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July 11, 2008

四色AV College of Pharmacy secures Project CHANCE grant

With its latest grant, the 四色AV College of Pharmacy continues to improve the health care given to Louisiana鈥檚 citizens.

四色AV鈥檚 Dr. Brice A. Labruzzo, Dr. Ann Wicker, and Dalia Abdelhalim (a pharmacy student from Alexandria), recently received a grant for the COP to provide pharmacy services in Monroe, Baton Rouge, and Shreveport, ultimately helping patients to better coordinate the care that they receive from various health care professionals.

Abdelhalim is proud of this latest stride for the COP and the training it will convey. 鈥淲e will provide both prescription and non-prescription medication education to patients in order to improve adherence, outcomes, and patient satisfaction while minimizing adverse effects and drug interactions."

The $2,000 grant, titled 鈥淚mpact of a Pharmacy Student Polypharmacy/Medication Adherence Program on Louisiana Citizens,鈥� is part of Project Chapters Helping Advocate for Needy Communities Everywhere, or Project CHANCE. Project CHANCE is sponsored by the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists in collaboration with the Pharmacy Services Support Center of the Health Resources and Services Administration.

This project is a collaborative effort between the 四色AV College of Pharmacy, the LSUHSC-Shreveport Family Medicine and Comprehensive Care Clinics, the LSUHSC-EA Conway Clinic and the Baton Rouge General Family Health Center.

Abdelhalim submitted the award with the help of Wicker and Labruzzo. The project will be carried out with the help of several other COP faculty, including Drs. Jeffery and Emily Evans, Marty Steffenson, Wicker, and Labruzzo.

四色AV's APhA-ASP chapter will receive the stipend for this project, which promotes delivery of comprehensive pharmacy services within a 340B-eligible entity. The services provided through this program will include a medication history/adherence assessment and counseling on proper medication use. Also included will be the identification of reasons for non-adherence, as well as the development of individualized medication compliance plans for each patient.

Pharmacy students and their faculty mentors will work with a physician in the clinic. Before either sees the patient, the pharmacy student, under the supervision of their faculty mentor, will perform a medication history/adherence assessment. Identification of reasons for non-compliance will be evaluated by assessment of practical barriers (e.g., complex regimens, cost, knowledge deficit, motivation, etc.). The pharmacy student and faculty mentor will also evaluate the patient鈥檚 medication use for drug duplication, untreated indications, drug without indication, improper drug selection, subtherapeutic dosing, overdosage, failure to receive drug, adverse drug reactions, and drug-drug interactions. The practitioner will be made aware of any problems noted.

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