Inside Duke Medicine

LCHC pharmacy receives national awards

Lincoln Community Health Center (LCHC) Pharmacy, an inkind service of Durham Regional, was awarded four awards by the US Department of Health and Human Services/Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) at the National Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative (PSPC) meeting in Dallas, Texas, September 19. PSPC is a national effort to improve the quality of care delivered in the US through the integration of healthcare providers and increased provision of clinical pharmacy services.

Photo by Tom Wooters
Pictured above: Front row (l to r): Bina Patel, Angie Patel, Lynn Robbins, Kerry Watson, Tonie Mack, Sharon McQuade, Yvonne Chapman, Patricia Robles and Shanikka Bumpass. Back row (l to r): Tracy Stillwell, Mike Taylor, Paige Blackman, Hortense Jones, Jazel Richardson, Dian Pounds, Lakeisha Wilson and Matt Bouchard. Not pictured: Linda Ahmed, Leslie Cadd, Dan Dewitya, Christie Ferrell, Rochelle Littleton and Brenda Vann.

Awards:

• Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative Performance (PSPC) Award
• Clinical Pharmacy Services Improvement Award
• Life Saving Patient Safety Award
• Health Outcomes Management Award

LCHC Pharmacy’s involvement in the PSPC began in 2008 when HRSA identified LCHC Pharmacy as a leading practice in patient safety, clinical pharmacy services and health outcomes. LCHC Pharmacy was the only community health center in the southeast to be recognized as a “best practice.” Leaders from these “best practice” organizations convened in Washington, DC to develop an improvement tool known as a “change package” that can be utilized by other healthcare providers and partners.

LCHC Pharmacy was chosen by HRSA as one of the 64 teams from across the US that would learn, replicate, test and adopt specific practices in patient safety and clinical pharmacy services from the change package with the goals of improving health outcomesb and reducing adverse drug events. LCHC Pharmacy’s population of focus for the collaborative is patients in Project Access of Durham County, a non-profit organization that links LCHC patients without insurance into a local network of private practice and Duke University Health System specialists who donate specialty care.

“The new processes and services implemented by LCHC Pharmacy for the high risk and complex patients in Project Access of Durham County have had a broader impact for the patient population at the center,” says Lynn Robbins, PharmD, director of Pharmacy Services for LCHC. “There has been a measurable increase in the number of patients receiving current comprehensive medication lists, an increase in medication access and enhanced medical interpretation and communication among healthcare providers.”