Operation Projects
St. Louis College of Pharmacy’s APhA-ASP chapter is beginning a partnership with Grace Hill, a neighborhood health center for the un- and underinsured. The project benefits the patients of the Grace Hill Neighborhood Health Center.
Project ACTION: Adherence Can Turn Into Outcomes Now
Project ACTION consists of three parts:
1. Brown Bag Medication Reviews: Students on their Community Care Advanced Practice Experience (APE) complete medication reviews at the Grace Hill facility as part of the rotation. During this time, students meet with clinic patients to assess their medications and other preventive health issues such as immunizations or fall status. After collecting and assessing health information, recommendations are be reviewed by a preceptor then discussed with the patient.
2. Antibiotic Call-Back (ACB) Program: Adverse reactions and premature discontinuation are common with antibiotics. In order to address this, student pharmacists volunteer at the pharmacy approximately three hours weekly to call patients who have picked up an antibiotic within the past seven days. The patients are told about the program at the time of the pick up, so they will expect the follow up. Students discuss adherence, side effects, and answer questions regarding the antibiotic. A pharmacist is available to answer any questions the student is unable to answer. The student volunteers are APE students, introductory practice experience (IPE) students, and student volunteers through the ASP chapter. Project ACTION coordinates these volunteer positions along with faculty.
3. Health prevention and education presentations: A minimum of four times per year, APE students or ASP members provide a 30-60 minute presentation for the clinic patients. We request that the presentations be kept by the Project ACTION coordinator, so they may be used again in the future by other students for this or other projects. These presentations are to be completed in collaboration with local nonprofit organizations.
Significance of Projecet ACTION to the community health center and its patients:
Grace Hill offers integrated and comprehensive health services to uninsured and underinsured patients. Their population includes 24% homeless and 18% from public housing residencies. No one is denied services because of hisinability to pay.
• During planning meetings with the pharmacist-in-charge at Grace Hill, the goal was to identify complementary services, not duplicating offerings. We identified adherence to medications and education about medications as best fits for the population.
• A benefit to the hosting the program here is that once a need is identified, the students are able to refer patients to the appropriate place to receive follow-up immediately. For instance, inform the patient where to get an immunization, or contact his physician on site if a drug-related problem becomes apparent.
Significance of Project ACTION to the Profession of Pharmacy
Many “outreach programs” involve screenings for diseases, such as hypertension. While these services are valuable, they are also completed by many health care professionals. This project focuses on showcasing the pharmacist as the medicine expert.
• We demonstrate to patients the importance of a personal relationship with a pharmacist and the importance of communication among all their health care professionals.
• Although many patients know pharmacists are accessible, most are unsure of what they should know about medications. Project ACTION allows student pharmacists to take an active role in increasing medication adherence and education. Student pharmacists working individually with patients models pharmacists as an essential resource for future medication information. This interaction creates a better pharmacist-patient relationship, leading to increased trust and respect in our profession.
• Project ACTION also coordinates multiple organizations together to provide up-to-date information and resources. The educational presentations provide a link to another organization that may not currently be working with Grace Hill, such as the St. Louis Asthma Consortium. Building these connections might lead to more partnerships down the road for both the College and Grace Hill.
Significance of Project ACTION to the Student Pharmacists Who Participate
• Project ACTION creates an opportunity for APE students to complete a project involving community outreach with a population that is both in need as well as receptive to the skills offered by student pharmacists.
• Project ACTION focuses on a patient population that has not been previously served by many students. Students are able to practice skills modeled in the classroom such as communication and empathy with patients different from themselves in terms of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or health care beliefs.
• Project ACTION increases communication between student pharmacists in different years of school. Bonds between younger and older students are be created. Older students are applying their pharmacy knowledge as well as patient care skills to improve the care of the Grace Hill patients. These students are teaching younger students how to appropriately interact with patients. The younger students are learning patient care skills earlier in their pharmacy education giving them more practice and practical experience. The interest sparked in the younger students will hopefully then be continued when they reach their final year. These students will then complete the community care project at Grace Hill just as their student mentors had before them.