TY - JOUR
T1 - Funding pharmacists in general practice
T2 - A feasibility study to inform the design of future economic evaluations
AU - Kosari, Sam
AU - Deeks, Louise S.
AU - Naunton, Mark
AU - Dawda, Paresh
AU - Postma, Marteen J.
AU - Tay, Guan Han
AU - Peterson, Gregory M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2021/5
Y1 - 2021/5
N2 - Background: Funding is a significant barrier to employing general practice pharmacists. Objective(s): To explore the feasibility of determining the cost-benefit of pharmacists in Australian general practice. Methods: Two part-time pharmacists were employed by general practices in Canberra, Australia. Diaries of the pharmacists were analysed to determine time worked and participation in income-generating activities, including Government-funded programs: Asthma Cycle of Care, Home Medicine Reviews, and Health Care Assessments. Scenarios using different practice and business models were entered into value-cost models to determine the income generated by the pharmacists relative to their salary. Results: Over 19 weeks, pharmacists A and B supported 47 and 23 Asthma Cycle of Care activities, generating income to the general practice of AU$4,700 and AU$2,300, respectively. The pharmacists spent 36.4 and 24.1 hours on activities usually conducted by general practitioners (GPs), allowing additional time for GP-patient consultations. Value-cost models determined AU$0.61 - AU$1.20 income generation by pharmacists per AU$1 salary. Conclusions: It was feasible to determine the value-cost ratios of employing pharmacists in general practice using these methods. Future work should focus on developing a robust business model that includes health care system savings resulting from practice pharmacist interventions, determined from randomised controlled trials.
AB - Background: Funding is a significant barrier to employing general practice pharmacists. Objective(s): To explore the feasibility of determining the cost-benefit of pharmacists in Australian general practice. Methods: Two part-time pharmacists were employed by general practices in Canberra, Australia. Diaries of the pharmacists were analysed to determine time worked and participation in income-generating activities, including Government-funded programs: Asthma Cycle of Care, Home Medicine Reviews, and Health Care Assessments. Scenarios using different practice and business models were entered into value-cost models to determine the income generated by the pharmacists relative to their salary. Results: Over 19 weeks, pharmacists A and B supported 47 and 23 Asthma Cycle of Care activities, generating income to the general practice of AU$4,700 and AU$2,300, respectively. The pharmacists spent 36.4 and 24.1 hours on activities usually conducted by general practitioners (GPs), allowing additional time for GP-patient consultations. Value-cost models determined AU$0.61 - AU$1.20 income generation by pharmacists per AU$1 salary. Conclusions: It was feasible to determine the value-cost ratios of employing pharmacists in general practice using these methods. Future work should focus on developing a robust business model that includes health care system savings resulting from practice pharmacist interventions, determined from randomised controlled trials.
KW - Economics
KW - General practice
KW - General practitioners
KW - Pharmacists
KW - Primary care
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089729716&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.sapharm.2020.07.030
DO - 10.1016/j.sapharm.2020.07.030
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85089729716
SN - 1551-7411
VL - 17
SP - 1012
EP - 1016
JO - Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy
JF - Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy
IS - 5
ER -