Pharmacy students lead successful transitions of care program

Advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) students from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SPPS) recently partnered with the High Street Prescription Center in Buffalo to run a successful transitions of care (TOC) program aimed at decreasing 30-day hospital readmissions.

The fourth-year SPPS students provided telephone-based counseling to patients recently discharged with a cardiovascular-related diagnosis that focused on medication counseling and encouraging a follow-up visit with a physician.

“We try very hard to work with clinical partners to create learning experiences where students are viewed as ‘assets,’” says Nicholas Fusco, clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice and interim direction of experiential education. “This is a perfect example of how that can be achieved.”

More than 1,200 student-patient encounters took place. At the conclusion of the study, it was determined that patients who used the TOC program were 67 percent less likely to be readmitted to the hospital 30 days after discharge for all causes, and 62 percent less likely to be readmitted for causes related to their initial hospital visit.

The findings were published in the March-April 2019 issue of the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association.

Erin Slazak, clinical assistant professor, pharmacy practice, also took part in the study.

Preceptor Melissa Morano attributes the success of the program to the students. “This program has been initiated, conducted, tweaked and perfected all by our SPPS APPE students,” she says. “We were able to run a successful transitions of care program, which demonstrated decreased readmission rates.”

Advanced pharmacy practice experiences are academic learning experiences conducted in patient care settings. Students provide advanced clinical pharmacy services, under the supervision of a pharmacy preceptor, in various medical sub-specialty environments designed to build on the previous academic experience. UB pharmacy students practice in the field full time during the entire fourth professional year.