Pharmacist led refill improvement process to impact chronic condition management in rural primary care Brittany Thompson Jerod Brashcler Stephanie Kiser Elizabeth Michalets Mission Hospitals PGY2 Ambulatory Care - Asheville, NC
Background/Purpose: Patients in rural areas face unique challenges in the provision of healthcare as compared to patients in urban areas. Many rural areas have 39.8 physicians per 100,000 patients, compared to a 53.3 physicians per 100,000 patients in urban areas nationally. Primary care physicians have numerous responsibilities which can limit direct patient care time. The limitations in physician time may lead to decreased quality of care for patients. This study aims to assess intervention rates made in a rural community pharmacist-led refill clinic compared to a usual care historical control group in the same clinic.
Methodology: Eligible participants are those greater than 18 years or older and receiving care at one of two primary care clinics in rural western North Carolina. In the pharmacy intervention group, a pharmacy technician identified patients who requested refills and used a research protocol tool to gather information for the pharmacist. The results from the research protocol tool were sent to the pharmacist for further review for refill authorization. Additional data collection: refill request volume and interventions. Intervention definition: a new appointment, lab monitoring, or clinical intervention. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze study results.
Results: To date, 405 intervention patients with 580 medication orders were sent to the pharmacy. 206 interventions were identified in the intervention group vs 67 interventions in the control group. Statistical significance is currently being analyzed.
Presentation Objective: To demonstrate the impact of a pharmacist-led refill clinic on patient safety and health outcomes.
Self-Assessment: What is the potential benefit of having a pharmacist-led refill clinic in a rural community?
