Pharmacist immunization services evolving for multiple-dose series

The Report of the 2018-2019 Professional Affairs Standing Committee: The Role of Educators in Pharmacy Practice Transformation

The 2018-2019 Professional Affairs Committee examined the potential roles and needs of clinical educators (faculty and preceptors) in leading transformation in pharmacy practice. The committee was charged to (1) discuss the potential roles and responsibilities of faculty and preceptors leading transformation and enhanced patient care services in pharmacy practice; (2) describe factors, including clinician well-being and resilience, which may influence faculty and preceptor involvement in practice transformation and the enhancement of patient care services; and (3) recommend how the efforts and successes of faculty and preceptors involved in pharmacy practice transformation can be replicated and recognized as well as identify the types of continuing professional development (CPD) that should be available to enable the influence and implementation of patient care services. This report provides a framework for addressing the committee charges by examining the roles of advocacy, collaboration, continuing professional development, and clinician resilience and well-being. The committee provides a revision to a current AACP policy regarding continuing professional development as well as several recommendations to AACP and suggestions to colleges and schools of pharmacy pertaining to the committee charges.

Remunerated patient care services and injections by pharmacists: An international update

Objectives

Recognizing pharmacists' increasing roles as primary care providers, programs offering remuneration for patient care services and the administration of injections by pharmacists continue to be implemented. The objective of this article is to provide an update on remuneration programs available to pharmacists internationally for nondispensing services.

Data sources

Systematic searches for relevant articles published from January 2013 to February 2018 across PubMed (MEDLINE), Embase, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Cochrane Library, Econlit, Scopus and Web of Science. Gray literature searches, including targeted searches of websites of payers and pharmacy associations, were also performed.

Study selection

Programs were included if they were newly introduced or had changes to patient eligibility criteria and fees since previously published reviews and if they were established programs offered by third-party payers for activities separate from dispensing.

Data extraction

Descriptive information on each program was extracted, including the program's jurisdiction (country and state, provincial or regional level, as applicable), payer, service description, patient eligibility criteria and fee structure.

Results

Over the 5-year period studied, 95 new programs for noninjection patient care services and 37 programs for pharmacist-administered injections were introduced. Large ranges in fees offered for similar programs were observed across programs, even within the same country or region, at an average of $US 71 for an initial medication review, $19 for follow-ups to these reviews, $18 for prescription adaptations and $13 for injection administration. Apart from some smoking cessation programs in England, which offered incentive payments for successful quits, all services were remunerated on a fee-for-service basis, often in the form of a flat fee regardless of the time spent providing the service.

Conclusion

Although funding for pharmacists' activities continues to show growth, concerns identified in previous reviews persist, including the great variability in remunerated activities, patient eligibility and fees. These issues may limit opportunities for multijurisdictional program and service outcome evaluation. Can Pharm J (Ott) 2019;152:xx-xx.

Remunerated patient care services and injections by pharmacists: An international update

OBJECTIVES

Recognizing pharmacists' increasing roles as primary care providers, programs offering remuneration for patient care services, and the administration of injections by pharmacists continue to be implemented. The objective of this article is to provide an update on remuneration programs available to pharmacists internationally for nondispensing services.

DATA SOURCES

Systematic searches for relevant articles published from January 2013 to February 2018 across Pubmed (Medline), Embase, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Cochrane Library, Econlit, Scopus, and Web of Science. Gray literature searches, including targeted searches of websites of payers and pharmacy associations, were also performed.

STUDY SELECTION

Programs were included if they were newly introduced or had changes to patient eligibility criteria and fees since previously published reviews and if they were established programs offered by third-party payers for activities separate from dispensing.

DATA EXTRACTION

Descriptive information on each program was extracted, including the program's jurisdiction (country and state, provincial, or regional level, as applicable), payer, service description, patient eligibility criteria, and fee structure.

RESULTS

Over the 5-year period studied, 95 new programs for noninjection patient care services and 37 programs for pharmacist-administered injections were introduced. Large ranges in fees offered for similar programs were observed across programs, even within the same country or region, at an average of $US 71 for an initial medication review, $19 for follow-ups to these reviews, $18 for prescription adaptations, and $13 for injection administration. Apart from some smoking cessation programs in England, which offered incentive payments for successful quits, all services were remunerated on a fee-for-service basis, often in the form of a flat fee regardless of the time spent providing the service.

CONCLUSION

Although funding for pharmacists' activities continues to show growth, concerns identified in previous reviews persist, including the great variability in remunerated activities, patient eligibility, and fees. These issues may limit opportunities for multijurisdictional program and service outcome evaluation.