Pharmacist clinic assessment

Ms Wung explains the importance and methods of assessment. She will use her example in the TVGH and another case study. She then briefly explains what to do after a successful model has been created before concluding the activity.

Key concepts

Assessment is important to secure future funding.

Both short-term and long-term surrogate markers need to be studied.

In anticoagulation clinics, TTR% is a short-term surrogate. For clinics focusing on diabetic management, HbA1c is a possible surrogate. Drug profiles before and after intervention can also be used to assess the clinic’s success.

At TVGH anticoagulation clinics, the average patient TTR% before treatment is 39% but increases to 49.3% after the intervention. Though the frequency of minor bleeding events increased slightly, major bleeding events decrease from 4 to 0.

Long-term impacts include disease control and management. Possible surrogates are morbidity or mortality. Or if the services reduce the frequency of cardiovascular events, ER visits, or hospitalizations.

Case study:

This is a clinic focusing on NOACs only, the name of the trial is IMPACT-AF. After evaluation, it was discovered that with the pharmacist clinic, fewer patients quit anticoagulant treatment due to bleeding events.

Secondly, the frequency of strokes reduced. This is a long-term outcome and is very persuasive evidence, proving the positive impact of pharmacist clinics.

As mentioned at the start of this week, pharmacist clinics need to keep up with the times. Pharmacists need to continue reimaging and remodeling the clinic to keep patients under the best, up-to-date care. They can also consider expanding the model to serve a wider range of patients.

Share and learn:

• Besides applying for funding, how else are assessments important?

• In your opinion, how effective will directly transferring a successful model to a different setting be?