Integration and impact of a student pharmacist in an ambulatory care setting

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine a student pharmacist's impact in the ambulatory care setting. Methods: Throughout 11 weeks, the student pharmacist was fully integrated into three ambulatory care clinics: Medicare Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) clinics, hypertension clinics, and anticoagulation clinics. For the AWV and hypertension clinics, the student pharmacist checked patient's eligibility and called eligible patients to enroll them into the respective clinics. During the visits, the student pharmacist performed medication reconciliation, gathered medical histories, and measured blood pressures. For the anticoagulation clinic, the student pharmacist screened calls for pharmacist's intervention and placed international normalized ratio reminder calls to patients. A retrospective analysis was done to determine the number of patients recruited and seen, the revenue generated, the clinical outcomes, and the time spent on each task. Results: The student pharmacist smoothened the transition between the pharmacy staff that rotated through the three ambulatory care clinics, as defined in methods. Of the 171 patients called to schedule with the AWV clinic, the student pharmacist spoke to 81 patients and saw 41 patients. In the hypertension clinic, the student pharmacist called 71 patients and saw 19 patients. The student pharmacist participated in a patient-centered medical home pilot and aided an internal medicine provider in bringing the total number of patients at hypertension goal, as defined by the Eighth Joint National Committee, from 77% to 82%. In both clinics, revenue was generated from the visits and interventions were provided. In the anticoagulation clinics, the student pharmacist improved workflow among the pharmacy staff. In all three clinics, the student pharmacist performed medication reconciliation and gathered medication histories, thus freeing the pharmacist to perform other duties. Conclusion: Because student pharmacists can perform duties that a technician cannot, they can be integrated to enhance clinical outcomes for patients and improve workflow among pharmacy staff, while creating a sustainable business in the ambulatory care setting.