A framework and review of online documentation of patient encounters during Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences

Abstract

Objective: To establish a mechanism for student documentation of patient encounters including problems identified and interventions performed; to assess the breadth of student exposure during Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs); to identify the most commonly reported problems and interventions as reported by students. Design: Students document selected patient care encounters via an online case documentation system using 12 different pharmacotherapy categories and include information such as patient demographics, drug therapy problems identified, medications involved, and type of intervention. Data were analyzed from the classes of 2012 and 2013 during their APPE year. Assessment: During the two year period, over 21,000 individual patient encounters and over 40,000 pharmacotherapy category entries were documented. Cardiology and Infectious Disease (ID) were the most prevalent pharmacotherapy categories documented, while Dermatology, Urology/Nephrology, Respiratory, and Other were the least commonly documented. The most common interventions were Medication Therapy Management (MTM), education to patients, and provider contact. The most common problems identified were "needs additional therapy" and "incorrect dose.". Conclusion: The online documentation system was shown to be an effective tool for documenting breadth of student exposure to patients, drug therapy problems, and interventions during the APPE curriculum. Students were able to document a variety of patient encounters, problems, and interventions. Documentation of students' encounters across all APPE curricula is one way to demonstrate diversity and variety in patient care experiences. This article provides a framework for other colleges of pharmacy to document student interventions and level of engagement with the outside community during practice-based experiences.