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AHRQ Research Studies Date
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- Access to Care (1)
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 8 of 8 Research Studies DisplayedWhite A, Fulda KG, Blythe R
Defining and enhancing collaboration between community pharmacists and primary care providers to improve medication safety.
The purpose of this narrative review was to further define the nature of collaboration between pharmacists and primary care providers in improving medication safety in community settings, and to describe related barriers and strategies. The researchers searched PubMed studies published between January 2000 and December 2020 using search terms including: "collaboration," "community pharmacy," "patient safety," "medication safety," and "primary care physician." The identified articles were placed into 3 categories: 1) defining collaboration, 2) types of collaboration, and 3) barriers and solutions to collaboration. The authors concluded that medication review and other strategies are a common form of collaboration between pharmacists and primary care providers, and that barriers to that collaboration can include erroneous beliefs regarding roles, variation in access to clinical information, and differences in community pharmacy practice.
AHRQ-funded; HS027277.
Citation: White A, Fulda KG, Blythe R .
Defining and enhancing collaboration between community pharmacists and primary care providers to improve medication safety.
Expert Opin Drug Saf 2022 Nov;21(11):1357-64. doi: 10.1080/14740338.2022.2147923..
Keywords: Provider: Pharmacist, Primary Care, Medication, Patient Safety, Community-Based Practice
Campbell NL, Pitts C, Corvari C
Deprescribing anticholinergics in primary care older adults: experience from two models and impact on a continuous measure of exposure.
The purpose of this study was to assess two pilot pharmacist-based advanced practice deprescribing intervention models and their impact on patients’ exposure to high-risk anticholinergics. The researchers conducted pilot studies of a collaborative clinic-based pharmacist deprescribing intervention and a telephone-based pharmacist deprescribing intervention. Deprescribing was defined as a discontinuation or dose reduction. Patients participating in the clinic-based pharmacy model were aged 55 years and older and were referred for deprescribing at a specialty clinic. Patients participating in the telephone-based pharmacy model were aged 65 years and older and called by a clinical pharmacist for deprescribing without referral. The study found that among the 24 medications deemed eligible for deprescribing for the18 patients in the clinic-based model, 23 were deprescribed. The clinic-based deprescribing model resulted in a 93% reduction in median annualized total standardized dose (TSD), 56% lowered their annualized exposure below a cognitive risk threshold, and 17% of medications were represcribed within 6 months. Among the 24 medications deemed eligible for deprescribing for the 24 patients in the telephone-based pharmacy model, 50% were deprescribed. There was no change in the median annualized TSD, the annualized TSD was lowered below a cognitive risk threshold in 46%, and no medications were represcribed within 6 months. The researchers concluded that pharmacist-based deprescribing successfully reduced exposure to high-risk anticholinergics in the study population.
AHRQ-funded; HS24384.
Citation: Campbell NL, Pitts C, Corvari C .
Deprescribing anticholinergics in primary care older adults: experience from two models and impact on a continuous measure of exposure.
Journal of the American College of Pharmacy 2022 Oct;5(10):1039-47. doi: 10.1002/jac5.1682..
Keywords: Elderly, Primary Care, Medication, Provider: Pharmacist, Medication: Safety, Patient Safety
Pestka DL, Paterson NL, Brummel AR
Barriers and facilitators to implementing pharmacist-provided comprehensive medication management in primary care transformation.
The objective of this study was to identify barriers and facilitators when integrating pharmacist-provided comprehensive medication management (CMM) services into a health system's team-based primary care transformation (PCT) using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Findings showed that identifying and addressing implementation barriers and facilitators early during PCT rollout was critical to the success of team-based services such as CMM and becoming a learning health system. Further, clinical pharmacists providing CMM represented a valuable interdisciplinary care team member who can help to improve healthcare quality and access to primary care.
AHRQ-funded; HS026379.
Citation: Pestka DL, Paterson NL, Brummel AR .
Barriers and facilitators to implementing pharmacist-provided comprehensive medication management in primary care transformation.
Am J Health Syst Pharm 2022 Jul 22;79(15):1255-65. doi: 10.1093/ajhp/zxac104..
Keywords: Medication, Provider: Pharmacist, Primary Care, Implementation, Practice Improvement
Yu J, Wang AA, Zimmerman LP
A cohort analysis of statin treatment patterns among small-sized primary care practices.
The purpose of this retrospective cohort analysis study was to describe statin treatment patterns in small-sized primary care practices and explore the patient and practice factors that are related to lack of statin treatment. The researchers included all statin-eligible adults (13,330) who received care at one of 53 Healthy Hearts in the Heartland (H3) practices, a cardiovascular care quality improvement initiative, between 2013 and 2016. The study found that among 43% of patients (5,780), there was no record of moderate- to high-intensity statin therapy. A lack of appropriate intensity statin therapy was independently associated with the female sex, a younger age, and lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Also associated with lower appropriate intensity statin use was a higher proportion of patients insured by Medicaid and having only family medicine trained physicians (vs. having at least one internal medicine trained physician) at the practice. A lack of appropriate intensity statin therapy was greater in independent practices than in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). The study concluded that factors influencing lack of statin treatment vary by practice setting, emphasizing the role of approaches that are customized to individual settings.
AHRQ-funded; HS023921.
Citation: Yu J, Wang AA, Zimmerman LP .
A cohort analysis of statin treatment patterns among small-sized primary care practices.
J Gen Intern Med 2022 Jun;37(8):1845-52. doi: 10.1007/s11606-021-07191-9..
Keywords: Cardiovascular Conditions, Medication, Practice Patterns, Primary Care
Meiselbach MK, Drake C, Saloner B
Medicaid managed care: access to primary care providers who prescribe buprenorphine.
This study examined variation in access to in-network buprenorphine-prescribing primary care providers that can treat opioid use disorder among Medicaid managed care enrollees. Approximately 32.2% of Medicaid enrollees had fewer than one in-network network buprenorphine-prescribing primary care providers per 100,000 county residents. There was on average a greater number of in-network buprenorphine-prescribing primary care providers in states with higher compared with lower overdose death rates, but most enrollees lived in areas with a shortage of these providers. The authors found that a 25 percent higher network participation rate by prescribers compared with nonprescribers could improve the probability that enrollees see a prescriber by approximately 25 percent.
AHRQ-funded; HS000029.
Citation: Meiselbach MK, Drake C, Saloner B .
Medicaid managed care: access to primary care providers who prescribe buprenorphine.
Health Aff 2022 Jun;41(6):901-10. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01719..
Keywords: Medicaid, Primary Care, Access to Care, Medication, Care Management, Opioids, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Health
Holtrop JS, Mullen R, Curcija K
The balance between serving the community and the reality of treating opioid use disorder in rural primary care practices.
The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate clinician and staff perceptions related to medication assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder, particularly buprenorphine treatment, in rural primary care practices. Staff members from rural 42 practices were interviewed. Although there was almost no provision of MAT, policies and procedures to reduce opioid prescribing were usually in place and many practices expressed interest in learning more to help their patients and local communities.
AHRQ-funded; HS025056.
Citation: Holtrop JS, Mullen R, Curcija K .
The balance between serving the community and the reality of treating opioid use disorder in rural primary care practices.
J Health Care Poor Underserved 2022; 33(1):253-67. doi: 10.1353/hpu.2022.0019..
Keywords: Opioids, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Health, Primary Care, Rural Health, Medication
Zittleman L, Curcija K, Nease DE
Increasing capacity for treatment of opioid use disorder in rural primary care practices.
Evidence supports treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) with buprenorphine in primary care practices (PCPs). Barriers that slow implementation of this treatment include inadequately trained staff. This study aimed to increase the number of rural PCPs providing OUD treatment with buprenorphine. This evaluation described the impact of a practice team training on the implementation and delivery of OUD treatment with buprenorphine in PCPs of rural Colorado.
AHRQ-funded; HS025065.
Citation: Zittleman L, Curcija K, Nease DE .
Increasing capacity for treatment of opioid use disorder in rural primary care practices.
Ann Fam Med 2022 Jan-Feb;20(1):18-23. doi: 10.1370/afm.2757..
Keywords: Opioids, Rural Health, Primary Care, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Health, Training, Implementation, Medication
White AEC, Hood-Medland EA, Kravitz RL
Visit linearity in primary care visits for patients with chronic pain on long-term opioid therapy.
Physicians and patients report frustration after primary care visits for chronic pain. The need to shift between multiple clinical topics to address competing demands during visits may contribute to this frustration. This study created a novel measure, "visit linearity," to assess visit organization and examined whether visits that required less shifting back and forth between topics were associated with better patient and physician visit experiences.
AHRQ-funded; HS022236.
Citation: White AEC, Hood-Medland EA, Kravitz RL .
Visit linearity in primary care visits for patients with chronic pain on long-term opioid therapy.
J Gen Intern Med 2022 Jan;37(1):78-86. doi: 10.1007/s11606-021-06917-z..
Keywords: Opioids, Pain, Chronic Conditions, Primary Care, Medication