Educational Approach to Increase Student Pharmacist Confidence with Medicare

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Health Insurance Literacy
• Medicare Policy

Background:

• Traditional Medicare education often overemphasizes Part D, neglecting the growing importance of Medicare Advantage plans.
• A knowledge gap exists in preparing student pharmacists to comprehensively assess diverse Medicare coverage options.
• Understanding insurance is crucial for pharmacists to optimize patient care and medication adherence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a didactic, case-based educational strategy for teaching student pharmacists about Medicare.
• To enhance students' ability to consider medical and drug needs within various Medicare insurance plans.
• To improve student pharmacists' confidence and attitudes regarding Medicare and patient advocacy.

Main Methods:

• Developed a curriculum combining four 90-minute didactic lectures on Medicare with a practical patient case study.
• Administered surveys at baseline, after lectures, and post-case study to assess changes in confidence and attitudes.
• Collected data on student perceptions of Medicare knowledge importance and their role in patient advocacy.

Main Results:

• Student confidence in Medicare significantly increased post-didactic lectures (p ≤ 0.001).
• Post-case study, students showed greater confidence in assisting patients with financial aid and plan selection (p ≤ 0.001; p ≤ 0.05).
• Students demonstrated enhanced agreement on insurance knowledge as a tool for patient advocacy (p ≤ 0.001) and its necessity in medication recommendations (p ≤ 0.05).

Conclusions:

• The integrated didactic and case-based approach effectively boosted student pharmacists' self-reported confidence and positive attitudes toward Medicare.
• This educational model can improve pharmacists' willingness to discuss insurance with beneficiaries, potentially enhancing patient care and health outcomes.
• Equipping future pharmacists with comprehensive Medicare knowledge is vital for navigating complex insurance landscapes and advocating for patient needs.