Envisioning the Near Future of Community Pharmacy Patient Care Practice: Report of the 2023-2024 AACP Professional Affairs Standing Committee.

The 2023-2024 Professional Affairs Committee was charged to (1) Create an action plan in response to the clear urgent need for transformation of community pharmacy practice; and (2) Develop "readiness for change" instrument that addresses multiple pharmacy stakeholder groups that are based on the ACT "community pharmacy enhanced services" definition. Due to the continuous and rapid-paced changes occurring in community pharmacy practice, the committee developed a document that provides the baseline elements that should be considered for community pharmacy practice currently and into the future. This document, Envisioning the Near Future of Community Pharmacy Patient Care Practice: Key Elements of Practice Redesign in Community Pharmacies, contains 8 sections and is recommended to be socialized within the pharmacy profession to ensure that it resonates with current and future community pharmacy practice.

Impact of updated hypertension guideline on eligibility for an employee wellness program.

Background: Pharmacists reduce overall healthcare spending in employee wellness programs (EWP). Employers implementing disease state management in an EWP must define the eligibility criteria. Clinical practice guidelines establish diagnostic criteria; therefore, updated guidelines have the potential to change the number of eligible beneficiaries in an EWP.

Evaluation of a Diabetes Coaching Program on Clinical Outcomes in a Self-Insured Grocery Chain.

Diabetes is among the most prevalent and costly disease states to treat. Many self-insured employers offer employee wellness programs to decrease healthcare expenditures for chronic illnesses, such as diabetes. Existing literature demonstrates that pharmacists can positively impact treatment of patients with diabetes and assist in lowering costs of care, but no current literature examines pharmacist intervention within an employee wellness program over a prolonged period of time.

Evaluating pediatric weight-based antibiotic dosing in a community pharmacy.

Background: Owing to pharmacokinetic variations in pediatric patients, many antibiotics require weight-based dosing to ensure medication safety and antimicrobial stewardship. Despite the need for weight-based dosing, prescribers are not legally required to include the weight or diagnosis code on pediatric prescriptions that are necessary components to verify appropriateness. Clinical decision support system (CDSS) can help clinicians improve dosing appropriateness, but little is known about CDSS in a community pharmacy setting.

Implementation of a self-measured blood pressure program in a community pharmacy: A pilot study.

Background: Hypertension is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease in the United States and is costing the health care system billions of dollars annually. A health program that combines education, empowerment, and monitoring has shown to improve clinical outcomes and decrease overall health care costs.

Objective: To describe the implementation and effectiveness of a self-measured blood pressure (SMBP) program in a community pharmacy.

Community Pharmacist Telephonic Medication Reviews with Uncontrolled Asthma Patients: A Pilot Study.

This study reports the process of telephonic medication reviews conducted by community pharmacists for patients with asthma. The study occurred at an independent community chain in association with a Missouri Medicaid consulting group. Participants were identified utilizing claims data and met the National Quality Forum criteria for uncontrolled moderate-to-severe persistent asthma.

Quantification of admission diagnoses in an employer-based transitions of care program.

Background: Transitions of care (TOC) are critical times for patients, and if not conducted effectively, can lead to adverse events, preventable treatment, and costly readmissions. TOC programs are implemented to improve patient care, prevent hospital readmissions, and lower financial penalties associated with readmissions. Medicare's hospital readmission reduction program (HRRP), a value-based care model, targets specific conditions and procedures.

Community Pharmacist-Provided Wellness and Monitoring Services in an Employee Wellness Program: A Four-Year Summary.

To assess the clinical outcomes of participants of an employee wellness program during four years of service implementation. A prospective cohort study was conducted at 15 independent community pharmacy chain locations in northwest and central Missouri. A total of 200 participants were enrolled in an employee wellness program, and the program included five monitoring groups-cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose, weight, and healthy participant groups.

Impact of community pharmacist-performed post-discharge medication reviews in transitions of care.

Objectives: To describe a community pharmacist-led transitions of care process for patients discharged from the inpatient to the outpatient setting.

Setting: Independent community pharmacy chain in northwestern and central Missouri and a rural nonprofit hospital in Marshall, Missouri.

Practice Description And Innovation: This innovative transitions of care service model relies on the inpatient pharmacy team for recruitment and referral of patients who use Red Cross Pharmacy.

Community pharmacy transition of care services and rural hospital readmissions: A case study.

Objectives: To explore community pharmacist involvement in the transition of care (TOC) process for patients discharged with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure (HF), pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or elective total hip or knee arthroplasty (THA/TKA).

Setting: Patients discharged from a 60-bed acute care hospital located in rural Missouri were seen by a community pharmacist in 2 independent community pharmacy locations.

Practice Innovation: Patients admitted with 1 of the 5 qualifying conditions and identifying the participating pharmacy as their primary pharmacy spoke with a community pharmacist within 72 hours of discharge to complete a comprehensive medication review.

Physicians' Preferences for Communication of Pharmacist-Provided Medication Therapy Management in Community Pharmacy.

Objectives: (1) To identify physicians' preferences in regard to pharmacist-provided medication therapy management (MTM) communication in the community pharmacy setting; (2) to identify physicians' perceived barriers to communicating with a pharmacist regarding MTM; and (3) to determine whether Missouri physicians feel MTM is beneficial for their patients.

Methods: A cross-sectional prospective survey study of 2021 family and general practice physicians registered with MO HealthNet, Missouri's Medicaid program.

Results: The majority (52.