Evaluation of the impact of a residency in an independent pharmacy in rural Mississippi.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of a postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) community pharmacy residency program on clinical pharmacy service implementation and enhancement in a rural Mississippi community. SETTING: An independent rural community pharmacy in Canton, MS. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION AND INNOVATION: Delivery of clinical pharmacy services provided by PGY1 community residents 1 day a week to an underserved population during an 18-month period. EVALUATION: Economic impact of a community pharmacy residency on the pharmacy's revenue stream determined by calculating an estimated dollar amount generated by clinical pharmacy services. RESULTS: By providing services 1 day a week, the residents were able to directly contribute an estimated $8000 of revenue from vaccinations and medication therapy management services. In addition, residents provided point-of-care testing, facilitated group education, developed a medication synchronization program, and assisted with physician outreach. CONCLUSION: Overall, community pharmacy residencies can contribute to the generation of revenue in rural independent settings and may also offer an opportunity to generate revenue in different areas that were not present before residency implementation, thereby improving access to care for patients.

Comparison of Pharmacist and Physician Managed Annual Medicare Wellness Services.

BACKGROUND: Medicare Annual Wellness Visits (AWV) are a benefit provided for Medicare beneficiaries to increase focus on wellness and preventive measures. Pharmacists can conduct AWVs, which offers a potential avenue for outpatient revenue generation. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: To compare a composite of interventions and screenings and revenue generated by a pharmacist with those made by a physician during a subsequent AWV. A report generated through the electronic health record was used to determine AWVs conducted by a pharmacist or 3 participating physicians from December 2013 to March 2016, including revenue generated. Through electronic chart review, documentation was accessed to quantify and categorize the number and types of referrals, health advice, laboratory tests, procedures, vaccinations, and screenings that were recommended during each patient's AWV. OBSERVATIONS: The pharmacist performed 19 subsequent visits, and the 3 physicians performed 89 subsequent visits. Overall, the composite of interventions and screenings was significantly higher in the pharmacist group than the physician group (P = 0.03). More interventions were made in the areas of health advice (P = 0.020), vaccine recommendations (P = 0.009), and screenings in the pharmacist group (P < 0.001). The physicians ordered significantly more laboratory tests per visit (P < 0.001). The pharmacist was reimbursed on average $105 per visit versus $99 per visit for the physicians. IMPLICATIONS: Pharmacist-provided AWVs are at least comparable to those provided by physicians and offer an additional access point for valuable services for Medicare beneficiaries. DISCLOSURES: There was no financial contribution to this study. Riche reports participation in the Speaker's Bureau for Merck and the Speaker's Bureau and Advisory Board for Novo Nordisk. The authors have no other conflicts of interest to report pertinent to this research. This data has not been previously published in any other location. Richie, Sewell, Malinowski, Jackson, and Fleming were involved in study design and manuscript preparation/approval. Jackson was involved in data collection, and Richie and Sewell were involved in data collection and data analysis. Sewell and Richie had full access to all the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.