The William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, Wis., expanded access to outpatient treatment by boosting the role of its clinical pharmacists, reported Kaiser Health News.
Clinical pharmacists — who undergo two extra years of schooling compared to traditional pharmacists — can prescribe drugs, order lab tests, make referrals to specialists and conduct physical examinations, according to the report.
The Madison VA hospital integrated clinical pharmacists into its primary care teams in 2015 to handle patients' chronic care needs. Now, clinical pharmacists handle a quarter of the hospital's primary care appointments — typically treating patients with chronic conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure — which allows physicians to focus on treating new patients or individuals with more complex needs.
The clinical pharmacists see about five patients a day in their offices and talk to another 10 patients on the phone, according to Ellina Seckel, PharmD, a clinical pharmacist who led the hospital's changes.
"It's made a tremendous positive impact in improving access," said Jean Montgomery, MD, chief of primary care services at the Madison hospital.
Veterans are no longer forced to wait a month or more to see a physician. Instead, they regularly receive next-day — or even same-day — appointments for primary care.
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