Team Communication on Tasks Performed in Blood Pressure Clinics in Community Pharmacies

Background: To successfully deliver pharmacy services, pharmacists and technicians need to work as a team and have effective communication. Objectives: To measure the amount of communication between community pharmacists and their technicians during monthly blood pressure (BP) clinics. Methods: Cross-sectional survey method was used to assess the amount of communication pharmacists and technicians had on each task. Study participants were pharmacist-technician pairs (teams) from 10 intervention community pharmacies in the Team Education and Adherence Monitoring (TEAM) trial. Each team provided services designed to improve BP among hypertensive African American patients. Thirteen specific tasks were identified as essential in providing monthly BP clinics, and they were being performed by either the pharmacist or technician. At the end of the trial, each pharmacist and technician were asked to report his/her perception of discussion levels that occurred for each task. The level of team communication was summarized for each task (task-specific) and for each team (team-specific). Results: For task-specific communication, 3 teams had communication regarding pharmacist tasks and 5 teams engaged in communication for technician tasks. More communication was reported for newly developed technician tasks in the BP clinic. For team-specific communication, 2 teams reported no communication on any task, and another 2 teams reported having communication on all the tasks. Overall, pharmacy teams showed different levels of communication in this study. Conclusion: The amounts of communication between pharmacists and technicians were found to vary for different tasks and teams. This suggests that the nature of tasks and the unique dynamics existing in each pharmacy team could influence pharmacist-technician communication.

Pharmacy Technicians Are People, Too! Let's Consider Their Personal Outcomes Along With Other Pharmacy Outcomes

Studies have found that expanded pharmacy technician roles can help "free up" pharmacist time, leading to role optimization. However, these studies and the positions taken by many are quite pharmacist-centric. We seem to have underestimated the importance of support staff in pharmacy operations. If research demonstrates that technicians can perform a function safely and effectively, that alone should compel the function's allowance in practice. Freeing up pharmacist time for higher-order care is a positive corollary to technician advancement, but it need not be a precondition for it.

Disparities in the Use of Immunization Services Among Underserved Minority Patient Populations and the Role of Pharmacy Technicians: A Review

Objective: To provide a review of the issues surrounding the lack of use of immunizations and immunization services among underserved minority patients and outline the role of pharmacy technicians in facilitating the utilization of vaccination services. Data Sources: Articles were identified through searches in May 2017 using MEDLINE/PubMed (1946-2017) with the following search terms: pharmacy technicians, immunizations, and pharmacy-based immunization services. Articles were also identified utilizing search terms such as "immunization disparities." Additionally, immunization data and vaccination resources from government websites such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of Health and Human Services were used. Study Selection and Data Extraction: Articles and reports that discuss the challenges and barriers associated with use of vaccinations in minority patient populations were considered for inclusion. Additionally, literature that report challenges in community pharmacy where pharmacy-based immunization services provide less vaccinations to minority patients compared to other patient populations were reviewed. Data Synthesis: Cross-sectional studies that provide insight into vaccine disparities were reviewed. Roles for pharmacy technicians are highlighted that include nurturing relationships with their patients and engaging patients about vaccines during service provision. Conclusions: Pharmacy personnel, including pharmacy technicians, are in a position to reduce barriers associated with disparities in the uptake of immunization services in the community pharmacy setting.