Observation of a Pharmacist-Conducted Group A Streptococcal Pharyngitis Point-of-Care Test: A Time and Motion Study.

Background: Acute pharyngitis is among the most common infectious diseases encountered in the United States, resulting in 13 million patient visits annually, with group A streptococcus (GAS) being a common causative pathogen. It is estimated that annual expenditures for the treatment of adult pharyngitis will exceed US$1.2 billion annually.

Utilization of influenza and streptococcal pharyngitis point-of-care testing in the community pharmacy practice setting.

Background: One way to reduce the complications and costs of influenza like illness and pharyngitis is to improve access to testing and treatment in early stages of infection. Pharmacy-based screening and treatment of group A streptococcus (GAS) infection and influenza has the potential to improve patient care and population health.

Objective: To improve patient care and population health, the objective of this retrospective study was to assess if a previously validated service model could be implemented by pharmacy chains without mandated standardization.

Community pharmacy-based point-of-care testing: A case study of pharmacist-physician collaborative working relationships.

Building collaborative working relationships (CWRs) with physicians or other prescribers is an important step for community pharmacists in establishing a collaborative practice agreement (CPA). This case study describes the individual, context, and exchange factors that drive pharmacist-physician CWR development for community pharmacy-based point-of-care (POC) testing. Two physicians who had entered in a CPA with community pharmacists to provide POC testing were surveyed and interviewed.

Community pharmacist-physician collaborative streptococcal pharyngitis management program.

Objectives: To describe patient outcomes associated with a community pharmacy-based, collaborative physician-pharmacist group A Streptococcus (GAS) management program.

Setting: Fifty-five chain and independent community pharmacies in Michigan, Minnesota, and Nebraska.

Practice Innovation: Pharmacists screened clinically stable adult patients who presented with signs and symptoms consistent with GAS pharyngitis from October 1, 2013, to August 1, 2014, by means of Centor criteria, and performed a physical assessment followed by a rapid antigen detection test (RADT) for eligible patients.

Effectiveness of a pharmacist-physician collaborative program to manage influenza-like illness.

Objectives: To examine the effectiveness of collaborative physician-community pharmacist programs to treat influenza-like illness (ILI) with respect to clinical outcomes and health care utilization.

Design: Prospective multicenter cohort study.

Setting: Fifty-five pharmacies in Michigan, Minnesota, and Nebraska.