In-person to virtual interprofessional education: Teamwork attitudes and skills among dental and dental hygiene students.

OBJECTIVES: The interruption to clinical professions' instruction due to closures from the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic posed a significant hurdle to clinical education and presented a necessity to shift how instruction was delivered to resume educational activities. This study sought to answer the research question: did the transition from in-person to virtual instruction for interprofessional education (IPE) have an impact on students' perceptions of team attitudes and skills to learn and work in interprofessional groups? METHODS: All participating first-year dental and second-year dental hygiene students enrolled in the campus-wide IPE course were invited to complete the Team Skills Scale (TSS) assessment before and after the course for two academic years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. Paired t-tests were utilized to assess the change in student attitudes and skills from pre- to post-course assessment, and t-tests were used to assess mean differences between student cohorts 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. RESULTS: Within the student cohort 2019-2020 students reported significant improvement in all TSS items. Within the student cohort, 2020-2021 students reported significant improvement in all but three TSS items. There were only significant differences in mean values for student reported improvement in attitudes and skills for two TSS items between the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: Dental and dental hygiene students report significant improvement in team attitudes and skills after participation in a campus-wide IPE course. The mode of administration of the course, in-person or virtual, did not have a significant impact on student-reported improvements.

The Report of the 2016-2017 Advocacy Standing Committee.

Based on the growing importance of community engagement and the recognition of its importance by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the committee offers several examples of community engagement activities for consideration and replication by our academy and beyond. These activities, including those of winning institutions of the Lawrence J. Weaver Transformational Community Engagement Award, can be mapped to the core components of community engagement presented in Table 1. The committee, using an implementation readiness framework, provides the reader with insight into the challenges that may impact successful community engagement and encourages our academy to continue its work to support faculty capacity in this area. Toward that end, the committee offers a policy statement that encourages schools and colleges of pharmacy to have an office or designate a faculty member whose focus is specifically on community engagement. The committee also offers a recommendation that the core components be included in the criteria for the Weaver Award.

Potential cost savings of medication therapy management in safety-net clinics.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate potential cost savings based on estimated cost avoidance from medication therapy management (MTM) services delivered in safety-net clinics over 4 years. METHODS: High-risk patients taking multiple medications and with chronic conditions were referred for MTM services in primary care safety-net clinics in Maryland from October 1, 2009, to September 30, 2013. Medication-related problems (MRPs) were identified and pharmacists' costs determined to evaluate the estimated cost savings and return on investment (ROI). A range of potential economic outcomes for each MRP identified was assigned to a cost avoidance for outpatient visit, urgent care visit, emergency department visit, and/or hospitalization. RESULTS: Over 4 years, 246 patients received MTM, nearly 2,100 medications were reviewed, and 814 MRPs were identified. The most common MRPs identified were subtherapeutic doses, nonadherence, and untreated indications, with respective prevalences of 38%, 19%, and 16%. The corresponding costs of medical services were estimated at $115,220-$614,570 for all MRPs identified, yielding a mean of $141.55-$755.00 per identified MRP. Pharmacists' expenses for encounters were calculated at a total expenditure of $57,307.50 for 16,965 minutes. ROI based on the time spent during billable face-to-face encounters ranged from 1:5 to 1:25. CONCLUSION: Pharmacist-provided MTM in safety-net clinics yielded potential economic benefits to the organization. The Primary Care Coalition of Montgomery County plans to expand MTM services to additional clinics to improve patient care and increase cost savings through preventable medical services.

Impact of medication therapy management on underserved, primarily Hispanic patients with diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes-related complications are more pronounced in Hispanic patients versus patients of other ethnicities. It is documented that medication therapy management (MTM) can improve diabetes outcomes; however, data regarding Hispanic patients are limited. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of MTM on hemoglobin A1c (A1C), blood pressure (BP), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in underserved, primarily Hispanic patients who use a safety-net clinic as their medical home. METHODS: A retrospective, observational study of uninsured, primarily Hispanic patients with diabetes who received MTM from October 2009 through March 2011. Patients were stratified into 2 cohorts: A1C less than 9% and A1C greater than or equal to 9%. Patients were also stratified by frequency of MTM visits and insulin use, regardless of A1C. A chart review was conducted to evaluate diabetes-related outcomes pre- and postimplementation of MTM. The primary study outcome was reduction of A1C. Secondary outcomes included reduction of BP and LDL-C and reduction of A1C based on MTM visit frequency or insulin use. RESULTS: Sixty-four patients with at least 1 MTM visit and pre- and postimplementation A1C data were included. In the cohort with A1C greater than or equal to 9%, mean (SD) A1C values decreased from 10.9% (1.4%) to 8.8% (1.5%) versus the cohort with A1C less than 9%, whose A1C changed minimally, from 7.2% (0.9%) to 7.4% (1.4%). Regardless of their A1C, patients who were using insulin at baseline had a change in A1C of -0.8% (1.5%) versus -0.1% (1.6%) in those who were not using insulin at baseline (p = 0.04); patients who participated in multiple MTM visits had a significant reduction in A1C, from 9% to 8.3% (95% CI -1.26 to -0.03; p = 0.02) compared with patients participating in only 1 MTM visit. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacist-provided MTM can significantly improve diabetes control in uninsured, primarily Hispanic patients with poorly controlled diabetes and in those who are using insulin. Multiple MTM visits also yielded significant A1C reductions.