The ADAPT online education program: A tool for practicing pharmacists delivering patient-centered care

The ADapting pharmacists' skills and Approaches to maximize Patient's drug Therapy effectiveness (ADAPT) e-learning program was developed by a consortium of Canadian pharmacy educators and researchers to prepare practicing pharmacists for patient-centered care. We selected this education program to provide training for pharmacists as the workforce transformation component of a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation project. In this report we share our experiences with this educational program.

Online educational program.

ADAPT presents a standard approach to medication assessment, team collaboration, patient assessment, evidence-based decision making, and documentation.

ADAPT was used to prepare practicing pharmacists for new roles in direct patient care in patient-centered medical homes.

Participants were surveyed at the midpoint and end of the program to determine its impact on their confidence in providing patient-centered care and to elicit feedback about their perceptions of the program. Participants completed written action plans for each module that included their reflections on the course material and the skills they desired to implement in practice. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze Likert-type questions, and a content analysis was performed to analyze responses to open-ended questions and action plan responses.

Two pharmacist cohorts completed the 20-week program from October 2012 to March 2013 (n = 13) and from August 2013 to January 2014 (n = 10). Pharmacists' perceived that their confidence in providing patient-centered care improved for all modules. Almost all pharmacists reported improved confidence in patient interviewing (89%), documentation (88%), and collaboration skills (83%). The content analysis identified the modules on interviewing and documentation as the most valuable and likely to result in changes to the pharmacists' practice. The opportunity to learn from colleagues was cited as a strength of the program.

The ADAPT educational program provided pharmacists with the tools necessary to deliver patient-centered care in ambulatory care settings.