Impact of a Transitions of Care Training Module on Community Pharmacists’ Knowledge and Attitudes

Abstract

Background: Community pharmacists’ accessibility to patient histories and personal patient relationships situates them to have a potentially significant impact on transitions of care. Recent literature has demonstrated that improved patient outcomes and an overall reduction in health care costs occur when pharmacists are involved in medication reconciliation during transitions of care. Objective: To develop a transitions of care training module for community pharmacists. To assess the training module’s impact on pharmacists’ transition of care knowledge and their attitude toward actively participating in the transitions of care for their patients. Methods: Community pharmacists practicing in a supermarket pharmacy chain participated in this study. A pretest and posttest were administered around a 30-minute transitions of care training module. The attitude assessment consisted of a 5-point Likert-type scale, while the knowledge-based assessment consisted of true/false and multiple-choice questions. SPSS version 21.0 was used to generate descriptive and nonparametric statistical analyses. The study was approved by the University of Toledo Social, Behavioral, and Educational Institutional Review Board. Results: Thirty-six pharmacists (72%) successfully completed the pre–post survey. The average pharmacist posttest knowledge survey score improved from the pretest score, 73% to 99%. A paired Student’s t test demonstrated the posttest percentage of correct questions on the knowledge-based survey improved from the baseline knowledge. Pharmacists’ average posttest attitudes regarding participation in patients’ transitions of care statistically improved compared to their pretest attitudes. Conclusion: Community pharmacists’ transitions of care knowledge and attitudes can be improved through a training module.