ASHP Foundation Pharmacy Forecast 2023 states the following: The stressors on pharmacy practice models in the next few years could be compounded by projected shortages of nurses, physicians, and hospital staff across the healthcare continuum, which could require pharmacy personnel to perform cross-functional duties traditionally managed by other departments. FPs overwhelming agreed (89%) that pharmacy departments will likely be required to perform cross-functional duties (such as patient medication education, care coordination, and diabetes education), further stretching pharmacy departments to do more with less. Pharmacist involvement in telepharmacy will likely grow considerably, particularly in the areas of medication therapy monitoring, transitions of care, and patient consultations.
Pharmacy Practice News had this article:
Pharmacists as Essential Team Members Support Patient Care at Rochester Regional Health
Pharmacists are front and center as critical members of the team in a new patient care model developed at Rochester Regional Health, in New York, to alleviate a nursing shortage on inpatient medical-surgical units. The results from a pilot version of the program were described in a poster (Sun-29) presented at the 2022 ACCP Global Conference on Clinical Pharmacy.
In Rochester Regional Health’s standard care model, one registered nurse (RN), one unit clerk, and if staffing permitted, one licensed practical nurse (LPN) and one patient care technician supported every five patients. Under a new multidisciplinary collaborative care model, the RN serves as the primary coordinator for patients, with several other clinicians contributing to their care. Under this plan, one RN, one LPN and one patient care technician support every 10 patients with the collaboration of a pharmacist and food and nutrition service staff.
Pharmacists are responsible for obtaining the patient’s medication history and performing medication reconciliation at the time of admission, Joshana Goga, PharmD, MBA, BCPP, the system director of clinical pharmacy programs for the health system, told Pharmacy Practice News. They also provide all patient medication education throughout the length of stay, complete discharge medication counseling and coordinate meds to beds.
A three-month pilot of the model, launched in March 2022 at Rochester Regional Hospital, was so successful that it is being rolled out to other institutions in the nine-hospital health system, Dr. Goga said. Patient experience surveys conducted by Press Ganey before and after the pilot demonstrate the impact of pharmacists’ work. Approximately 60% of patients reported understanding the purpose of a new medication before the pilot, compared with 75% after it. About 36% reported they understood medication side effects before the pilot, compared with 50% afterward. Additionally, the percentage of nurses reporting that their patient load prevented them from completing work before the end of their shift decreased from 24% to 17%, and 79% of nurses said their workload was better under the new model.
Pharmacists were “absolutely thrilled” to step up, Dr. Goga said.
“We had the support of our executive-level team from day 1,” she said. Nurses initially were more hesitant and uncertain about the change, but they quickly appreciated having some responsibilities taken off their plates, Dr. Goga added.
“Pharmacists are the medication experts and should practice at the top of their license, particularly at a time when we are in the midst of a healthcare workforce crisis,” she said. “We have been trained with these skill sets and are ready to support our colleagues to provide the best possible patient experience.”
I am a pharmacist and a registered nurse but my pharmacy manager says that I need to get board certified to have a job at at! If anyone is qualified to do this it is me!
