Engaging community pharmacies and schools of pharmacy

Academic institutions are in a unique position to build relationships with community pharmacies, with most facilitated engagements in the literature focusing on students as facilitators of these partnerships. However, preceptors note challenges managing time and incorporating students into workflow. Applying community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles can help ensure that partnerships between schools and pharmacies are sustainable, responsive to current needs, and positioned to advance practice.

To demonstrate how schools/colleges of pharmacy can develop equitable, sustainable, and mutually beneficial partnerships with community pharmacies by describing the process undertaken by the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy (UMSOP), using CBPR principles to host a pharmacy summit event for community preceptors.

A preprogram survey was sent to all community pharmacy preceptors associated with the UMSOP that consisted of 4 questions: 3 utilizing a Likert scale and a fourth open response. Preprogram survey responses were used by the planning committee to create the itinerary for the summit. The same preceptors who were asked to complete the preprogram survey were also invited to the summit. Summit attendees were given an opportunity to obtain continuing education credit by completing a business plan for a revenue-generating care service to provide in their pharmacy and filling out a postprogram evaluation.

The preprogram survey received 25 of 76 responses from community pharmacy preceptors. Top interests from preceptors were Advocacy/Legislation Updates, Non-Dispensing Revenue, and Effectively Utilizing Pharmacy Students, and the top challenges were recognized as Low Reimbursement Rates, Pharmacy Cash Payment Model, and Marketing. The summit hosted 12 pharmacists from 12 different pharmacies, 7 faculty, 8 state pharmacy organization representatives, and 4 students/residents. Seven attendees submitted business plans, which all directly correlated to content from the event itinerary.

This pharmacy summit demonstrates how academic institutions can use this distinctive approach to develop and build on partnerships with community pharmacies, and we hope it can serve as a model for other schools seeking to engage with community pharmacies. The goal for UMSOP is to continue to host a pharmacy summit on an annual basis and develop more projects rooted in the principles of CBPR in order to continuously develop community pharmacy partnerships.