Observation of a Pharmacist-Conducted Group A Streptococcal Pharyngitis Point-of-Care Test: A Time and Motion Study

Abstract

Background: Acute pharyngitis is among the most common infectious diseases encountered in the United States, resulting in 13 million patient visits annually, with group A streptococcus (GAS) being a common causative pathogen. It is estimated that annual expenditures for the treatment of adult pharyngitis will exceed US$1.2 billion annually. This substantial projection reinforces the need to evaluate diagnosis and treatment of adult pharyngitis in nontraditional settings. Objective: The objective of this research is to quantify the amount of pharmacist time required to complete a point-of-care (POC) test for a patient presenting with pharyngitis symptoms. Methods: A standardized patient with pharyngitis symptoms visited 11 pharmacies for POC testing services for a total of 33 patient encounters. An observer was present at each encounter and recorded the total encounter time, divided into 9 categories. Pharmacists conducted POC testing in 1 of 2 ways: sequence 1—pharmacists performed all service-related tasks; sequence 2—both pharmacists and pharmacist interns performed service-related tasks. Results: The average time for completion of a POC test for GAS pharyngitis was 25.3 ± 4.8 minutes. The average pharmacist participation time per encounter was 12.7 ± 3.0 minutes (sequence 1), which decreased to 2.6 ± 1.1 minutes when pharmacist interns were involved in the testing (sequence 2). Conclusion: Although additional studies are required to further assess service feasibility, this study indicates that a GAS POC testing service could be implemented in a community pharmacy with limited disruption or change to workflow and staff.