Pharmacist eConsult service for primary care medication optimization and safety.

BACKGROUND

There is a critical need in primary care to proactively prevent, identify, and resolve poor medication-related outcomes. However, more than 80% of primary care practices do not have clinical pharmacists as members of expanded care teams. The emergence of eConsult services in primary care settings presents an opportunity for primary care providers (PCPs) to consult with clinical pharmacists as "on-demand" pharmacotherapy specialists.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives were to (1) determine the use of a clinical pharmacist in an existing eConsult network, (2) characterize the use and type of clinical pharmacist eConsults sent by PCPs, and (3) measure the implementation percentage of pharmacist recommendations by PCPs.

METHODS

The study was conducted in a federally qualified health center using an existing eConsult platform. A clinical pharmacist was contracted to receive eConsults and was expected to respond within 2 business days. PCPs were introduced to the pharmacist eConsult service through presentations that reviewed the clinical pharmacist's education/training, suitable pharmacist eConsult topics, and workflow for sending a pharmacist eConsult.

RESULTS

A total of 57 eConsults containing 123 individual questions were answered. Advanced practice nurses (APRNs) sent 3 times the number of eConsults and individual questions per eConsult compared with physicians (P < 0.0001). Most eConsult questions from APRNs related to adverse drug events/drug interactions (44%), drug or dosage changes to reach therapeutic goals (18%), and renal/hepatic dosage adjustments (13%). However, physician eConsult questions were primarily targeted on patient-specific drug or dosage adjustments (62%) and comprehensive medication regimen reviews (17%). A total of 74% of the pharmacist eConsult responses had at least 50% of the recommendations implemented by PCPs.

CONCLUSION

This study revealed the use of a pharmacist eConsult service for medication-related questions in an existing eConsult network for PCPs. As more practices enroll in value-based plans, pharmacist eConsults can improve the quality and safety of prescribing and chronic medication management.