Providing clinical pharmacy services in an AIDS--oncology ambulatory-care clinic

The activities of a pharmacist in an ambulatory-care AIDS-oncology clinic are described. In December 1984, the chief of the AIDS Activities Division of San Francisco General Hospital's Department of Medicine hired a clinical pharmacist to develop the pharmacokinetics sections of investigational drug protocols, provide drug therapy consultations, and supervise the reorganization of the drug storage and inventory system. Since joining the clinic staff, the pharmacist has become active in a variety of clinical, research, and educational activities. The pharmacist conducts weekly medication refill clinics and developed drug information sheets for clinic patients and health-care professionals. The pharmacist also supervises timely collection of blood samples for serum drug concentration determinations and helps to prepare the investigational drugs for dispensing. The pharmacist developed policies and procedures for the safe handling of antineoplastic agents and standardized the accountability procedures for investigational drugs. The pharmacist also serves as a liaison between the clinic and the hospital's department of pharmacy and as a preceptor of pharmacy students and residents. A clinical pharmacist can make an important contribution to the research and patient-care activities in an AIDS-oncology clinic.     

Current trends in outpatient pharmacy services and billing

ObjectivesTo provide a summary of community and ambulatory pharmacy practices and billing patterns for medication therapy management (MTM) services and to identify reasons pharmacists report not billing for direct patient care services.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingUnited States, February 2011.ParticipantsMembers of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Ambulatory Care Practice and Research Network, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Ambulatory and Chronic Care Practitioners, and American Pharmacists Association MTM e-community.InterventionOnline survey.Main outcome measuresPractice setting, pharmacy services performed, billing technique, and payer, as well as reasons for not billing.ResultsMTM services were provided by 287 pharmacists. The most common practice settings included physician office (23.6%), health-system outpatient facility (21.7%), and community pharmacy (20.2%). A total of 149 of 276 pharmacists (54.0%) reported billing for MTM services; 16 of 276 (5.8%) did not know if they were currently billing. Community pharmacists were more likely to bill than all other sites combined (80.5% vs. 53.1%, P < 0.001), and pharmacists with >75% of visits face-to-face were more likely to bill (66.2% vs. 46.6%, P < 0.002).ConclusionA variety of MTM services are provided in outpatient settings with inconsistent billing techniques and reimbursement. Pharmacists should continue to work toward consistent, sustainable reimbursement to expand MTM services.     

我院门诊药房窗口服务中存在的问题及分析

目的:查找目前工作中存在的问题,进行针对性改进,以提高服务质量。方法:向患者随机发放调查问卷,请患者参与评定,提出意见。对2008-2009年患者提出异议的事件进行总结和分析。结果:患者对我院门诊药房窗口服务满意度较高,但仍存在需要及时解决的问题。结论:门诊药房应优化取药流程,树立"以患者为中心"的服务理念,加强对药学人员的专业素质和个人素质的培养,进一步提高药房窗口的服务质量。     

Evaluating outpatient pharmacy services: a literature review of specialist heart failure services

Objective To identify appropriate methods to evaluate a specialist pharmacy service for heart failure patients in an ambulatory care setting. Method An extensive literature review was undertaken to identify the published data on evaluative studies of specialist pharmacy services, including those directed at heart failure patients in an ambulatory care model of service provision. Key findings Six studies were identified evaluating outpatient pharmacy services for heart failure. The pharmacy services provided in these settings were not well defined. The impact of the pharmacist was compared to ‘usual care’, that is care delivered without a pharmacist, by either a prospective randomised controlled trial (RCT), or before and after studies. In most cases the service was delivered by one pharmacist at one site. Services were primarily targeted at patients and focused on medication and lifestyle education, adverse drug reaction monitoring, and compliance/adherence. In all studies, there was a trend for improvement in the outcomes measured. Different study endpoints were examined, including process indicators such as compliance and outcome measures such as morbidity (clinical), quality of life (humanistic), and hospital admissions (economic). The ideal evaluative study would be an adequately powered, prospective, randomised controlled trial, comparing the effect of the pharmacist service to usual care (without the specified pharmacy service). Appropriate study endpoints including process indicators and outcome measures are needed. Identification of specific components and the extent of the service that would provide the most benefit to selected patient groups would be of interest. Conclusions Specialist ambulatory care pharmacy services have not been well defined or evaluated in the literature. Limited randomised controlled data exist.     

Clinical and economic effects of pharmacy services in geriatric ambulatory clinic

Pharmacy services were introduced in an established multidisciplinary geriatric ambulatory clinic. The pharmacist collaborated with primary care providers to optimize patients' drug regimens. Over 8 months there were 250 patient visits to the clinic. Traditional medical care was provided at 144 (57.6%) of these visits and traditional medical care plus pharmacist evaluation was provided at 106 (42.4%). The pharmacist identified 220 potential and actual drug-related problems. Acceptance of pharmacist-recommended changes in drug therapy was 98.6%. A mean reduction of 3.4 agents/patient was achieved in the intervention group (p<0.0001). Clinical outcomes of changes in drug therapy were neutral or positive in 99.5% of cases. Pharmacy services resulted in net savings of $7,788 annually.     

门诊小儿呼吸道感染患者的药学服务分析

目的:分析门诊小儿呼吸道感染患者的药学服务.方法:资料选取我院2013年1月～2015年12月收治的160例门诊呼吸道感染患儿予以回顾性分析,观察并对比药物使用情况、抗菌药用药频度及药物利用指数.结果:本组患儿药物使用率为94.38％(151/160),显著高于卫生部规定的药品使用率控制在60％以下标准;本组患儿采用的抗菌药物共25种,主要为头孢菌素类与青霉素类;联合应用抗菌药物需存在明确指征,单一使用药物可治疗感染无需联合用药,联合用药需至少予以联合2种药物,≥3种药物联合只适用个别情况,本组患儿抗生素应用主要为单联与二联用药;小儿无专门药理代谢实验,通常药物使用剂量参照成年人使用,并根据体质量确定药物使用剂量;DDDs排序列前10位药物及DUI值.结论:门诊小儿呼吸道感染行抗菌药物治疗率较高,医院应加强小儿呼吸道感染使用抗菌药物的规范管理,最大限度提高治疗效果.     

Outcomes from an outpatient smoking-cessation clinic

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To determine the success of an outpatient smoking-cessation clinic by assessing smoking abstinence rates and factors associated with lower abstinence rates. We also sought to determine whether smoking abstinence rates differed among various smoking-cessation products. METHODS: Patients were referred by primary care providers to a pharmacist-managed smoking-cessation clinic. Patients received tailored behavioral counseling, educational materials, and drug therapy consisting of sustained-release (SR) bupropion; nicotine patch, inhaler, or nasal spray; or combination therapy. Patients were monitored by phone or clinic visit for 6 months, if possible. Outcomes assessed were abstinence (both point prevalence and continuous abstinence) and adverse effects. Patients lost to follow-up were assumed to be smoking. RESULTS: Over 2 years, 198 patients were enrolled in the program. At the initial visit, 35.4% received the patch, 32.8% bupropion SR, 18.2% a combination of patch plus inhaler, 9.6% inhaler alone, and fewer than 5% other therapies. At 6 weeks, a statistically significant difference was observed in continuous abstinence rates between the nicotine patch versus bupropion SR groups (22.9% vs 7.7%, p=0.02) and between the combination patch-inhaler versus bupropion SR groups (25% vs 7.7%, p=0.02). However, this difference was not significant beyond the 6-week visit. A trend toward higher abstinence rates was noted at 6 weeks in the nicotine patch-inhaler versus the other treatment groups, possibly suggesting the need for more intense treatment regimens with combination therapy. Point prevalence abstinence rates after 12 weeks were 18.6%, 15.4%, 22.2% and 21.1% respectively, for the patch, bupropion SR, patchinhaler, and inhaler alone treatment groups. The corresponding continuous abstinence rates were 10.0%, 3.1%, 11.1%, and 10.5%. CONCLUSION: Although statistically significant differences between products were noted at 6 weeks, no sustained difference in smoking abstinence rates was observed between products. At 6 months, point prevalence and continuous abstinence rates were small, but the decline in success noted over time and the limited overall success rates are consistent with rates for the United States. Our findings suggest that when smokers are assisted in quitting, initial contact as well as follow-up evaluation and monitoring must be intense and sustained to increase the likelihood of successful abstinence. Tobacco dependence is clearly a chronic condition warranting repeated treatment and monitoring until continuous abstinence is achieved.