Reprint of: Impact of outpatient pharmacist dispensing in an opioid use disorder clinic.

BACKGROUND: Medications for opioid use disorder are effective in reducing opioid deaths, but access can be an issue. Relocating an outpatient pharmacist for weekly buprenorphine dispensing in an outpatient clinic may facilitate coverage for buprenorphine and mitigate access and counseling barriers. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate whether staffing an outpatient resident pharmacist to dispense in the buprenorphine clinic had a positive impact on (1) mean cost per prescription charged to charity care and (2) basic elements of patient satisfaction with the on-site pharmacist. METHODS: Patient demographics, buprenorphine formulation, insurance type, and uncovered costs were abstracted from dispensing records in the 16 weeks before the pharmacist clinic presence and 16 weeks with the pharmacist present. The difference in insurance types across the 2 periods was tested using a chi-square test, and the mean uncovered prescription costs charged to charity care for the 2 periods was compared using an independent-samples t test. A brief survey was administered while the pharmacist was on-site to evaluate satisfaction, which was analyzed with frequencies of "yes" responses and free-text comments. RESULTS: A total of 38 patients received buprenorphine during both the pre- and postperiods. Once the pharmacist was on-site, more patients used Medicaid or private insurance, decreasing the mean uncovered cost per prescription from $55.00 (SD 68.7) to $36.97 (SD 60.1) (P = 0.002). Patients reported high levels of satisfaction with most reporting they were more likely to ask questions, pick up their prescriptions, and take their medicine with the pharmacist in the clinic. CONCLUSIONS: The pharmacist successfully transitioned a portion of prescriptions previously covered by charity care to Medicaid or private insurance. This shift led to a decrease in charity care costs by $2950.20 and a reduction in the average uncovered cost per prescription. The pharmacist's presence in the clinic seemed to reduce barriers especially related to inconvenience.

Impact of outpatient pharmacist dispensing in an opioid use disorder clinic.

BACKGROUND: Medications for opioid use disorder are effective in reducing opioid deaths, but access can be an issue. Relocating an outpatient pharmacist for weekly buprenorphine dispensing in an outpatient clinic may facilitate coverage for buprenorphine and mitigate access and counseling barriers. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate whether staffing an outpatient resident pharmacist to dispense in the buprenorphine clinic had a positive impact on (1) mean cost per prescription charged to charity care and (2) basic elements of patient satisfaction with the on-site pharmacist. METHODS: Patient demographics, buprenorphine formulation, insurance type, and uncovered costs were abstracted from dispensing records in the 16 weeks before the pharmacist clinic presence and 16 weeks with the pharmacist present. The difference in insurance types across the 2 periods was tested using a chi-square test, and the mean uncovered prescription costs charged to charity care for the 2 periods was compared using an independent-samples t test. A brief survey was administered while the pharmacist was on-site to evaluate satisfaction, which was analyzed with frequencies of "yes" responses and free-text comments. RESULTS: A total of 38 patients received buprenorphine during both the pre- and postperiods. Once the pharmacist was on-site, more patients used Medicaid or private insurance, decreasing the mean uncovered cost per prescription from $55.00 (SD 68.7) to $36.97 (SD 60.1) (P = 0.002). Patients reported high levels of satisfaction with most reporting they were more likely to ask questions, pick up their prescriptions, and take their medicine with the pharmacist in the clinic. CONCLUSIONS: The pharmacist successfully transitioned a portion of prescriptions previously covered by charity care to Medicaid or private insurance. This shift led to a decrease in charity care costs by $2950.20 and a reduction in the average uncovered cost per prescription. The pharmacist's presence in the clinic seemed to reduce barriers especially related to inconvenience.

A community pharmacist-led service to facilitate care transitions and reduce hospital readmissions.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of a community pharmacist-delivered care transition intervention on 30-day hospital readmissions. SETTING: A single private 263-bed hospital in the Midwest United States and 12 partnering community pharmacies, 1 serving as primary pharmacy. PRACTICE INNOVATION: Adult general medicine inpatients were evaluated by nursing staff with the use of a worksheet based on the Better Outcomes by Optimizing Safe Transitions (BOOST) readmission risk toolkit. The highest-risk patients were enrolled in a 3-contact intervention. First, a pharmacist from the primary community pharmacy delivered an in-room work-up. The pharmacist focused on medication education, problem identification, and verifying medication access following discharge. A pharmacist visited the hospital for approximately 4 hours most weekdays, during which the pharmacist saw 3-4 patients. A community pharmacist telephoned these patients 8 and 25 days after discharge. EVALUATION: The intervention was provided to 555 patients who had a mean readmission risk worksheet score of 1.90 (SD 1.13) and not provided to 430 patients with lower readmission risk worksheet scores, which averaged 0.68 (SD 0.86; P < 0.001). Thirty-day readmissions to the study hospital were lower for intervention patients (8.1%) versus comparison patients (21.4%; P < 0.001). Thirty-day readmissions to any hospital were calculated for a subsample of 129 intervention patients and 103 comparison patients with Medicare Fee for Service insurance for which claims were available, but the difference (10.9% and 15.5%, respectively) did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.328). PRACTICE IMPLICATION: A community pharmacy was successful in partnering with a hospital and other community pharmacies to lead a care transitions intervention associated with reduced 30-day same-hospital readmissions. CONCLUSION: A community pharmacist-led intervention delivered to higher-risk patients showed a significant decrease in readmission rate to the same hospital compared with lower-risk patients hospitalized in the same unit but not receiving the intervention. This supports the community pharmacists' role in care transitions.