Impact of a pharmacist-physician collaborative care model on patient outcomes and health services utilization.

Purpose: The impact of a pharmacist-physician collaborative care model on patient outcomes and health services utilization is described.

Methods: Six hospitals from the Carilion Clinic health system in southwest Virginia, along with 22 patient-centered medical home (PCMH) practices affiliated with Carilion Clinic, participated in this project. Eligibility criteria included documented diagnosis of 2 or more of the 7 targeted chronic conditions (congestive heart failure, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and depression), prescriptions for 4 or more medications, and having a primary care physician in the Carilion Clinic health system.

The ADAPT online education program: A tool for practicing pharmacists delivering patient-centered care.

Objectives: The ADapting pharmacists' skills and Approaches to maximize Patient's drug Therapy effectiveness (ADAPT) e-learning program was developed by a consortium of Canadian pharmacy educators and researchers to prepare practicing pharmacists for patient-centered care. We selected this education program to provide training for pharmacists as the workforce transformation component of a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation project. In this report we share our experiences with this educational program.

Improving Health of At-Risk Rural Patients project: A collaborative care model.

Purpose: The design elements of the Improving Health of At-Risk Rural Patients (IHARP) care model are described.

Summary: The IHARP project evaluated the clinical, economic, and humanistic outcomes associated with the collaborative care model relative to usual care in the community. The care model was initiated in 22 level 3- certified patient-centered medical homes.

Writing DNA with GenoCAD.

Chemical synthesis of custom DNA made to order calls for software streamlining the design of synthetic DNA sequences. GenoCAD (www.genocad.

Measuring the activity of BioBrick promoters using an in vivo reference standard.

Background: The engineering of many-component, synthetic biological systems is being made easier by the development of collections of reusable, standard biological parts. However, the complexity of biology makes it difficult to predict the extent to which such efforts will succeed. As a first practical example, the Registry of Standard Biological Parts started at MIT now maintains and distributes thousands of BioBrick standard biological parts.

Gene synthesis demystified.

DNA fabrication of genetic cassettes at base-level precision is transforming genetic engineering from a laborious art to an information-driven discipline. Although substantial advances have been made in the development of DNA fabrication, the methods employed vary widely based on the length of the DNA. All of these methods are available commercially, but can also be performed at the molecular biology bench using typical reagents and procedures.