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Assessing student pharmacist impact on patient over-the-counter medication selection
Jamie L McConaha1, Lauren M Finoli, Jennifer E Heasley
1Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. mcconahaj@duq.edu
Objective:
To evaluate the financial and clinical outcomes of an over-the-counter (OTC) medication consultation performed by doctorate of pharmacy student pharmacists in a community pharmacy.
Design:
Cross-sectional survey.
Setting:
Independent and chain community pharmacy locations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Participants:
Fourth professional year (PY4) advanced experiential student pharmacists on community rotations at the designated settings who performed OTC consultations and the participants of these encounters.
Main Outcome Measured:
Financial and clinical impact of an OTC consultation performed by student pharmacists on rotation.
Results:
A total of 559 OTC consultations were offered in 5 participating community pharmacy settings over a period of 1 year. Student pharmacists initiated 62.4% of all documented interactions and 60.5% of all participants accepted the consultation offer. The student pharmacists' OTC recommendations resulted in significant cost savings to the participant. Those participants accepting consultation reported being more likely to consult with a pharmacist in the future. PY4 students were also able to demonstrate capability in impacting clinical outcomes on several occasions by implementing OTC medication changes due to patient safety concerns.
Conclusion:
Student pharmacist OTC consultations have the potential to positively impact both financial and clinical outcomes associated with the use of OTC medications.
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