An Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice Model for Dentistry and Pharmacy.

Area of Science:

• Interprofessional Education
• Collaborative Practice
• Primary Care Integration
• Dental Public Health

Background:

• Dental clinics often overlook primary care needs for patients with multiple chronic conditions.
• Integrating primary care metrics and medication management into dental settings can improve patient outcomes.
• An interprofessional education and collaborative practice model (IECPM) was developed by the School of Dentistry (SOD) and College of Pharmacy (COP).

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of an IECPM in a university dental clinic setting.
• To assess primary care metrics and medication histories of patients with chronic conditions.
• To identify drug therapy problems (DTPs) within the studied patient cohort.

Main Methods:

• An interprofessional team comprising dental and pharmacy students/professionals provided patient care.
• 190 patients with two or more chronic conditions taking medications were enrolled.
• Comprehensive dental exams, medical history reviews, and medication therapy management were conducted.
• Primary care metrics (blood pressure, pulse, tobacco use, diabetes) and DTPs were monitored.

Main Results:

• The IECPM facilitated the identification of prevalent chronic conditions: 64% hypertension, 34% diabetes, 10.5% smokers.
• Patients were taking a high number of medications (2-34 per patient).
• The most common DTP identified was 'needs additional drug therapy'.

Conclusions:

• The IECPM is a feasible model for integrating primary care services into dental clinics.
• This collaborative approach effectively addresses unmet primary care needs in dental settings.
• The model enhances patient care by screening for chronic conditions and managing medications.