Advancing Pharmacist Collaborative Care within Academic Health Systems

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Pharmacy Practice Models
• Collaborative Care

Background:

• The practice of pharmacy has shifted towards optimizing medication therapy.
• Lack of reimbursement hinders the adoption of innovative pharmacist practice models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development, implementation, and outcomes of pharmacist collaborative care models.
• To highlight the benefits of these models for affiliated health systems.

Main Methods:

• Development and implementation of three pharmacist collaborative care models: physician oversight, pharmacist-interprofessional teams, and physician-pharmacist teams.
• Outcome measurement included design, patient volume, and quality dashboards.
• Funding was secured through health systems and grants.

Main Results:

• Successful development and implementation of three distinct pharmacist collaborative care models.
• Varied outcome measurements were utilized, from initial design to comprehensive quality dashboards.
• All described practice models achieved successful funding.

Conclusions:

• Pharmacist collaborative care models offer significant improvements in patient care quality.
• These models enhance access to specialized expertise within health systems.
• Successful implementation increases health system visibility through outcome dissemination.