Student Pharmacist Perceptions of the Utility of a Medication Therapy Management-Based, Medication-Related, Falls Risk-Assessment Tool

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate student pharmacists' perceptions of the Medication Fall Risk-Assessment Tool (MFRAT), a novel medication therapy management (MTM)-based clinical decision support tool.<br/> DESIGN: A cross-sectional study<br/> SETTING: One school of pharmacy<br/> PARTICIPANTS: Participants were eligible if they had used the MFRAT as part of a wellness clinic or as part of required coursework prior to April 2016.<br/> INTERVENTIONS: An online, author developed survey was distributed to assess previous MFRAT use, perceptions of the tool on a 5-point Likert-type scale, and qualitative feedback related in the areas of pharmacy workflow, clinical utility, and perceived patient acceptance.<br/> MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Positive agreement to survey items served as the main outcome measure. A chi-square test was used to test for a difference in positive response between naive and experienced MFRAT users. Cronbach's alpha was calculated to assess internal consistency of items in each domain.<br/> RESULTS: Of the 127 potential participants surveyed, 110 completed the survey for an overall response rate of 87%. Greater than 85% of participants found the MFRAT's report clinically useful. Eighty-seven percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the information provided by the tool could easily be understood by patients. The most significant limitation to the use if the MFRAT in existing workflow was time required to enter a patient's medication profile.<br/> CONCLUSION: The MFRAT was viewed positively in terms of clinical utility and perceived patient acceptance. Improvements will need to be made to make using the tool more time efficient in pharmacy MTM workflow.