UB study aims to improve pharmacists’ role in patient transition from hospital to home

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Research and Education Foundation has awarded $20,000 in funding to University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences investigators to evaluate the effect of pharmacist intervention on unexpected hospital utilization.

The project is funded through the 2015-16 New Investigator Research Grant Program.

Titled “Evaluation of Health Outcomes Associated with a Pharmacist’s Telephone Intervention in Transitions of Care in an Underserved Population,” the study aims to help decrease hospital readmission within 30 days after discharge by testing practice models that increase pharmacist involvement in patient transitions from hospitals.

“Telephone intervention allows pharmacists to reach patients irrespective of their locations. This is particularly important for patients in underserved areas,” said Terry Dunn, PharmD, clinical assistant professor in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

“The benefit of this type of intervention has not been fully elucidated; our study attempts to show the benefit that can be expected when a pharmacist has an active role in the transition of patient care from the hospital to home.”

Dunn and Joseph Paladino, PharmD, clinical professor and director of clinical outcomes and pharmacoeconomics research, are the lead investigators on the study. Collaborators within the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences include Kalpesh Desai, PharmD, senior research scientist; David Jacobs, PharmD, clinical assistant professor; and Michael Krajewski, PharmD, senior research scientist.

The ASHP Foundation New Investigator Research Grant Program gives new researchers an incentive and a mechanism to develop and evaluate innovative practice models that could potentially expand pharmacist contributions to patient care.