Emma Siegel, PharmD Candidate at The Ohio State University on behalf of Dr. Aimee O’Reilly, PharmD and Owner of O’Reilly Family Pharmacy in Worthington, OH
Here at O’Reilly Family Pharmacy, we recently had a great meeting with our Peer-to-Peer Coach, Cara Hoyt from Uptown Pharmacy. As a 4th-year APPE student, it was eye-opening to learn about all that CPESN and the Flip the Pharmacy program are working on regarding disease-state management, and the shift from dispensing towards caring for patients as a whole. After talking with Dr. O’Reilly, she and I determined that it may be beneficial to incorporate some disease-state management activities into the daily APPE student workflow. So, we have begun working on a guide for future APPE students, detailing how to engage in our med sync program and develop E-care plans.
The plan for this guide is to detail how to work through our Medication Synchronization queue each day. We are able to set cycle dates for our patients so that they can fill all of their medications at the same time each month and minimize trips to the pharmacy. By calling patients 7 days ahead of their set cycle date, we can ensure there are no changes to medications, as well as ask questions regarding disease-state control. This is where the APPE students come in, as these calls are an ideal time to gather patient A1Cs, blood pressure readings, and other relevant clinical data. Our hope is to have the APPE students be responsible for (1) calling all the patients in the queue for the day, (2) asking about any medication changes before we dispense the medications in compliance-packaging, (3) gathering relevant clinical information regarding disease-state management, (4) documenting clinical discussions and drug-related problems through E-care plans, and (5) implementing and following-up on any medication related changes or problems by setting tasks within the system.
Our goal is to have this guide finished by the end of the month so that future students on rotation can follow along, helping us to reach our goal of increasing the number of A1Cs we are able to gather. As the process is implemented and polished, future APPE students can make edits to this living document. I have personally seen the value in documenting E-care plans throughout my time this month. By utilizing E-care plans, all staff members can see care provided, and we are better able to close the loop and ensure appropriate follow-up. For example, when a patient calls with questions on medication changes or items we are waiting to hear back on, all staff members are able to see the documentation and provide the appropriate information. Additionally, we are able to set daily tasks within the system in order to remind us to perform various follow-up items. All in all, we hope to utilize this tool to improve outcomes for our patients, while also providing the opportunity for APPE students to enhance their clinical knowledge and patient interview skills.