On 16 October 2018, College of Pharmacy organized a seminar titled “Impact of pharmacist led chronic care management in community pharmacy setting”. The resource person was Dr. Amina Abubakar, President at Avant Institute of Clinicians, Pharmacist/Owner at Rx Clinic Pharmacy, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. The participants were PharmD students, Managers of Thumbay group of Pharmacies at Ajman, faculty members of College of Pharmacy, and others.
During her presentation, Dr. Amina introduced the concept of ‘Clinical pharmacy services delivered by pharmacists in a community pharmacy’ and shared her experience on pharmacist led chronic care management services aimed at ensuring patient compliance and better clinical outcomes. She also highlighted various cognitive services provided by the community pharmacists at ‘Rx Clinic pharmacy’, for the patients on chronic disease medications. She further emphasized the practical approaches and importance of interprofessional collaboration between community pharmacists and the physician in achieving optimal treatment outcomes.
Dr. Amina also highlighted the contribution of community pharmacists in minimizing healthcare costs and that literature shows that we will save three dollars for every dollar spent on such programs. An easy strategy is to identify chronically ill patients and provide them with extended services by community pharmacists. Cost benefits provided by community pharmacists are well appreciated by health insurance companies, and thus provide a sustainable model of extended services by community pharmacists.
Dean Khalifa commented: I am glad to see Thumbay Pharmacy managers in attendance as they will take the lead in increasing the scope of practice for community pharmacists in UAE when they see reimbursement from insurance companies for pharmacy services. This is also an eye opener for GMU PharmD students as they realize an important role that they will play as future community pharmacists in UAE and the region.