Survey of Louisiana Society of Health System Pharmacists

Submission Date: March 2017

Entry Type: Case Study

State/Territory Submitted on the Behalf of: Louisiana

States/Territories Involved: Louisiana

Funding Source: CDC

CDC Funding:

Yes

CDC Funding (Specified):

(1305) State Public Health

Domain Addressed:

Health Systems Strategies

Public Health Issue:

• Louisiana has the fourth highest mortality rate for heart disease, fifth highest for diabetes, and the seventh highest for stroke in the nation (2013 data).
• Louisiana ranked 50th among all states based on overall measures of health, with high rates of diabetes, cardiovascular deaths, and obesity, in the most recent America’s Health Rankings report.

 

Project Objectives:

• The Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (BCDPHP) sits within the Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health, with a mission of “Connecting Louisiana Communities to a Healthy Future.” Recognizing that communities approach health from multiple perspectives, the BCDPHP uses a multi-faceted approach to improve the health and wellness of Louisiana residents. The range of work includes efforts to improve the identification, treatment, and management of hypertension and diabetes through health systems interventions and clinical innovations.

Program Action:

• A survey was fielded in order to obtain more information about current best-practices and needs among Louisiana pharmacists working with patients in chronic disease management. This information is needed to guide the Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (BCDPHP) program direction.
• The survey was developed in partnership with the Louisiana Society of Health-System Pharmacists (LHSP) and targeted their membership across the state. The following topic areas were addressed:
  • Identify where the membership works across the state, both geographically and by organization
  • Identify what current best-practices are already in place
  • Identify training needs and educational gaps, related to hypertension and/or diabetes as well as team-based care
  • Identify the preferred mode for training

Data/Other Information Collected:

• The survey was fielded in September 2016, with 52 respondents over the course of two weeks. The Louisiana Office of Public Health (OPH) divides the state into 9 administrative regions, and there were at least 2 respondents from each region.
• Individuals reported practicing across 16 of the state’s 64 parishes.

Impact/Accomplishments:

Survey Results:

• Practice Setting: The majority of respondents practice in a hospital-based inpatient setting, as well as outpatient clinics and community retail pharmacy.
• Years in Practice: Respondents had a diverse range of experience in practice, with over half practicing fewer than 10 years and one-third practicing for more than 20 years.
• Team-based Care: Most respondents (81%) agreed that they were a fully integrated member of their patient’s care team. Communication most commonly occurs by phone, and through some form of electronic communication.
• Patient Counseling Services: Approximately 1/3 (26%) of respondents indicated they currently provide Medication Therapy Management and/or Patient Self-Management Counseling. Barriers and challenges to providing these services were similar, with “inadequate staffing levels” and “reimbursement and billing” as top challenges for both.
• Engagement opportunities: Just over 1/3 (38%) of respondents indicated they were interested in exploring a potential pilot project or other collaboration opportunities with OPH, and we will be reaching out to these individuals to identify their area of interest. Over 1/2 (54%) of respondents said they would be interested in training opportunities and identified the areas of interest.

Next Steps:

• Dissemination of results:
  • BCDPHP shared the full survey results and summary with LSHP leadership, who presented this information at a board meeting in September 2016.
  • An abbreviated version of these results will be posted on our Well-Ahead Louisiana website, under the Heart Disease/Stroke program page.
• Training:
  • Topic areas identified as priorities will be incorporated into the BCDPHP training and communications plan for providers. A series of webinars will be developed and made available to respondents indicating interest, as well as other pharmacists throughout the state.
  • BCDPHP will identify existing toolkits and materials that can be made available as training and educational resources to pharmacists, for the topic areas identified.
• Collaboration:
  • BCDPHP will reach out to respondents who indicated their interest in collaboration opportunities and explore potential opportunities for coaching, technical assistance, or research.
  • BCDPHP will reach out to faculty and students within the state’s two pharmacy schools to identify opportunities to engage and educate pharmacy students.

In all of these efforts, BCDPHP will continue to seek advisement and collaborate with the Louisiana Society of Health-System Pharmacists as we move forward to ensure our approach is best suited to the pharmacy audience.

Program Areas:

Epidemiology and Surveillance, Public Health Practice

State Contact Information:

LA
Marie Darr
Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
225-342-9291
marie.darr@la.gov

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