Involving pharmacists in direct patient care activities has favorable effects: Study

Incorporating pharmacists as members of the health care team in direct patient care roles is a viable solution to help improve U.S. health care, according to the results of a comprehensive, systematic review of the health care literature set to be published in the October 2010 edition of Medical Care. The study has been published prior to print and is available online at http://journals.lww.com/lww-medicalcare/Abstract/publishahead/US_Pharmacists__Effect_as_Team_Members_on_Patient.99710.aspx.

The article, "US Pharmacists' Effect as Team Members on Patient Care: Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses," examines the effect of pharmacist-provided direct patient care on therapeutic, safety, and humanistic outcomes. Researchers, led by Marie A. Chisholm-Burns, Pharm.D., M.P.H., FASHP, found that involving pharmacists in direct patient care activities has favorable effects, including reducing adverse drug events and improving outcomes for patients with chronic diseases.

The research was funded by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the ASHP Research and Education Foundation. Chisholm-Burns is a professor and department head at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy in Tucson.

The study, which included a review of nearly 300 articles, found that patients were 47 percent less likely to experience an adverse drug event when a pharmacist was involved in their care. Pharmacist interventions also significantly improved outcomes when pharmacists were involved in disease management particularly for patients with diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol. Nearly 90 percent of studies tracking pharmacists' impact on managing hemoglobian A1c showed favorable results. Eighty-four percent of the studies focused on managing blood pressure and 82 percent of studies looking at managing high cholesterol showed favorable results.

"This important study clearly demonstrates the valuable role pharmacists play in patient care," said ASHP CEO Henri R. Manasse, Jr., Ph.D., Sc.D. "The findings are particularly relevant as policymakers begin to implement innovative care models included in the new health care reform law, like the medical home model, where patients can benefit from the medication expertise of pharmacists."

The research also supports an ongoing effort of the ASHP and the ASHP Foundation, the Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative (PPMI). The PPMI aims to develop a futuristic practice model that supports the most effective use of pharmacists as direct patient care providers and includes a consensus summit to be held in November 2010 in Dallas, a robust effort to promote practice change, and demonstration projects.

"This systematic review provides critically important evidence that supports the efforts of ASHP and the ASHP Foundation to advance practice models that optimize the role of pharmacists as the members of the health care team who are accountable for patients' medication outcomes," says Stephen J. Allen, M.S., FASHP, Executive Vice President and CEO of the ASHP Foundation.

Communicating the results to a consumer audience is a priority for the study's lead author. "We have to get this message out to the public," says Chisholm-Burns. "It's so important for patients to understand how pharmacists can help them manage their chronic diseases and be as healthy as possible."

Additional findings highlighting pharmacists' impact on economic outcomes will be published in October in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy.

ASHP and the ASHP Foundation plan to apply the findings of this review to meet the needs of key stakeholders, including health policy makers, third-party payers, executives of health provider organizations and pharmacy practice leaders. The results will also be used to establish priorities for funding future research.

Source: ASHP Foundation