Health-system Pharmacy Research Articles

News briefs

Journal Article News briefs Get access American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Volume 77, Issue 9, 1 May 2020, Page 679, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxaa087 Published: 27 April 2020

Assessment of burnout within a health-system pharmacy department.

Workplace-related burnout is a state of mental and physical exhaustion caused by one's professional life. Literature demonstrates the link between physician burnout and serious consequences (reduced productivity, medical errors, and clinician suicide), but assessment of burnout in other healthcare professions is limited, especially in pharmacy. A quality improvement study was conducted to quantify burnout in a diverse health-system pharmacy department and identify potential strategies to improve well-being. A survey was distributed to assess the perception and drivers of burnout within a health-system pharmacy. All associates received a survey comprised of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), demographic questions, and items affording respondents the opportunity to list stressors and potential solutions. Email reminders were sent weekly and site visits were conducted to encourage survey completion. Results were analyzed via descriptive statistics. Two hundred seventy-seven associates completed the survey (response rate, 40.5%). Seventy percent of those participants were experiencing moderate to high levels of burnout, with survey results indicating moderate levels of personal accomplishment and emotional exhaustion and low levels of depersonalization; there were no statistically significant differences in mean MBI scores by shift type, hours worked per week, or years of service. There were statistically significant differences in scores for personal accomplishment between males and females, as well as among positions and regions (P < 0.05). Participants identified issues related to workflow, control, and community as the greatest contributors to stress. The diverse staff of a health-system pharmacy department reported a moderate amount of burnout, with the greatest variation in the dimension of personal accomplishment. The mitigation strategies most commonly cited were staffing/workflow adjustments and creating a culture of well-being.

Health-system pharmacy department preparation and support for nursing workforce disruption.

Health-system pharmacy department preparation and support for nursing workforce disruption.

Summaries of safety labeling changes approved by FDA-Boxed warnings highlights, October-December 2019.

Journal Article Summaries of safety labeling changes approved by FDA—Boxed warnings highlights, October–December 2019 Get access American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Volume 77, Issue 8, 15 April 2020, Pages e6–e8, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxaa048 Published: 01 April 2020

Summaries of safety labeling changes approved by FDA-Boxed warnings highlights, October through December 2019.

Journal Article Summaries of safety labeling changes approved by FDA—Boxed warnings highlights, October through December 2019 Get access American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Volume 77, Issue 8, 15 April 2020, Page 603, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxaa047 Published: 01 April 2020

A practical approach to assess the hazardous exposure potential of investigational drugs.

A method to evaluate the hazardous exposure potential of investigational drugs was developed in order to comply with hazardous drug handling standards. New nationwide standards require health-system pharmacies to recognize potential occupational risks and protect employees from any hazardous exposure. United States Pharmacopeia general chapter 800 (USP<800>) provides recommendations on handling precautions for commercial hazardous drugs. Recommendations for investigational drugs are less clear, with USP<800> suggesting more widespread protections when information is deemed insufficient to assess the risk. The investigational drug services pharmacy at a freestanding pediatric hospital developed a method to evaluate the hazardous potential of investigational drugs in order to determine the likelihood that a drug held an occupational handling risk. The goal of the project was to ensure compliance with hazardous drug handling standards and provide adequate employee protection while minimizing the financial burden on the health-system pharmacy. Investigational drugs that meet any of 4 defined criteria should be subject to hazardous drug handling precautions until adequate safety data are available.

Diroximel Fumarate

Journal Article Diroximel Fumarate Get access American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Volume 77, Issue 7, 1 April 2020, Pages 497–498, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxaa003 Published: 24 March 2020

Specialty pharmacy technicians assume advanced roles.

Specialty pharmacy technicians assume advanced roles Kate Traynor Kate Traynor Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Volume 77, Issue 6, 15 March 2020, Pages 413–414, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxaa010 Published: 05 March 2020

Outpatient sites make antimicrobial stewardship work.

Outpatient sites make antimicrobial stewardship work Kate Traynor Kate Traynor Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Volume 77, Issue 6, 15 March 2020, Pages 412–413, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxaa009 Published: 05 March 2020

Professional Poster Call

Professional Poster Call American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Volume 77, Issue 6, 15 March 2020, Page 412, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxaa011 Published: 05 March 2020

ASHP-Association of Black Health-System Pharmacists Joint Leadership Award.

ASHP–Association of Black Health-System Pharmacists Joint Leadership Award American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Volume 77, Issue 6, 15 March 2020, Page e5, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxz364 Published: 05 March 2020

Burnout Among Health System Pharmacists: Presentation, Consequences, and Recommendations.

Burnout remains an emerging challenge in healthcare. Burnout in these settings has been associated with compromised personal wellbeing, decreased work productivity, higher healthcare costs, decreased patient satisfaction, and deteriorating quality of patient care. As pharmacist roles on healthcare teams expand, health-system pharmacy leaders should be cognizant of burnout, including risk factors and identification. Coordinated efforts should foster pharmacist wellbeing and resilience, individualized work-related responsibilities to ensure professional ambitions are met, promotion of upper leadership expectation transparency, and cultivation of relationships within the pharmacy department.

Trending topics in health-system pharmacy

Trending topics in health-system pharmacy

The future of health system pharmacy looks bright

The future of health system pharmacy looks bright

The professional sabbatical: A systematic review and considerations for the health-system pharmacist.

Sabbaticals are considered a professional development experience meant to foster growth and revitalize careers. The personal accounts of sabbaticals among medical professionals indicate high value from this experience. Benefits seen at the institutional and individual level include, but are not limited to, reduced burnout and increased job retention. Staffing issues, determining eligibility, and justifying time utilized may be just some barriers to implementing a sabbatical program accessible to the health-system pharmacist. In the literature, there is a dearth of information related to sabbaticals granted to the health-system pharmacist. However, many published experiences of nurses and physicians exist. A systematic review was performed to synthesize a qualitative yet evidence-based summary of information regarding sabbaticals. The primary aim of this review was to assess the reported benefits and prohibitive factors of taking a sabbatical as it may apply to the health-system pharmacist. Three hundred twenty-eight English-language articles were identified through searching Ovid Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CINAHL and Scopus from database inception through December 6, 2019. A total of 172 articles consisting of studies, descriptions of institutional processes, individual accounts, editorials and letters to the editor, and review articles were included in this systematic review. Rejuvenation and new perspectives/skills to bring back to practice should be regarded as important benefits by institutional/departmental leadership as well as the benefits of reduced turnover and improved job satisfaction. Numerous barriers to completing a sabbatical can be overcome with proper planning. This review provides limited insight into benefits and barriers to taking sabbaticals and serves as a basis for health-system pharmacy departments to consider initiating a program if one is not currently in place. Mini-sabbaticals may allow the health-system pharmacist to take a professional time away. Corollaries are drawn between a longitudinal pharmacy research award granted at Mayo Clinic - Rochester and ideas are provided for clinical or educational sabbaticals. It is clear that health-system pharmacy-specific information is lacking, and pharmacy department leadership should be encouraged to continue to share experiences of sabbaticals and outcomes.

Elexacaftor, Tezacaftor, and Ivacaftor

Journal Article Elexacaftor, Tezacaftor, and Ivacaftor Get access American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Volume 77, Issue 5, 1 March 2020, Pages 317–319, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxz345 Published: 19 February 2020

Minocycline (Topical)

Journal Article Minocycline (Topical) Get access American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Volume 77, Issue 5, 1 March 2020, Pages 320–322, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxz346 Published: 19 February 2020

Trifarotene

Journal Article Trifarotene Get access American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Volume 77, Issue 4, 15 February 2020, Pages 246–247, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxz322 Published: 07 February 2020

Survey of health-system pharmacy administration and leadership residencies.

To perform an inquiry with response measurement from health-system pharmacy administration and leadership (HSPAL) residency program directors and residents to distinguish variances between the programs and identify enhancement opportunities for key stakeholders. Members from the Pharmacy Administration Resident Collaboration Research Committee developed separate 20-question survey instruments to assess the strengths and areas of opportunity for HSPAL residency programs from the perspective of residency program directors and residents. The survey instruments were designed to evaluate the level of pharmacy service integration across HSPAL programs nationwide. Nearly half of the residency program directors within the listserv (40.74%, 33/81) participated in the survey. The recognized areas of opportunity by residency program directors include community pharmacy leadership, professional organization involvement, sterile compounding, and supply chain management. About a third (32.54%, 41/126) of the residents participated in the survey. Residents reported the least exposure to community pharmacy leadership, human resource management, informatics, professional organizations, and ambulatory care/specialty rotations. The overall recommendations for HSPAL residency programs are to incorporate C-suite-level experiences, improve alumni engagement, develop longitudinal human resource/financial experiences, and encourage resident credential obtainment. In order to foster professional and leadership growth for HSPAL residents, residency programs should consider incorporating C-suite-level experiences, longitudinal human resource/finance experiences, alumni engagement opportunities, rotation variety, professional organization involvement, and support in credential obtainment.

Brolucizumab-dbll

Brolucizumab-dbll American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Volume 77, Issue 3, 1 February 2020, Pages 153–154, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxz301 Published: 24 January 2020