Implementation of a North Dakota opioid misuse and overdose prevention program in West Virginia.

Background: Pharmacy has an important role in combating the opioid epidemic. However, there is a need for more consistency of programs and evidence-based practices across the country.

Objectives: To describe how an evidence-based opioid misuse and overdose prevention program that originated in North Dakota was implemented in West Virginia and to compare program results between the two states including pharmacist interventions and patient screening for opioid misuse and overdose.

Virtual self-care simulations for third-year pharmacy skills laboratory courses in three institutions.

Background And Purpose: This study was designed to determine whether a virtual, self-care activity improved knowledge and confidence in third-year student pharmacists.

Educational Activity And Setting: Third-year student pharmacists (n = 386) from three institutions participated in the virtual self-care simulation during their respective practice laboratory course. A pre- and post-assessment collected 10 knowledge and five confidence questions, self-reported on 0-100 scale, mapped to learning outcomes and pharmacy standards.

A comparison of in-person vs. asynchronous learning with self-care patient cases.

Background And Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of a live laboratory setting compared to an asynchronous session in a crossover teaching design on knowledge and confidence in self-care review topics.

Educational Activity And Setting: Pharmacy students (n = 88) participated in a crossover designed laboratory session where they either attended a live, active-learning laboratory session on self-care review topics, followed by a virtual, asynchronous self-care simulation or vice versa. Sessions were held one week apart.

Implementation of a Pharmacy Follow-Up Program for Dispensed Opioid Medications.

Background: There have been multiple reported pharmacy initiatives to reduce opioid misuse and accidental overdose to address our nation's public health crisis. To date, there has not been a description in the literature of a community pharmacy follow-up initiative for dispensed opioids.

Methods: A follow-up program was designed and implemented in community pharmacies as part of a previously developed opioid overdose and misuse prevention program (ONE Program).

Teaching Independent Decision-Making Through a Computer-Based Drug Utilization Review Simulation.

Drug utilization review (DUR) skills are important for pharmacists across all settings. Computer-based DUR simulations to teach student pharmacists are currently scarce. This article describes a computer-based DUR simulation that required limited faculty and financial resources and was implemented in collaboration among 3 institutions.

Impact of an Emergency Department Simulation on Pharmacy Students' Interprofessional Team Skills and Attitudes.

To evaluate the impact of an emergency department simulation on pharmacy students' interprofessional team skills and attitudes as measured by a novel mixed methods approach. A simulated emergency department encounter was executed by interprofessional teams consisting of pharmacy and medical students. Two rounds of the same encounter were separated by a short debriefing session facilitated by pharmacy and medical faculty.

A Longitudinal Comparison of Pharmacy Documentation Platforms Using the Technology Acceptance Model: Experiences With Opioid Risk Screening.

Pharmacy practice continues to expand in scope, and technology platforms to assist with meeting the standards for documentation of billable services are needed. The ONE Program (Opioid and Naloxone Education) is an initiative centered on the community pharmacy focused on opioid risk screening for patients receiving opioid prescriptions. Opioid risk screening results and pharmacist interventions were documented using first REDCap and later the DocStation platforms.

Hello Operator? A Pharmacy Practice Simulation to Increase Student Confidence in Telephone Communication Skills.

Communicating interprofessionally using the telephone is an essential skill within pharmacy practice. Student pharmacists' ability to perform this task effectively and efficiently may be hindered by generational changes, social anxiety, and very few opportunities to practice these skills. The purpose of this study was to develop and implement a simulation allowing students to practice interprofessional communication and assess the simulation's impact on students' confidence in providing pharmacy-related interventions to another health care professional via telephone.

Nurse delivered medication safety screening program for home care visits.

Home care clients have safety barriers related to medication storage, disposal, and safe use of opioids. Limited research is available regarding medication safety initiatives in the home care setting. This study evaluates a medication safety initiative, linked with opioid misuse and overdose prevention screening, for home care clients with different levels of service.

Opioid risk stratification in the community pharmacy: The utility of the Opioid Risk Tool.

Objective: The objective for this paper is to report on the utility of the Opioid Risk Tool (ORT) to identify patients at elevated risk for opioid misuse and deliver medication safety-related services to them. Patient characteristics based on ORT risk stratification are also described.

Methods: Data from patients screened from September 17, 2018 to May 12, 2021 were descriptively evaluated for distribution of ORT scores, characteristics of patients stratified by ORT score, and services delivered to patients based on ORT score.

Evaluation of a Program to Screen Patients in Community Pharmacies for Opioid Misuse and Accidental Overdose.

Introduction: Community pharmacies nationwide have adopted new strategies to combat the opioid epidemic. One strategy to prevent opioid misuse and accidental overdose is patient screening to identify those at risk. The purpose of our study was to determine whether such screening in community pharmacies led pharmacy personnel to intervene with patients at risk and to describe the proportion of patients they identified as at risk.

Availability of buprenorphine/naloxone films and naloxone nasal spray in community pharmacies in 11 U.S. states.

Background: Prompt access to prescribed buprenorphine/naloxone films (BUP/NX) and naloxone nasal spray (NNS) is vital for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD), but multiple studies have documented pharmacy-level barriers.

Methods: A cross-sectional secret shopper telephone audit was conducted in a sample of 5734 actively licensed pharmacies in 11 U.S.

Improving Community Pharmacist-Delivered Care for Patients With Psychiatric Disorders Filling an Opioid Prescription.

Pharmacists tend to provide care to patients with psychiatric disorders less frequently than to other types of patients, yet patients with psychiatric disorders experience more drug-related problems and use more opioids than those without psychiatric disorders. The Opioid and Naloxone Education (ONE) program equipped pharmacists to screen for opioid misuse and overdose risk and to implement a set of interventions for any patient filling an opioid prescription. Patients with a psychiatric disorder (N=1,980; 24.

Longitudinal evaluation of pharmacists' social distance preference and attitudes toward patients with opioid misuse following an educational training program.

Pharmacist stigma via examination of social distance preference and negative attitudes toward persons who misuse opioids is prevalent and may lower the quality of care provided to patients. Few studies have previously extended beyond the immediate post-intervention period to examine stigma change. This longitudinal cohort study utilized a pre-survey administered before the training program, a post-survey immediately upon completion of the training program, and a delayed post-survey, administered 12 months after the training program.

Design and Implementation of Tech-Check-Tech Programs in North Dakota Pharmacies.

Tech-check-tech (TCT) programs in pharmacies are beneficial in facilitating a transition from fee for service dispensing tasks to advanced patient care, but they are underutilized. To describe the design, implementation, and evaluation of a transferable TCT program in several North Dakota pharmacies, with the goal of facilitating future efforts in other states. We developed a universal TCT implementation toolkit, recruited 6 pharmacies to implement it, developed an educational program for the pharmacies, and worked with the pharmacies over a year to assess success of the program.

The Safety Showdown: Perceptions and Practice Change of Inpatient Caregivers After a Patient Safety Escape Room.

Educational escape rooms actively engage learners and foster teamwork. It is unclear if they result in nursing practice change. Three hundred ninety-eight nursing and ancillary caregivers participated in an escape room involving patient safety and fall prevention concepts.

An Introductory Over-the-Counter Simulation for First-Year Pharmacy Students Using a Virtual Pharmacy.

First-year pharmacy students at two institutions were required to complete a virtual over-the-counter (OTC) simulation during their community pharmacy practice skills laboratory course. The simulation was designed to introduce first-year pharmacy students to OTC product selection and consultation prior to didactic coursework and community introductory pharmacy practice experiences. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of the OTC simulation on students' knowledge and confidence of OTC medications and overall perceptions of the activity.

Opioid risk screening: Program evaluation from the community pharmacists' perspective.

Background: Pharmacist-implemented screening programs can be improved through continuous program evaluation. Pharmacists are in a position to determine whether interventions are realistic and efficacious when used in practice.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate how community pharmacists perceive the use of an opioid risk screening for patients receiving opioid prescriptions and the associated implications for improved patient-centered care.

Insurance Adjudication Simulation Across Multiple Institutions and Levels of Learners.

A virtual educational innovation was designed and implemented to have student pharmacists simulate insurance processing. This article describes the impact of this third-party payer simulation on student knowledge and confidence and reports student perceptions of the activity. First-, second-, and third-year pharmacy students (P1, P2, and P3 students, respectively) at four institutions completed the self-paced simulation.

Simulation Design, Findings, and Call to Action for Managing Difficult Patient Encounters.

To implement and evaluate a laboratory simulation for teaching difficult patient encounter skills to pharmacy students to improve their self-assessed communication abilities and skills in the affective domain. Twelve simulation scenarios that represented difficult patient encounters in a variety of practice settings were developed. All students completed a self-assessment of their ability to communicate during difficult patient encounters before and after the simulations, and wrote a guided reflection afterward.

Examining Attitudes and Beliefs that Inhibit Pharmacist Implementation of a Statewide Opioid Harm Reduction Program.

Background: A statewide opioid risk screening program was introduced to pharmacists to provide them with resources to screen patients who are prescribed an opioid medication. Using opioid risk screening equips pharmacists to deliver education and patient-centered interventions for opioid harm reduction. Nearly 50% of pharmacists that enrolled their pharmacy to participate in this program did not actively implement the program to patients.

Pharmacists' stigma toward patients engaged in opioid misuse: When "social distance" does not mean disease prevention.

Health professionals may stigmatize and prefer social distance from patients with opioid misuse, leading to poorer quality of care provided. The degree to which pharmacists prefer social distance from patients with opioid misuse and opioid use disorder (OUD) is not known. : Pharmacists ( = 187) completed a survey comprised of demographics, attitudinal, and Social Distance Scale (SDS) questions based on a vignette patient who displayed opioid misuse.

Opioid Misuse and Overdose: Changes in Pharmacist Practices and Outcomes.

Background: Continuing education (CE) provides educational opportunities for health professionals to adequately respond to issues in practice but infrequently evaluate sustained practice change. The opioid epidemic has risen to the forefront of health priorities in our nation. The Opioid and Naloxone Education (ONE Rx) CE program provides pharmacists the opportunity to expand their abilities and impact in the opioid crisis.

Patient acceptance of naloxone resulting from targeted intervention from community pharmacists to prevent opioid misuse and accidental overdose.

Community pharmacists are in a unique position to prevent opioid-related deaths through the provision of naloxone. However, for those identified as candidates for take-home naloxone, the acceptance rate remains low. Value would be gained from knowing what patient demographics and pharmacist actions are associated with increased patient acceptance of naloxone.

Soft skills and implications for future professional practice: Qualitative findings of a nursing education escape room.

Background: Educational escape rooms have been shown to improve student content knowledge; however, research about other skills developed during escape rooms is lacking.

Objectives: To explore baccalaureate nursing students' perceptions of a cardiovascular-themed educational escape room. During the data analysis, researchers uncovered unique findings related to participant soft skill development and implications for participant future professional practice.