January 14, 2008

New pharmacy outreach program established

Carol Birk
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The program is called PharmaTAP, and Purdue's School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has paired with Purdue's Technical Assistance Program to advance several new outreach initiatives.

"PharmaTAP will not only draw from the strengths of Purdue's top-ranked School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, but also from Purdue's strengths in science, engineering, nursing and management," said Craig Svensson, dean of the College of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Health Sciences. "It will improve patient safety in a variety of health-care settings."

The program offers health-care providers, such as hospitals, pharmacies and nursing homes, services in clinical quality, patient safety, technology application and operational performance. It also provides assistance in the optimization of pharmaceutical product packaging to ensure safe distribution and delivery, Svensson said.

"By advancing performance in these areas, we will contribute to the ongoing transformation of health care in Indiana and beyond," he said.

Providing outreach to assist in applying technology is an important aspect of the program, he said.

"Much of health care is becoming automated, and technology is shaping the future of patient care," Svensson said. "Technology offers possibilities for improvement in patient safety and efficiency of care. For example, the addition of bar codes to medication labels as a check on proper administration of drugs or automated dispensing for medications can help limit the possibility of human error."

Multidisciplinary expert teams will provide onsite assessments and teach procedures to reduce medication errors. They also will investigate and evaluate instances of significant medication errors and make recommendations to prevent recurrences. In addition, PharmaTAP teams will develop and implement system solutions using performance improvement methodologies and will identify and disseminate best practices.

Carol Birk, the recently named director of PharmaTAP, said the program's mission is to prevent patient harm by improving medication practices and system design.

"We want Indiana to be the pinnacle of safe, efficient and reliable systems to provide health care of the highest quality," she said. "Through PharmaTAP, practitioners and institutions can access Purdue's expertise in a variety of fields including medication safety, pharmacy practice, biomedical and industrial engineering, nursing and technology."

Teams will be assembled from Purdue's deep pool of research expertise and tailored to the specific interest of those seeking assistance, she said.

"In Indiana, this will be the main resource of its kind," Birk said. "The program is different from a consulting firm because we are integrating faculty research and applying engineering principles to help our clients improve performance. Each engagement with a health-care entity will be unique and customized to their needs."

PharmaTAP will partner with the Purdue Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering and HealthcareTAP as part of Purdue's Technical Assistance Program.

"This program is an important component of the overall mission of TAP to strengthen the Indiana economy and improve the quality of life for Indiana citizens," said David R. McKinnis, director of the Technical Assistance Program and Purdue's associate vice provost for Engagement. "By making the vast resources at Purdue available to businesses in Indiana, we help improve the efficiency of services, decrease costs and improve patient safety. We position the state to grow and compete globally and to be a leader in patient care."

Faculty will be an integral part of the program and will collaborate with health-care institutions. Purdue faculty will be able to identify trends in health care and to apply their research capabilities to solve current problems. The PharmaTAP program will allow them to take their research out to the field and to implement their work in the health-care system.

"By working closely with health-care entities, Purdue's professors will have greater exposure to the current issues and needs of the fields," said Steven Abel, assistant dean for clinical programs and head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice for Purdue. "This practical application of research to address the challenges facing industry goes to Purdue's fundamental nature as a land grant university."

This also will enhance Purdue's curriculum, as professors will be in a position to develop new courses on safety and to teach students the latest methodologies because of their work with PharmaTAP, said Abel, who also is the Bucke Professor of Pharmacy Practice.

 "Students are the future leaders of health care," he said. "Keeping students educated and informed of the latest research findings and techniques is critical to making a change in health care."

More information is available at http://www.purdue.edu/TAP/PharmaTAP  

Writer: Elizabeth Gardner, (765) 494-2081, ekgardner@purdue.edu

Sources:   Craig Svensson, (765) 494-1368, Svensson@purdue.edu

Carol Birk, cebirk@purdue.edu

David McKinnis, (765) 494-9189, mckinnis@purdue.edu

Steven Abel, (317) 613-2315, sabel@iupui.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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