Impact of a Managed Care Elective on Pharmacy students’ Confidence Performing Transitions of Care via Telehealth

Background: With rising costs to the US healthcare system, managed care has become a vital component to cost containment and improved patient care. Pharmacy education provides a solid foundation in clinical and administrative sciences. However, managed care principles have not been widely and universally incorporated into the pharmacy curricula. Objective: To evaluate the impact of a novel elective course in managed care topics on pharmacy students’ perceived understanding and confidence to deliver transitions of care (TOC) services via telehealth (i.e. telephonically). Methods: This cohort study employed a sequential three-module based managed care elective course within a pharmacy curriculum. In module one, students received didactic lectures on managed care pharmacy and navigating electronic health records (EHR). In modules two and three, students engaged telephonically with real patients, who were referred to pharmacy faculty from collaborating physician offices through an online cloud based EHR, to perform Comprehensive Medication Reviews (CMR), Targeted Medication Reviews (TMR), and TOC consultations. The primary outcome was students’ perceived understanding and confidence in performing TOC services via a survey pre- and post-elective course. A calculation of of 30-day hospital readmissions rates conducted by comparing patients who received these services versus those who did not is also described in this report. Results: Students demonstrated a statistical improvement in perceived understanding and confidence in performing TOC services post-elective course across a total range of 17 survey questions (p<0.05). Incidentally, 11.8 % of patients who were contacted and completed a call with students had a 30-d readmission compared to a previously reported national benchmark. Conclusions: Education in managed care and providing pharmacy students the opportunity to practice telehealth strategies for services commonly performed in pharmacy practice, such as TOC, are of value in the pharmacy curriculum to prepare students for the growth in digital health and expanding opportunities outside of traditional community and hospital settings.