Teaching quality improvement concepts to pharmacy students using the Evidence-based Practice for Improving Quality (EPIQ) workshop.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Despite the benefits of quality improvement (QI) training, there is a scarcity of information on QI teaching formats for undergraduate pharmacy education. The Evidence-based Practice for Improving Quality (EPIQ) workshop was evaluated as a teaching format for a group of multi-year undergraduate pharmacy students, assessing knowledge acquisition and learner reactions. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Using a convergent mixed-method analysis, 10-item pre- and post-workshop multiple-choice questionnaires measured students' knowledge acquisition of foundational QI concepts. A six-item pre- and post-workshop survey and a voluntary post-workshop focus group evaluated students' attitudes towards QI training and the teaching format. Mann-Whitney U non-parametric test was used to analyze the quantitative data, while thematic analysis was applied to analyze the qualitative data. FINDINGS: Twenty-nine pharmacy students participated in the workshop. There was a statistically significant improvement in pharmacy students' QI knowledge before and after participating in the workshop (77% vs. 86%, P = .008). The evaluation of the EPIQ teaching format resulted in three important findings: (1) undergraduate pharmacy students identified a QI learning need; (2) the EPIQ workshop effectively provided foundational QI literacy for all pharmacy student years using a "learning by sharing" methodology and pharmacy-specific case studies; and (3) interested students may benefit from an experiential elective to apply QI techniques. SUMMARY: The perceived value of QI training for pharmacy students using the EPIQ workshop was demonstrated: students expressed an interest in lifelong learning and a desire to pursue QI projects at school, during a clinical rotation, or at work.

Dataset on cost-analysis of medication deprescribing scenarios for older adult coverage under public drug benefit programs in Canada.

The dataset covers the equations and procedure used for the estimation of an older adult's total annual medication costs, across Canadian provinces and territories; detailed to report pharmacy margin, government share, and patient share. We presented a case of an older adult using 10 different medications commonly used, according to Canadian Institute for Health Information. Eight different deprescribing scenarios were created, based on recommendations from Beers Criteria and the Canadian Deprescribing Network, for the purpose of comparing the cost difference before and after each intervention on pharmacies, patients, and governments. Scenarios included: (1) Stopping an over the counter medication; (2) Discontinuation of a medication; (3) Slow taper of a potentially inappropriate medication; (4) Rapid taper of a potentially inappropriate medication; (5) Switching to safer medication; (6) Dose reduction; (7) Switching to a lower cost medication; (8) Changing from combination to a single medication. The data presented are related to the article entitled "Financial advantage or barrier when deprescribing for seniors: A case based analysis" [1].

Financial advantage or barrier when deprescribing for seniors: A 'case based' analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Deprescribing has several barriers, including financial implications; the purpose of this study is to determine the financial impact of deprescribing on the pharmacy, public payer (government), and the patient, across Canadian provinces and territories. METHODS: A case was developed to reflect a typical senior in Canada. Eight different deprescribing scenarios were studied financially before and after each intervention. Detailed drug costs were obtained from the government plans covered in each province or territory, and were used to calculate the annual average pharmacy margin and total government and patient share. RESULTS: Before deprescribing, the patient share for the regimen ranged between $1511.47 (Quebec) and $4342.75 (British Columbia) per year. The scenario with the greatest cost saving to the patient and greatest loss to the pharmacy was switching to a lower cost medication from liraglutide to prefilled detemir, with highest savings in patient share of $3699.95 and highest loss in pharmacy margin of $473.84 in Alberta. CONCLUSION: There is a range in costs and coverage for medications across Canada. The scenarios demonstrated a small impact on the pharmacy's gross margin, in some cases a significant financial impact on patient costs, but minimal impact to government. Deprescribing initiatives and policies should include financial considerations for pharmacies and patients.