Anna Morgan, MPH, RN, PMP, NaRCAD Program Manager

Tags: Conference, COVID-19, Deprescribing, Diabetes, E-Detailing, Older Adult Care, Health Disparities, HIV/AIDS, International, Jerry Avorn, Mental Health 

Over 240 members of our worldwide community came together to be a part of something special--our 8th annual conference, and our first in a virtual setting. We were able to expand our reach and overcome barriers like travel time and financial constraints that have prevented our colleagues from attending previous conferences.
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There was a palpable sense of positivity, enthusiasm, and resilience, especially in a virtual space. We’re so proud of evaluations that cited a renewed sense of passion and commitment to AD based on the new lenses we applied to our programming, including comments about feeling “empowered” to continue this work in the year ahead (even amidst inevitable Zoom fatigue.) 

• Our director Mike Fischer reflected on how academic detailing can play a role in social determinants of health and health disparities.

• Presenters who’ve been working on diverse clinical interventions shared work and reflected on the ways AD can impact underserved patients, including veterans with mental health conditions and substance use disorder, as well as undocumented women who need access to comprehensive women’s health and related services.

• Interactive breakout workshops focused on peer-to-peer learning, with concentrations in AD for newcomers, using storytelling approaches with clinicians, and building program branding.

• A deprescribing plenary looked at the importance of specific approaches to detailing within long-term care settings to improve elderly patients’ health.

 

• In his annual “AD Talk”, NaRCAD co-director Jerry Avorn shared his perspectives on COVID-19’s impact on detailing, particularly a need to continue adapting to virtual AD sessions.

 

• For our e-Detailing panel, presenters shared nuggets of advice for those considering the pivot to virtual visits, including being flexible, having materials prepared ahead of the visit, and casting a wide net for provider recruitment.

• Another novel panel emphasized the key role of pharmacy to combat the opioid crisis, including a new lens on the impact of training pharmacy students in program planning and implementation.

• In a special presentation about detailing on Type 2 diabetes in ACOs and Community Health Centers, panelists reflected on the importance of preparing organizations for an AD campaign knowing your community’s unique identity, as well as highlighting community resources for providers AND patients.

• Three experienced detailers participated in a “live interview”, answering audience questions on recruitment, gaining access, defensive clinicians, how to maintain positivity, and more.

 

• A special presentation on HIV prevention and treatment gave attendees a look at robust data from the CDC, a new perspective on AD and HIV treatment through iART (immediate antiretroviral treatment), and evaluation strategies and results of a sexual health AD campaign.

 

• Global field presentations shared new perspectives on researching one-to-one visits vs. group visits in Norway, pivoting quickly to a COVID-19 campaign in Canada, and using the principles of academic detailing for patient education in Australia.

 

• Our new “Yearbook” session featured three new programs who have made impressive strides in their work over the past year, sharing 2021 plans for continued success.

With so many of you expressing a continued need around more of our peer working sessions, we’ll be focusing largely on that in 2021—we can’t wait to support your work this year. In the meantime, tell us what you need to make next year a success.

See you in 2021.
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The NaRCAD Team




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An interview with Jennifer Pruskowski, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP, CPE, a palliative care pharmacist at University of Pittsburgh, School of Pharmacy by Winnie Ho, Program Coordinator 

​Overview:  This intervention is taking place in the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Senior Communities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dr. Pruskowski's work is funded by The Beckwith Institute. 

​Tags: Deprescribing, Older Adult Care, Medications, Program Management

​NaRCAD: Hi Jennifer, thank you for taking the time to speak with us today! You are breaking new ground on a deprescribing academic detailing project in Pittsburgh. What role does deprescribing play in improving health outcomes in nursing homes?

Jennifer: Deprescribing is the identification and discontinuation of potentially unnecessary or inappropriate medications. What I really love about deprescribing is that it’s really patient-centered.
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For example, one medication class might be appropriate for one patient, but maybe not for the next. Within the UPMC Senior Communities, I have developed, implemented, and evaluated a clinical pharmacy-driven deprescribing initiative named the DE-PHARM Project, which stands for the "Discussion to Ensure the Patient-centered, Health-focused, Prognosis-appropriate and Rational Medication regimen". Say that 5 times fast!

​This project allows pharmacists within the nursing home setting to review medication regimens and conduct conversations with nursing home residents, their families, and their caregivers. Deprescribing allows us to rebalance the equation when there may be medication overload, and helps us to reduce the burden on our patients. 

NaRCAD: What are unique factors when approaching deprescribing work in nursing homes?

Jennifer: While a lot of patients outside of the nursing home are complex, the nursing home population is one of the most obvious and at-need, due to their reduced functional status and their need for additional services. Nursing home residents also tend to receive their care, essentially, from one provider. So, it’s very conducive for deprescribing, and it allows us as an academic detailing program to overcome one of the main barriers to deprescribing, which is tracking down and contacting potentially numerous prescribers.

NaRCAD: That's a pretty common barrier, to track down and identify the multiple providers that are supporting the patient.

Jennifer: Absolutely. The other thing to consider is that there are already regulations in place within a nursing home setting that encourages deprescribing. Every nursing home that receives Medicare or Medicaid has certain regulations to follow, which is basically all of them. For example, since the mid 2000’s, there’s been verbiage around ‘gradual dose reduction’ for anti-psychotics, and then in the last 5 to 7 years, this was expanded to antimicrobials as well to try to curb growing antibiotic resistance.

Nursing homes are built for deprescribing, in the sense that these medications are continuously monitored and every quarter, they need to justify to CMS why someone is on a medication at a certain dose.

​However, what gets challenging is integrating care goals, functional status, patient perspectives, and evidence-based literature into deprescribing. Nursing home settings often times have a comfort-focused treatment plan. The medications that I tend to focus on when encouraging deprescribing may not be the same as other detailers. For example, many detailers are working on opioid-related campaigns. Opioids are crucial for deprescribing, but if you think of a patient who is closer to the end of life, opioids are typically not what we target because the medication tends to align with their treatment plan and goals.
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NaRCAD: That’s a really interesting and complicated situation. What are some of the other challenges you’re facing with approaching deprescribing in nursing homes?

Jennifer: One of the big challenges is that no studies have been done about the initiation of certain medications in nursing home residents. Most clinical trials are also done in healthier, younger adults. We don’t have the most literature to guide a lot of what we do, and it’s critical because our prescribing goals are going to be different for the nursing home population as compared to the general population.

NaRCAD: This can often be a challenge when initiating an academic detailing campaign in a field that may not have as many other detailers. One of the foundations of academic detailing is the dissemination of evidence based information, but as you mention, there are not as many resources and studies in the work you’re about to partake in.

As you and your team begin to initiate your program, how do you plan on approaching this paradox?

Jennifer: So, the first thing that we’re doing is determining the medication that we’re going to target. We’re taking a look at prescribing cultures within the nursing homes that we’re targeting, and our working group is looking at what medication regimens are potentially inappropriate, or deprescribing eligible.

There is an evidence-based algorithm that we utilize for our intervention based on what medication class we will target from deprescribing.org, run by Barb Farrell, a friend and colleague of mine in the Canadian Deprescribing Research Network. So for some medications, such as proton pump inhibitors or histamine blockers, there are resources that have been created.

​However, as we do the groundwork for our program, we could potentially find ourselves targeting a medication class that doesn’t have a lot of evidence-based literature around it, and then that will be both the challenging and fun part of developing verbiage and guidelines around that. 

NaRCAD: Someone’s always got to do it first! It can be difficult getting programs started, and we are very lucky to have a growing population of people who are interested in integrating academic detailing into their programs.

As you’re reflecting and planning for the future, what would be important for someone else in your shoes to know about starting a new program?

Jennifer: The most important part is really thinking through the needs assessment. We know that there is a problem, and now it’s about identifying the specific issues and critically thinking through a solution. We will really need to understand the prescribing behaviors that exist in our nursing homes. Much of the prescribing culture there is based off inertia, extrapolation, and people doing their best to adapt important regimens from information that doesn’t directly address their unique situations with nursing home residents.

​We are trying to see if, for example, our providers are prescribing certain medications because they see this problem a lot in other populations they work with, or if they are working off of knowledge that has not been updated in many, many years. These would be two very different academic detailing interventions.

NaRCAD: And finally, as we begin a brand-new decade in 2020, what would you say to anyone else looking to consider academic detailing?

​Jennifer: Jump in! Academic detailing is a proven intervention to effectively disseminate evidence-based literature. I would say that as much as academic detailing can feel like a one way street – as a detailer coming to give a provider information – it really is more of a two-way street than people think. I think in the small amount of time that I’ve done this, I feel like I’ve actually gotten more information from our prescribers than I feel like I’m giving to them at the end of the day.

NaRCAD: A fantastic note to end on. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us, and we wish you and your team continued success in 2020! 

An Interview with Paula Walker, Clinical Pharmacist
Baylor, Scott & White Health | Dallas, Texas

​Tags: Cardiovascular Health, Chronic Illness, Detailing Visits, Older Adult Care, Training

Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get into care redesign and transitional care? I grew up in the area of Inman Square Pharmacy in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  After graduating from Northeastern University in 1990, I began my career in community pharmacy.  Soon after I entered the pharmaceutical industry, I spent many years representing the biological division of Rhone-Poulenc.  I continued to keep connected with public health by practicing in the community part time; I’ve also been serving in a family practice clinic for over 8 years now.  Three years ago, upon recommendation from our clinic director, I joined The Institute of Chronic Disease and Care Redesign at Baylor Scott and White Health in Dallas.

Tell us about the institute. What does your team focus on with regards to providing transitional care? What approach do you take?
Our multidisciplinary team focuses on improving outcomes among chronically ill older adults.  Our innovative approach includes using advanced technology to identify patients at most risk for readmission.  With a focus on heart failure, COPD, and pneumonia, patients are identified and supported as they transition from one level of care to the next.  Our transitional care team encourages each specialty to work at the very top of their license to assist patients whose recovery is complicated by cognitive impairment, frailty, and social issues.  Our team shares offices together so each discipline is available to all team members at all times.  A strong team and constant communication is the key to our success.

What does a typical day or week look like for you in this field? How do you incorporate academic detailing techniques into your work?
My role is to perform the medication reconciliation on all of my patients and communicate any concerns with the appropriate providers. I attend weekly rounding with my team and need to be able to make and support any medication recommendations. In terms of using academic detailing techniques, our team practices evidence-based medicine in the care and treatment of our population with chronic disease. It’s also key for a pharmacist in this role to be able to communicate to providers quickly and effectively regarding drug selection, dosage, and titration.  Learning and practicing the skills required to communicate effectively in this environment is essential.  In a typical day I will consult with a geriatric specialist, cardiology, nephrology, APRN, social worker, and corporate administration.  That is a lot of communicating!

You attended our Academic Detailing Techniques Training a few years back. What parts of the program worked well for you, and what are the most useful resources or information that you’re still using today? I found the skills learned during the NaRCAD training to be useful and confidence building. There is an art to being able to research information then applying it to support a recommendation in a short amount of time.  NaRCAD brings together professionals from different disciplines that are focused on improving the communication of science-based information in their practice or facility.  It is useful to connect with others that require these skills in their work. The small class size made it very easy to meet all the participants and learn from their experiences.  I believe you can never be too experienced, and I constantly learn from the experience of others.

What are some future successes you’re looking forward to in your work and in the field in general? As we prepare to expand the Transitional Care Model at Baylor Scott and White Health under the population health infrastructure, I look forward to the pharmacist’s role to expand as well.  Our goal of disease management, well above the national standard, will require evidence based medicine and the sharing of clinical information to all members of the care team.  I look forward to continuing my relationship with NaRCAD—together we can help each other transform care, resulting in an improvement in the quality of life for our patients.  And I’m looking forward to NaRCAD’s 3rd International Conference on Academic Detailing this November in Boston!

Biography: Paula Walker, Clinical Pharmacist, joined the Baylor Scott & White Health Transitional Care Team in 2012.  Paula is the team pharmacist and oversees all medication reconciliation for their older adult population with heart failure, COPD, and pneumonia. Prior to joining BSW, Paula has worked in community pharmacy, clinic pharmacy (still active), and the pharmaceutical industry. Paula holds BS in Pharmacy from Northeastern University.