Journal of the American Pharmacists Association : JAPhA
-
J Am Pharm Assoc (2003) · Jan 2016
SafeMed: Using pharmacy technicians in a novel role as community health workers to improve transitions of care.
To describe the design, implementation, and early experience of the SafeMed program, which uses certified pharmacy technicians in a novel expanded role as community health workers (CPhT-CHWs) to improve transitions of care. ⋯ The early experience of the SafeMed program demonstrates that CPhT-CHWs are well suited for novel expanded roles to improve care transitions for superutilizing populations. CPhT-CHWs can identify and report potential DTPs to the pharmacist to help target medication therapy management. Critical success factors include strong CPhT-CHW patient-centered communication skills and strong pharmacist champions. In collaboration with state pharmacy boards and pharmacist associations, the SafeMed CPhT-CHW model can be successfully scaled to serve superutilizing patients throughout the country.