The Optimizing Care Model: A novel community pharmacy approach to enhance patient care delivery by leveraging the technician workforce through technician product verification

To explore initial outcomes of the Optimizing Care Model’s impact on patient care through technician product verification after the first 3 months of implementation, including the model’s impact on pharmacist workday composition, rates of patient care services delivered, and rates of product selection errors not identified during final product verification. Fourteen chain and independent community pharmacies licensed and located in Tennessee. The Optimizing Care Model is an innovative approach to community pharmacy practice aiming to foster a new patient-centered care delivery model that expands clinical service delivery through task delegation to pharmacist extenders. A quasiexperimental 1-group pretest–posttest design was used. Study sites self-reported data from 3 months before and 3 months after implementation of the intervention. Overall pharmacist time spent delivering patient care services increased significantly on implementation of the Optimizing Care Model (25% vs. 43%; P < 0.001), and time spent performing dispensing-related activities decreased significantly (63% vs. 37%; P = 0.02). There was a total increase in quantity of clinical services delivered to patients from baseline, but data from initial study outcomes did not reach statistical significance. At least 1 new clinical service provided under a collaborative practice agreement had been implemented by all 14 sites (100%) as of Spring 2018. Total undetected error rates were significantly less in the Optimizing Care Model phase compared to the traditional model (0.063% vs. 0.085%; P < 0.001). Initial results of the Optimizing Care Model demonstrate improved patient care through increased clinical service delivery versus the traditional model. Undetected error detection rates were low in both models, but lower in the Optimizing Care Model. The Optimizing Care Model may represent a novel approach to improving care for patients while creating efficiencies through a staff delegation model, providing pharmacists the opportunity to further evolve their practice and advance clinical care for patients.