Assessing student pharmacist impact on patient over-the-counter medication selection.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the financial and clinical outcomes of an over-the-counter (OTC) medication consultation performed by doctorate of pharmacy student pharmacists in a community pharmacy.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey.

SETTING

Independent and chain community pharmacy locations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

PARTICIPANTS

Fourth professional year (PY4) advanced experiential student pharmacists on community rotations at the designated settings who performed OTC consultations and the participants of these encounters.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURED

Financial and clinical impact of an OTC consultation performed by student pharmacists on rotation.

RESULTS

A total of 559 OTC consultations were offered in 5 participating community pharmacy settings over a period of 1 year. Student pharmacists initiated 62.4% of all documented interactions and 60.5% of all participants accepted the consultation offer. The student pharmacists' OTC recommendations resulted in significant cost savings to the participant. Those participants accepting consultation reported being more likely to consult with a pharmacist in the future. PY4 students were also able to demonstrate capability in impacting clinical outcomes on several occasions by implementing OTC medication changes due to patient safety concerns.

CONCLUSION

Student pharmacist OTC consultations have the potential to positively impact both financial and clinical outcomes associated with the use of OTC medications.