The Impact of Pharmacists on Telehealth During Transitions of Care: A Literature Review.

Purpose: To provide a review of pharmacists' impact during transitions of care (TOC) visits utilizing telehealth. Methods: An electronic literature review was conducted on studies that addressed pharmacists' impact on telehealth during TOC. Articles included in the review were randomized or observational studies, cohort studies, case series or case reports, literature reviews, or pilot studies conducted on adults. Articles investigating children were excluded from the review. Results: Of the articles identified, 14 studies met the eligibility criteria and were selected for the literature review. All of the studies were published in English between 2013 and 2021. Most were conducted in the United States of America (n = 12) with 1 conducted in Ireland (n = 1) and 1 in Australia (n = 1). The majority of telehealth monitoring was conducted via phone (n = 8), video conferencing (n = 3), or both (n = 2) in patients' homes by pharmacists alone (n = 8) while the remaining studies involved telemonitoring by a combination of pharmacy fellows, residents, and/or students. These findings showed that pharmacist intervention in patient care showed improved patient outcomes and goal markers for a variety of health conditions as well as lower rates of 30 day, 60 day, and 90 day hospital readmissions. Conclusion: Pharmacist involvement in telehealth monitoring had a positive impact on TOC interventions and overall patient outcomes including decreased hospital readmissions and increased patient medication adherence.

"The Impact of Pharmacists Engaged in Collaborative Practice Agreements in the United States".

PURPOSE: To evaluate the role and impact of pharmacists in collaborative practice agreements (CPAs) in the United States. METHODS: An electronic literature review was conducted on studies addressing pharmacists' involvement in CPAs. Articles included in the review were peer-reviewed studies conducted on adults and published between 2017 and 2022. Articles investigating children were excluded. RESULTS: Of the articles identified, 8 studies met the eligibility criteria and were selected for the literature review. All of the studies were published between 2017 and 2022 in English in the United States. CPAs were already in place in 7 of the studies with variances due to different healthcare settings and patient populations. The studies evaluated the effect of pharmacist engagement in CPAs on the attainment of clinical and financial goals, satisfaction with pharmacist involvement, and existing barriers to pharmacist engagement in CPAs. Findings showed that pharmacist engagement in CPAs had a positive impact on the attainment of the desired clinical and financial goals, and providers were satisfied with pharmacist involvement. A common barrier to pharmacist involvement was the lack of reimbursement. CONCLUSION: Pharmacists engaged in CPAs have a positive impact on healthcare, and there are opportunities for expansion of pharmacists' roles in CPAs, particularly in non-traditional settings.