Physician-approved protocols increase naloxone dispensing rates.

Objective: To measure the impact of the implementation of a law that allows pharmacists to provide naloxone under a physician-approved protocol on naloxone dispensing rates in an all-payer population across the United States.

Methods: Prescription claims from a national grocery chain for 31 states and Area Heath Resource File were used for this retrospective study. The study sample included all patients who filled at least one naloxone prescription during the study period from July 16, 2014 to January 16, 2017.

Association Between a State Law Allowing Pharmacists to Dispense Naloxone Without a Prescription and Naloxone Dispensing Rates.

Importance: Between 2015 and 2017, Ohio had the second highest number of opioid-related deaths. In July 2015, the Ohio General Assembly approved a law allowing pharmacists to dispense naloxone without a prescription in accordance with a physician-approved protocol. This change in the law allowed pharmacists to have more opportunity to participate in the management of patients who were addicted to opioids.

Assessment of community pharmacists' confidence, foundational knowledge, and coordination of care activities in patients with cancer as a chronic condition.

Objectives: To develop and deliver a series of structured educational programs to community pharmacists to build on current foundational knowledge of cancer and cancer therapy. The specific objectives were to: 1) develop and provide an educational program focused on oncology pharmacy practice in the community; and 2) measure the program impact on participants' confidence, foundational knowledge, and coordination of cancer care activities.

Practice Innovation: A structured, in-person, 6-hour educational program tailored for community pharmacists was developed and delivered along with two 20-minute online webinar sessions.

Addressing primary nonadherence: A collaboration between a community pharmacy and a large pediatric clinic.

Objectives: To decrease nonadherence rates through the design and implementation of a collaborative prescription management program involving a community pharmacy and a large pediatric primary care center.

Practice Innovation: Kroger and Cincinnati Children's Pediatric Primary Care Center collaborated to identify and address patients' barriers to filling new prescriptions. After filling new medications for clinic patients, pharmacists telephoned patients to inform them that their prescription was ready and to reinforce the importance of initiating the therapy.

Poverty, Transportation Access, and Medication Nonadherence.

Background And Objectives: Variability in primary medication nonadherence (PMN), or failure to fill a new prescription, influences disparities and widens equity gaps. This study sought to evaluate PMN across 1 metropolitan area and assess relationships with underlying zip code-level measures.

Methods: This was a retrospective observational study using data extracted from 1 regional community pharmacy market-share leader (October 2016-April 2017).

An appointment-based model to systematically assess and administer vaccinations.

Objectives: To incorporate the assessment of vaccination status and administration of vaccines in an appointment-based model (ABM) and measure the impact on vaccinations administered and patient and pharmacist satisfaction with the appointment-based model.

Practice Description: An ABM was implemented to systematically assess vaccination status and administer vaccines. Patients made an appointment to pick up synchronized prescriptions, and pharmacists assessed vaccination histories and administered vaccinations during the appointment.

Community pharmacist collaboration with a patient-centered medical home: Establishment of a patient-centered medical neighborhood and payment model.

Objectives: To determine the feasibility of a partnership between a community pharmacy and a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) by measuring the impact on office- and patient-level clinical outcomes.

Setting: Kroger Pharmacy and a PCMH practice in Cincinnati, OH.

Practice Description: The Kroger Co.

Pediatric asthma medication therapy management through community pharmacy and primary care collaboration.

Objectives: To design and implement a collaborative medication therapy management (MTM) program targeting pediatric patients with high-risk asthma in a community pharmacy.

Setting: Underserved inner city of Cincinnati, OH.

Practice Description: A large national grocery store chain pharmacy and an academic hospital developed a partnership aimed at improving asthma care for shared patients.

TransitionRx: Impact of community pharmacy postdischarge medication therapy management on hospital readmission rate.

Objectives: To determine if a community pharmacy-based transition of care (TOC) program that included the full scope of medication therapy management (MTM) services (TransitionRx) decreased hospital readmissions, resolved medication-related problems, and increased patient satisfaction.

Design: Prospective, quasi-experimental study.

Setting: Nine Kroger Pharmacies located in Western Cincinnati.

Impact of the pay-for-performance-for-patients program for diabetes management.

Objectives: To determine whether patients with diabetes who used a financial rewards program in a grocery chain pharmacy had increased rates of self-reported healthy behaviors, to measure the impact of the program on glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C), and to measure the impact of the program on grocery store sales.

Methods: This prospective study took place at one location of a grocery chain pharmacy in Cincinnati, OH. Adult patients with diabetes on at least one diabetes medication were eligible to participate.

Pharmacist-managed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease screening in a community setting.

Objectives: To implement a spirometry-based chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) screening in a community pharmacy chain, determine whether pharmacists can accurately perform spirometry screenings and interpret results, and determine whether performing screenings improved enrollment in smoking cessation programs.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: Kroger pharmacies in the Cincinnati-Dayton Kroger Marketing Area and off-site screening events in Cincinnati, OH, from March to December 2010.

Patients' need for more counseling on diet, exercise, and smoking cessation: results from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

Objective: To determine the percentage of physicians who reported counseling patients on diet/nutrition, exercise, weight reduction, or smoking cessation during their office visits when responding to the 2002 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS). We sought to establish whether patients are receiving adequate counseling from physicians on the basis of this nationwide survey.

Design: Retrospective database analysis.