Re-Engineering Collaborative Practice in Primary Care: Integrating Community Pharmacy to the Clinic; Creating a...

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Pharmacy Practice
• Interprofessional Collaboration

Background:

• Pharmacy practice operates within a value chain encompassing suppliers, inputs, processes, outputs, and customers.
• Existing gaps in the pharmacy value chain design complicate the interface between community pharmacies and clinic-based prescribers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To re-engineer the pharmacy value chain by addressing interface challenges between community pharmacies and clinical prescribers.
• To explore the utility of the supplier-input-process-outcome-customer (SIPOC) model for optimizing pharmacy practice.
• To investigate the impact of integrating clinical pharmacists on interprofessional collaboration and communication.

Main Methods:

• Application of the supplier-input-process-outcome-customer (SIPOC) model to analyze and re-engineer the pharmacy value chain.
• Introduction of an intervening clinical pharmacist at the interface between community pharmacies and clinic-based prescribers.

Main Results:

• The SIPOC model provides a framework for identifying and addressing gaps in the pharmacy value chain.
• Integrating clinical pharmacists into the interface facilitates interprofessional collaboration and communication.
• This integration establishes a structure for improved patient referral between clinics and pharmacies.

Conclusions:

• Re-engineering the pharmacy value chain using the SIPOC model, with integrated clinical pharmacists, enhances collaboration.
• This innovation has significant implications for patient referral processes and the future scope of patient-facing pharmacists.
• Optimizing the pharmacy value chain is crucial for improving patient care coordination and pharmacist roles.