|
Using Medication Pathfinder™ technology in a clinical practice setting to help document and manage poorly-controlled patients with diabetes (PWD) has proven a success, as indicated in program findings presented by faculty from the Duquesne University Mylan School of Pharmacy at the 2008 annual meeting of The American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP).
The study, designed to evaluate the impact of pharmacist consultative services on clinical health outcomes, showed that Medication Pathfinder “successfully was able to fulfill” a number of requirements including recording patient data to facilitate ongoing consultations; document encounters for the medical record and billing purposes; and receive data for report outcome measures.
The results of the study indicated that the clinical pharmacists were able to positively impact the aggregate A1C values of patients with diabetes referred by an urban family practice “to a significant degree.”
“We are honored to have played a part in this innovative study designed to measure the impact of pharmacist-managed medication therapy services in a practice-based setting,” explained James Notaro, president of Clinical Support Services, Inc., Medication Pathfinder’s parent company.
Hildegarde J. Berdine, Pharm.D. BCPS, Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Duquesne, co-authored the study and served as program coordinator. She was assisted by Holly Lassila, RPh., DrPH and advanced practice students from Duquesne’s School of Pharmacy.
“Dr. Berdine leads a dynamic team of clinical faculty and pharmacy students committed to helping evolve the practice-based pharmaceutical care model,” Notaro said. “This study helps forward the argument that chronic care outcomes can be improved by pharmacist intervention with the support of a robust medication therapy management technology.”
The program was designed to have pharmacists consult with diabetic patients referred by an urban family practice. Services were targeted to patients with A1C values above 7% who were “ready to make changes regarding healthy behaviors.”
Patients with diabetes who met with a pharmacist for a minimum of six months were included in the study. The interventions, which lasted 15 to 60 minutes, included discussions on diabetes self-management and medication management.
Using the web-based Medication Pathfinder technology, pharmacy students collected patient data, developed a pharmaceutical care plan, and wrote a SOAP note. The study’s data was reported and analyzed through the software registry database.
For more information about Medication Pathfinder, contact CSS at 716/541-0273 or rachelwozniak@csshealth.com..
|
