Collaborating with Pharmacists to Strengthen Primary Care Infrastructure and Student/Resident Training

According to predictions, the ratio of primary care practitioners (primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician’s assistants) to the population is expected to fall nine percent between 2005 and 2020. As a country, we spend almost as much money on problems caused by medications as we do on the medications themselves. Team-based care has been proposed as the most viable solution to save our primary healthcare system, and thus should also be emphasized in the way medical professionals are trained at all levels. In 2011, the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association’s (PPA) commissioned a white paper to provide information, answer questions, and raise awareness to the roles of pharmacists in the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model of healthcare. Features of PCMHs include: enhanced access to and continuity of care, population management, planned and managed care, self-care and community support, tracking and coordinating care, and measuring and improving performance outcomes. Considering the extent to which pharmacists are trained and many are credentialed, by working at the “top of their license”, pharmacists are competent to perform PCMH duties that involve medication management with physician supervision. Using concepts/components from the PCMH model as a springboard, this session will focus on describing existing collaborative efforts between pharmacists, physicians, and other healthcare professionals that 1) provide medication management infrastructure in primary care settings and 2) provide support for educating students and residents at all levels of training. Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, participants will: 1. Identify three areas in which pharmacists can provide infrastructure for medication management in a primary care setting 2. Identify strategies for incorporating pharmacists into student and resident education in academic and clinical settings