Telepharmacy: Serving Underserved Populations in a Community Setting, 2nd Edition
Course Overview
Telepharmacy has been a hot topic within the pharmacy community and also among lawmakers and regulators across the United States. The emerging models of telepharmacy use rapidly advancing technology to extend the reach of the pharmacist to serve underserved populations remotely. Although telepharmacy practice is becoming more common in many states, it is still in its infancy, and misperceptions remain among pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, patients, and the general public. Upon completion of this course, you will have a deeper understanding of these issues when discussing telepharmacy with other pharmacy professionals, patients, or other stakeholders Because of advances in technology, the practice of telepharmacy has rapidly expanded in the community setting in recent years.
This introductory level activity is intended to educate pharmacists and pharmacy technicians on the current landscape of telepharmacy practice and regulations, telepharmacy technology and workflow, remote oversight of advanced pharmacy technicians, and patient care through telepharmacy.?
Learning Outcomes
Upon the completion of this course, the learner should be able to:
- Discuss the history and development of the telepharmacy model in community pharmacy.
- Discuss regulatory issues that apply to telepharmacy.
- Describe the current use of telepharmacy in community pharmacy settings.
- Review the typical workflow process of community telepharmacy.
- Describe key considerations for remote oversight of pharmacy technicians.
About the Author/Presenter
Brett Barker, PharmD, earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Iowa and began his career as the Pharmacist-in-Charge of a community pharmacy in small-town Iowa. Dr. Barker currently oversees the operations of 26 pharmacies, including eight telepharmacies, as vice president of operations for NuCara Management Group. In this role, he attained approval from the Iowa Board of Pharmacy to open the second telepharmacy pilot in the state, in Zearing, Iowa, in 2012. In 2014, Dr. Barker opened the first hybrid telepharmacy pilot in State Center, Iowa. He served on the Iowa Pharmacy Association Legislative Advisory Committee (2008-2016), Board of Trustees (2015-2017), Joint Telepharmacy Task Force, and Senior Policy Advisor (2022-2024) and worked to pass updated telepharmacy legislation in Iowa in 2016. In 2017, he was appointed to the Iowa Board of Pharmacy, including serving as Board Chair, which adopted new telepharmacy rules. He is the Vice Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee in the House of Representatives of Iowa’s 91st General Assembly. Dr. Barker has presented multiple continuing education classes on the topic of telepharmacy, including at the Midwest Pharmacy Expo, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and the National Community Pharmacists Association Annual Meeting.
Audience/Accreditations and Approvals
TRC Healthcare/ NetCE
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by TRC Healthcare/ NetCE. TRC Healthcare/NetCE is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
This course is designed for the following healthcare professions (select your profession for details):
Pharmacy
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