Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grants

Distribution of healthcare resources is unequal across the United States, particularly in rural regions, for those who identify as a minority population, and those living in poverty. As medicine has advanced, life expectancy in urban areas has improved, while rural dwelling individuals continue to lag behind. Due to the current and projected primary care physician shortage, these disparities will likely continue to worsen unless a change is made. One potential avenue for change is the utilization of pharmacists as an extension of the primary care physician to improve access to healthcare services for all patients. In Georgia, pharmacists can enter into a collaborative agreement with a physician, known as Collaborative Drug Therapy Management (CDTM), which allows for “adjustment of dosages, dosage schedules, and/or medications by a pharmacist under the authority delegated and supervised by a physician. Such medications do not need to be pharmaceutically or therapeutically equivalent to the initial prescription issued to the patient by the prescribing physician.” Based on the training pharmacists receive prior to and after graduation, we believe that pharmacists are uniquely situated to help fill the current and projected primary care physician gap.

To survey the current landscape in Georgia, we completed a Phase 1 research project that used College of Pharmacy Seed Grant Funds which led to identification of key facilitators and barriers to CDTM implementation from a diverse group of stakeholders. That data has informed development of this current project. In our proposal, we present three major goals, each of which will be used to bolster future extramural research funding applications:

Aim 1 Education: Develop, deliver, and evaluate the effectiveness of continuing education for two groups 1) physicians regarding pharmacist abilities to provide comprehensive medication management services in primary care through telehealth and 2) pharmacists regarding their opportunities to practice using telehealth technologies within CDTM in primary care.

Aim 2 Service Delivery Model: Develop a novel service delivery model for implementation of advanced clinical pharmacy services through CDTM in the primary care setting using telehealth technologies.

Aim 3 Toolkit Development:  Develop resources to assist physicians and pharmacists implement pharmacist-led CDTM services in primary care through the use of telehealth technologies.

Team Lead

Devin Lavendar
Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy
dll2882@uga.edu

Team Members

Rebecca Stone
Department of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy

Beth Phillips
Department of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy

Blake Johnson
Department of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy

Chelsea Keedy
Department of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy

Sharmon Osae
Department of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy

Russell Palmer
Instructional Innovation and Research

Henry Young
Department of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy

Daniel Jung
Department of Health Policy and Management

Thomas Wells
Medical Partnership

Melissa Robinson
Piedmont Healthcare

Daniel Hall
Department of Statistics

Sharon Liggett
Archway Partnership