Implementation of a Student Pharmacist-Run Targeted Medication Intervention Program

To evaluate the impact of a student pharmacist-run targeted medication intervention (TMI) program.

Student pharmacists in their third professional year resolved TMIs at 5 independent pharmacies under the supervision of a pharmacist. A claims report of completed TMIs from the medication therapy management (MTM) platform, which captured the category and outcome of the TMIs and the estimated cost avoidance (ECA) level, was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Time spent was calculated using an estimation based on each of the tasks required to complete the TMI.

Of the 156 TMIs that were billed, 42 (26.9%) were accepted, 24 (15.4%) were rejected, and 90 (57.7%) were unable to be reached. For TMIs where the prescribers or patients were reached, the acceptance rates were 20% and 71%, respectively. Student pharmacists spent a total of 25.2 hours completing TMIs, and the pharmacist spent 2 hours on administrative tasks. Total revenue generated from all TMIs was US$1058, which led to a revenue generation of US$38.90/h. Successfully completing 42 TMIs resulted in a savings to the health care system of approximately US$121 000.

This pilot study demonstrates an innovative model for community pharmacies to complete TMIs by utilizing student pharmacists under the supervision of a pharmacist.