A pharmacist's contribution within a patient-centered medical home.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of a pharmacist embedded in a primary care physician (PCP) group practice to assist in achieving patient-centered medical home (PCMH) accreditation by increasing chronic care measures through the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) or angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) medications in patients with concomitant diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN).

Setting: PCP practice in Pittsburgh, PA.

Practice Description: 16 decentralized PCPs linked by electronic health record system.

A Pharmacist's Impact on 30-Day Readmission Rates When Compared to the Current Standard of Care Within a Patient-Centered Medical Home: A Pilot Study.

Objective: To evaluate the effect transition of care follow-up and counseling performed by a pharmacist, within a physician's practice, can have on 30-day hospital readmissions among Medicare patients when compared to the current standard of care

Methods: A pharmacist telephonically contacted patients ≥65 years with Medicare insurance following hospital discharge to perform medication reconciliation, review discharge instructions, and schedule a follow-up appointment (n = 34). At this follow-up appointment, the pharmacist reviewed the patient's electronic medical record (EMR) and communicated recommendations to the physician. The current standard of care, which does not involve a pharmacist, at a similar local physician practice was used as a comparative group (n = 45) RESULTS: The difference in 30-day readmission rates did not reach statistical significance (P = .