An advanced pharmacy practice experience in transitional care.

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Practice
• Transitional Care Medicine
• Patient Adherence

Background:

• Transitional care is crucial for optimizing patient outcomes and reducing hospital readmissions.
• Pharmacists play a vital role in managing medications during care transitions.
• Advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) offer valuable training opportunities for student pharmacists.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate a 4-week APPE focused on transitional care.
• To assess the impact of student pharmacist involvement on patient care processes.
• To determine the development of essential pharmaceutical care skills in students.

Main Methods:

• Student pharmacists engaged in transitional care planning for patients on general medicine services.
• Activities included patient interviews, medication assessment, reconciliation, counseling, and post-discharge follow-up.
• The APPE aimed to identify and resolve medication-related problems and adherence barriers.

Main Results:

• Student participation increased pharmacist preceptor capacity for patient assessments from 10 to 15-20 patients daily.
• Students demonstrated enhanced communication skills with patients and healthcare providers.
• Students developed proficiency in identifying and addressing medication adherence challenges.

Conclusions:

• The transitional care APPE successfully equipped students with practical pharmaceutical care skills.
• Students gained confidence in managing patient medications within a transitional care setting.
• The program provided significant value to hospital patient care services.