who received MTM from October 2009 through March 2011. Patients were stratified into 2 cohorts: A1C less than 9% and A1C greater than or equal to 9%. Patients were also stratified by frequency of MTM visits and insulin use, regardless of A1C. A chart review was conducted to evaluate diabetes-related outcomes pre- and postimplementation of MTM. The primary study outcome was reduction of A1C. Secondary outcomes included reduction of BP and LDL-C and reduction of A1C based on MTM visit frequency or insulin use. RESULTS Sixty-four patients with at least 1 MTM visit and pre- and postimplementation A1C data were included. In the cohort with A1C greater than or equal to 9%, mean (SD) A1C values decreased from 10.9% (1.4%) to 8.8% (1.5%) versus the cohort with A1C less than 9%, whose A1C changed minimally, from 7.2% (0.9%) to 7.4% (1.4%). Regardless of their A1C, patients who were using insulin at baseline had a change in A1C of −0.8% (1.5%) versus −0.1% (1.6%) in those who were not using insulin at baseline (p = 0.04); patients who participated in multiple MTM visits had a significant reduction in A1C, from 9% to 8.3% (95% CI −1.26 to −0.03; p = 0.02) compared with patients participating in only 1 MTM visit. CONCLUSIONS Pharmacist-provided MTM can significantly improve diabetes control in uninsured, primarily Hispanic patients with poorly controlled diabetes and in those who are using insulin. Multiple MTM visits also yielded significant A1C reductions.

Interprofessional Collaborative Model for Medication Therapy Management (MTM) Services to Improve Health Care Access and Quality for Underserved Populations

Summary: As part of the Health Resources and Services Administration Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative (PSPC), an interprofessional model with medication therapy management documentation and outcomes tracking tools (MTM-DOTT) is established to improve health care access and quality for underserved populations. Despite limitations, there have been positive outcomes and national recognitions.

The Eastern Shore Collaborative for Interprofessional Education’s Implementation and Impact over Five Years

Health care professionals working collaboratively on interprofessional teams are essential to optimize patient-centered care. Collaboration and teamwork can be best achieved if interprofessional education (IPE) starts early for health professions students. This commentary describes the formation, implementation, impact, and lessons learned from students’ curricular and co-curricular activities and faculty collaboration over a five-year trajectory of the Eastern Shore Collaborative for Interprofessional Education (ESCIPE). This collaborative is an inter-institutional, interprofessional team and includes 18 faculty members from nine health disciplines with administrative support to prepare practice-ready graduates through effective IPE curricular and co-curricular activities. This collaborative also serves as a resource for interprofessional education, research and scholarship initiatives for faculty members. Activities include educational programs such as an emergency preparedness point-of-dispensing (POD) drill, patient management laboratory simulation, geriatric assessment interdisciplinary team workshop, medical mission as public/global health rotation and service-learning program, rural health fair, and annual university health festival for community outreach. The ESCIPE has also facilitated interprofessional faculty assessment and development, research and scholarship opportunities.

Healthy People 2020: assessment of pharmacists' priorities

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess perceptions of pharmacy educators on the priorities and roles of pharmacists in meeting the Healthy People 2020 objectives. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional, qualitative online national survey. METHODS A comprehensive literature review identified documented roles and responsibilities of pharmacists in addressing the 42 topic areas in Healthy People 2020. From this, a 14-item survey was developed to identify priorities of categories to improve the health of the nation and importance of the pharmacist role to achieve the objectives. The survey was sent electronically to the members of the Public Health Special Interest Group of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy in May and June 2014. RESULTS Participants identified the following Healthy People 2020 categories as most important in improving the health of the nation: chronic diseases, health care services, lifestyle, prevention/well-being, and environmental factors. They identified the following Healthy People 2020 categories as possessing the most important roles for pharmacists in working to improve the health of the nation: chronic diseases, health care services, lifestyle, prevention/well-being, and infectious disease. CONCLUSIONS There exists great congruence between top categories of importance and those that the pharmacist can impact to improve the health of the nation. The results of this study can guide efforts to educate and activate pharmacists as interprofessional team members improving health locally and globally.

Development and implementation of a navigator-facilitated care coordination algorithm to improve clinical outcomes of underserved Latino patients with uncontrolled diabetes.

Development and implementation of an interprofessional navigator-facilitated care coordination algorithm (NAVCOM) for low-income, uninsured patients with uncontrolled diabetes at a safety-net clinic resulted in improvement of disease control as evidenced by improvement in hemoglobin A1C. This report describes the process and lessons learned from the development and implementation of NAVCOM and patient success stories.

Academic-Community Partnership for Medical Missions: Lessons Learned and Practical Guidance for Global Health Service-Learning Experiences

Summary:To facilitate an academic-community partnership for sustainable medical mis-sions, a 12-step process was created for an interprofessional, global health educational, and service-learning experience for students and faculty in a school of pharmacy and health professions. Lessons learned and practical guidance are provided to implement similar global health opportunities.