Stephanie A Gernant1, Jennifer L Bacci2, Charlie Upton3, Stefanie P Ferreri4, Stephanie McGrath5, Michelle A Chui6, Nathaniel M Rickles7, Marie Smith8. 1. University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, 69 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-3092, USA. Electronic address: stephanie.gernant@uconn.edu. 2. University of Washington School of Pharmacy, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA. Electronic address: jbacci@uw.edu. 3. University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, 69 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-3092, USA. Electronic address: cupton@ProHealthMD.com. 4. Practice Advancement and Clinical Education, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 301 Pharmacy Lane, CB 7475, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. Electronic address: stefanie_Ferreri@unc.edu. 5. Pennsylvania Pharmacists Care Network, 5587 Baum Blvd, Floor 3, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, USA. Electronic address: smcgrath@papharmacists.com. 6. Sonderegger Research Center for Improved Medication Outcomes, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Pharmacy, 777 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53713, USA. Electronic address: michelle.chui@wisc.edu. 7. University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, 69 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-3092, USA. Electronic address: nathaniel.rickles@uconn.edu. 8. University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, 69 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-3092, USA. Electronic address: marie.smith@uconn.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Variation describing pharmacists' patient care services exist, and this variation contributes to the prevalent misunderstanding of pharmacists' roles. In contrast, standard phraseology is a critical practice among highly reliable organizations and a way to reduce variation and confusion. OBJECTIVE: This work aims to identify and define pharmacists' patient care service terms to identify redundancies and opportunities for standardization. METHODS: Between May to August 2018, terms and definitions were searched via PubMed, Google Scholar and statements/policies of professional pharmacy organizations. Two references per term were sought to provide an "early definition" and a "contemporary definition." Only literature published in English was included, and data gathered from each citation included the date published, the term's definition, and characterization of the reference's source as either a regulatory or professional body. A five-person expert panel used an iterative technique to revise and verify the list of included terms and subsequent literature review results. Terms were then searched in the National Library of Medicine's Medical Subject Heading Database (MeSH) in July, 2019. RESULTS: There are fifteen commonly misunderstood terms that refer to the patient care services provided by pharmacists. The appearance of these terms in the literature spanned nearly five decades. Nearly half of terms appeared first in regulatory, law or policy documents; of these, two terms had contemporary definitions appearing in the professional literature that differed from their early regulatory definition. Three opportunities to improve standardization include: (1) Implementation of standardized phraseology systems similar to nursing's Clinical Care Classification System; (2) Academics' adherence to standardized MeSH terms; and (3) Clarification of pharmacy education accreditation standards. CONCLUSION: Numerous terms are used to describe pharmacists' patient care services, with many definitions of terms overlapping in several key components. The profession has made concerted efforts to consolidate and standardize terminology in the past, but more opportunities exist.
BACKGROUND: Variation describing pharmacists' patient care services exist, and this variation contributes to the prevalent misunderstanding of pharmacists' roles. In contrast, standard phraseology is a critical practice among highly reliable organizations and a way to reduce variation and confusion. OBJECTIVE: This work aims to identify and define pharmacists' patient care service terms to identify redundancies and opportunities for standardization. METHODS: Between May to August 2018, terms and definitions were searched via PubMed, Google Scholar and statements/policies of professional pharmacy organizations. Two references per term were sought to provide an "early definition" and a "contemporary definition." Only literature published in English was included, and data gathered from each citation included the date published, the term's definition, and characterization of the reference's source as either a regulatory or professional body. A five-person expert panel used an iterative technique to revise and verify the list of included terms and subsequent literature review results. Terms were then searched in the National Library of Medicine's Medical Subject Heading Database (MeSH) in July, 2019. RESULTS: There are fifteen commonly misunderstood terms that refer to the patient care services provided by pharmacists. The appearance of these terms in the literature spanned nearly five decades. Nearly half of terms appeared first in regulatory, law or policy documents; of these, two terms had contemporary definitions appearing in the professional literature that differed from their early regulatory definition. Three opportunities to improve standardization include: (1) Implementation of standardized phraseology systems similar to nursing's Clinical Care Classification System; (2) Academics' adherence to standardized MeSH terms; and (3) Clarification of pharmacy education accreditation standards. CONCLUSION: Numerous terms are used to describe pharmacists' patient care services, with many definitions of terms overlapping in several key components. The profession has made concerted efforts to consolidate and standardize terminology in the past, but more opportunities exist.
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