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Remote introductory pharmacy practice experiences focused on veterans prescribed chronic opioid therapy
Sian M Carr-Lopez1,2, Lorrie Strohecker1, Randell Miyahara1,2
1Department of Pharmacy Practice, University of the Pacific Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy, Stockton, CA.
Summary
Pharmacy students remotely assisted veterans on chronic opioid therapy (COT) using electronic health records (EHR). This collaboration improved student confidence in managing COT patients and supported essential monitoring services.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacy Practice
- Population Health Management
- Health Informatics
Background:
- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Northern California Health Care System (NCHCS) utilizes a dashboard for monitoring veterans on chronic opioid therapy (COT).
- Limited resources in medical facilities pose challenges for schools of pharmacy in providing required introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPEs).
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe a collaborative model between a primary care service and a school of pharmacy to deliver COT patient services.
- To leverage remote access to the VA electronic health record (EHR) system for enhanced patient care and student training.
Main Methods:
- Pharmacy students, supervised by VA clinical pharmacists, provided remote clinical services.
- Students utilized personal laptops and VA cell phones for prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) activities, urine drug screening (UDS) reviews, patient pain assessments, and progress note documentation.
- A retrospective analysis assessed changes in student knowledge and confidence in managing COT patients, alongside tracking student workload and dashboard metrics over one year.
Main Results:
- Over one year, 143 students completed 7,001 PDMP notes, reviewed 6,130 UDS results, and documented 202 pain assessments.
- Statistically significant improvements were observed in students' confidence levels regarding population health activities for COT patients, including interpreting PDMP/UDS results and patient communication.
Conclusions:
- The collaboration offers valuable real-world population management experience for future pharmacists.
- It effectively supports monitoring requirements for veterans on COT, enabling NCHCS to fulfill its teaching mission without additional clinic resources.
- The program enhances the healthcare system's capacity to address quality measures and advance population health initiatives.
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