Development of a Partnership to Implement and Evaluate a Survey of Pharmacy Practice

BACKGROUND:   Across Iowa, chronic disease(s) create an enormous strain on personal, public, and community health in terms of cost, lost productivity, and quality of life. To help combat these effects, the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention expanded its focus on Community Clinical Linkages (CCL). The integration and linking of clinical and community preventive strategies in the planning of environmental approaches to public health can significantly impact chronic diseases. Within the CCL domain, the IDPH is focused on enhancing the linkage with community pharmacies. To facilitate this linkage, the IDPH formed a partnership with the Iowa Pharmacy Association and the Drake University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (IDPH-IPA-DU partnership). A component of this partnership involved determining current approaches in pharmacies related to practices and environmental supports to ensure those with a chronic disease or at high risk have access to quality community resources to manage their condition. Medication Therapy Management (MTM) is a core element of environmental supports that aims to ensure healthy behaviors are easily accessible for those with a chronic disease.

METHODS: To gather information about the baseline level of CCL statewide, the IDPH-IPA-DU partnership developed a survey focused on key strategies, including MTM. A key component of the survey was to determine the current status of pharmacy engagement with the promotion of innovative MTM strategies. Items were adapted from a survey developed by the State of Montana Pharmacist Blood Pressure Management Program. The survey protocol included items related to: Improvements to care, enhanced communication among community residents and providers, and optimized medication for improved outcomes.  

RESULTS:   The IDPH-IPA-DU partnership activities included: Detailing survey components that included essential elements of CCL environmental changes and practices, drafting an initial survey, identifying pharmacies statewide, and administration of the survey. Participation rates and examples from the survey will be presented related to MTM for both hypertension and diabetes.  In addition, survey reliability and validity will be presented. Results will be further developed to include recommendations to engage more pharmacies across the state.

CONCLUSIONS:   Documenting and planning environmental approaches and practices related to CCL is a multifaceted process.  Quantifying and evaluating CCL environmental approaches and practices for MTM necessitated the development of an assessment process. Through the established IDPH-IPA-DU partnership, a survey to assess MTM practices and policies was developed and validated.