The patient pathway in cardiovascular care: A position paper from the International Pharmacists for Anticoagulation Care Taskforce (iPACT)

Empowering pharmacists working in primary care through a cardiovascular disease clinical management course: Impact on practice

INTRODUCTION

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is currently the leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. A competent healthcare workforce working in primary care delivering disease management services efficiently is the cornerstone of well performing health systems, impacting patient outcomes positively. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a training course to support pharmacists working in General Practitioner (GP) practices; and to evaluate its impact on practice.

METHODS

A before and after evaluation model was employed to assess the effectiveness of training resorting to a survey exploring self-confidence and knowledge on clinical management of three CVD topics: Atrial Fibrillation (AF), Hypertension and hyperlipidaemia. Before and after training data (immediate and retained after 6 months) were analysed at the Primary Care Network (PCN) and GP Practice level of the pharmacists who took part in the training sessions. Data were analysed in IBM SPSS v.29 resorting to paired samples t-test and Cohen's d for estimation of the effect size. Independent samples t-tests were performed for a sample group of PCNs and GP practices with and without training (comparator group).

RESULTS

An improvement with large effect size was observed in pharmacists' self-confidence and knowledge related to the hypertension topic, suggesting potential practical benefit. For the topics of AF and hyperlipidaemia, pharmacists' confidence also increased with a large effect size, but for knowledge, the effect size of the increase was medium or small. Data suggests that pharmacists' practice has improved in both groups after 6 months, which suggests that it was not a sole result of the training.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provide evidence that the course improved pharmacists' knowledge and self-confidence, likely to contribute to performance in their clinical practice. Patients' clinical benefit is expected from pharmacists' improved capacity to effectively engage in medicines optimisation.

Improving patient pathways for systemic lupus erythematosus: a multistakeholder pathway optimisation study

Objective

Among the most significant challenges in SLE are the excessive diagnosis delay and the lack of coordinated care. The aim of the study was to investigate patient pathways in SLE in order to improve clinical and organisational challenges in the management of those with suspected and confirmed SLE.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study of patients with SLE, healthcare providers and other representative stakeholders. Focus groups were conducted, and based on the collected data the most impactful disruption points in SLE patient pathways were identified. A novel framework to improve individual patient pathways in SLE was developed, discussed and validated during a consensus meeting with representative stakeholders.

Results

Six thematic clusters regarding disruption in optimal patient pathways in SLE were identified: appropriate and timely referral strategy for SLE diagnosis; the need for a dedicated consultation during which the diagnosis of SLE would be announced, and following which clarifications and psychological support offered; individualised patient pathways with coordinated care based on organ involvement, disease severity and patient preference; improved therapeutic patient education; prevention of complications such as infections, osteoporosis and cancer; and additional patient support. During the consensus meeting, the broader panel of stakeholders achieved consensus on these attributes and a framework for optimising SLE patient pathways was developed.

Conclusions

We have identified significant disruption points and developed a novel conceptual framework to improve individual patient pathways in SLE. These data may be of valuable interest to patients with SLE, their physicians, health organisations as well as policy makers.

Development of clinical pharmacy programs integrated into patient care pathways using adverse event risks

BACKGROUND

In the strained actual economic context, all clinical pharmacy activities cannot be achieved for all patients of all care pathways. So finding a way to prioritize moments and patients needing those activities is essential. This is the challenge of the "5P project" (Patient personalized clinical pharmacy program integrated into care pathway).

OBJECTIVE

To present adverse event (AE) risk management approach applied to develop clinical pharmacy programs integrated into care pathway, using two methods.

METHOD

Used as a priori AE risk management approach, the Delphi method and inductive approach analysis of semi-directed interviews were realized from April 1st to October 3rd^, 2019, respectively in orthogeriatric (OG) and pediatric kidney transplantation (PKT) care pathways. Complementarily to bibliographic research, participants were medical and paramedical healthcare providers involved in the concerned care pathway. They have been interrogated regarding AE risks to identify the clinical pharmacy activities required, the patients who need them, and the appropriate steps of the care pathway.

RESULTS

The Delphi method for OG care pathway has revealed: 1/. Patients were prioritized by the presence of at least 2 among the following 4 criteria: age ≥90 years old, cardiovascular diseases, prescribed potentially inappropriate medication for elderly patients, obesity or diabetes; priority steps were the post-operative and rehabilitation care steps. 2/. Prescription reviews, medication reconciliation and targeted pharmaceutical informative interview about oral anticoagulants were required. Nine semi-directed interviews used for PKT care pathway has revealed: 1/. Clinical pharmacy activities were carried out for all patients. Priority steps were pre-transplantation, immediate post-operative, and post-transplantation. 2/. Prescription reviews and educative interviews were required.

CONCLUSIONS

The two presented methods can be used to both develop patient prioritization and targeting steps for clinical pharmacy activities, and integrate it into care pathway. Today, those two developed programs have been executed in our teaching hospital.

Auditing the scope of antithrombotic care in iPACT (International Pharmacists for Anticoagulation Care Taskforce) represented countries

Countries strive to find suitable solutions to offer health services to their populations. Pharmacist-led services are a possible solution to supplement the care offer with a clear advantage of proximity, with demonstrated expertise in medication use. This paper aims to audit the scope of antithrombotic care services available; and to describe the arrangements adopted for meeting the needs of the population. A multi-stage project involved the development of the list of services, generated during a face-to-face expert meeting; the definition of each service by literature search; and their clustering into three main groups (general, specific and support); resulting in an online audit of each service's availability, the settings where the service was available and the possible providers. The audit was distributed to a taskforce devoted to antithrombotic care representing 22 countries, with response obtained for all. Most reported general services were Transfer of care and Comprehensive Medication Review. Among specific services, Point-of-care testing for INR and renal function and Patient Education on antithrombotic care (antiplatelets and anticoagulants) were the most frequent. Interprofessional Education as a support service was very common, but the use of the Choosing Wisely initiative to inform evidence-based decisions was still limited. There was wide diversity found in arrangements for the provision of services to support patients taking antithrombotic medication, albeit specific services were reported in over half the surveyed countries.