Program Overview:

As the nation continues to grapple with an ever-evolving landscape for the provision of healthcare, including the expansion of non-physician providers, pharmacists are tasked more than ever to ensure their role in providing effective and safe medication usage. Over the past three decades, pharmacists have expanded their scope of practice via changes in their state pharmacy laws to authorize collaborative relationships with physicians in roles designed to manage disease states more effectively. Healthcare systems, insurers, and accountable care organizations are focused on improved patient outcomes combined with increased patient satisfaction, while at the same time eliminating unnecessary spending. Protocol-driven therapy affords the best opportunity for pharmacists to align with changes in healthcare and to build the case for provider status in the future both in the community and institutional settings.

Join our faculty as they discuss the provision of protocol-driven patient care. Examples will include pain management, nutritional support, inpatient warfarin consults with transitions to primary care offices, and optimizing management of vancomycin, aminoglycosides, and renally adjusted medications. These pharmacist protocols allow realignment of pharmacy resources to assist in bedside rounding to further optimize patient care.