Evaluation of pharmacy faculty knowledge and perceptions of the patient-centered medical home within pharmacy education

Abstract

PurposeTo assess pharmacy faculty knowledge about key patient-centered medical home (PCMH) principles and evaluate pharmacy faculty perception of inclusion of PCMH information in didactic and/or experiential pharmacy education. MethodsE-mail addresses of 6433 pharmacy faculty members were obtained from the 2011–2012 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) roster. In an online survey, faculty rated their familiarity with key PCMH principles, indicated whether PCMH concepts are currently included and/or should be included in pharmacy education, and where and how this information should be taught. ResultsResponses are included from 781 faculty members (12.1%). Among them, 641 (82%) respondents reported being aware of PCMH. A total of 207 (27%) respondents report PCMH is taught didactically and 203 (28%) report inclusion in experiential education. Faculty members were most likely to indicate that PCMH should be incorporated into required lectures and workshops in the first, second, and third professional didactic years, and into experiential education in the third and fourth years. ConclusionMany faculty members agree that it is important to teach about the PCMH health care model, but there is a low level of faculty familiarity with the standards and principles that guide this health care paradigm. Future pharmacists have an important opportunity to advance practice by participating in PCMH team care, and pharmacy education has a central responsibility in incorporating these concepts into the didactic and experiential curriculum in order to prepare pharmacists to effectively contribute in this setting.