ASHP, ASHP Foundation Award Research Grant To Study Evidence Of Pharmacists' Value In Patient Care

Main Category: Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Article Date: 09 Jun 2008 - 4:00 PDT


The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the ASHP Research and Education Foundation have awarded a $65,000 grant to Marie A. Chisholm-Burns, Pharm.D., M.P.H., FASHP, to conduct a research project that will provide a comprehensive and systematic evaluation of existing studies that examine the value pharmacists bring to patient care.

The ambitious research project, Demonstrating Pharmacists' Impact on Therapeutic, Safety, Humanistic and Economic Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analyses, will be based on a rigorous comprehensive synthesis and analysis of the relevant scientific evidence of the value of pharmacist-provided patient care services in the United States.

"There is a significant amount of evidence conducted over the last several decades that clearly demonstrates the important role pharmacists play in patient care," said ASHP CEO Henri R. Manasse, Jr., Ph.D., Sc.D. "We have high hopes that the collective weight of this evidence will be persuasive as we pursue ways for patients to have even more access to the expertise of pharmacists."

Results of the assessment will be used to identify gaps in existing evidence as well as research questions that need to be answered relative to the value of the pharmacist. ASHP is particularly interested in applying the findings to meet the needs of key stakeholders, including health policy makers, third-party payers, executives of health provider organizations, and pharmacy practice leaders.

The research is expected to be completed in May 2009. The information that emanates from the review will be used to develop a manuscript for a high-impact biomedical or health policy journal and policy briefings and reports. ASHP and the ASHP Foundation hope to be guided by the results in establishing priorities for funding future research on the value of pharmacists as patient care providers.

"This project is a critically important first step in ensuring an enhanced patient care role for pharmacists," said ASHP Foundation CEO Stephen J. Allen, M.S., FASHP. Dr. Chisholm-Burns' work will also identify important gaps in the evidence relating to the pharmacists' patient care impact and will provide a blueprint for future research."

Chisholm is a professor and department head at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy in Tucson. She also serves as a clinical professor at the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine in Augusta and is an adjunct professor at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy in Athens. Chisholm serves on the editorial board of the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy and is a Fellow of ASHP. She has published numerous papers in peer-reviewed publications.

About ASHP

For more than 60 years, ASHP has helped pharmacists who practice in hospitals and health systems improve medication use and enhance patient safety. The Society's 30,000 members include pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who practice in inpatient, outpatient, home-care, and long-term-care settings, as well as pharmacy students. For more information about the wide array of ASHP activities and the many ways in which pharmacists help people make the best use of medicines, visit ASHP's Web site, http://www.ashp.org, or its consumer Web site, http://www.SafeMedication.com.

About the ASHP Foundation

The ASHP Research and Education Foundation was established in 1968 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists as a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization. The mission of the Foundation is to improve the health and well-being of patients in hospitals and health systems through appropriate, safe and effective medication use. The Foundation provides leadership and conducts education and research activities that foster the coordination of interdisciplinary medication management leading to optimal patient outcomes. Emphasis is given to programs that will have a major impact on advancing pharmacy practice in hospitals and health systems, thereby improving public health.

American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

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