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The impact of the declining number of primary care physicians is exacerbated by a growing elderly population in need of chronic disease management. Primary care clinical pharmacy specialists, with their unique knowledge and skill set, are well suited to address this gap. At Kaiser Permanente of Colorado (KPCO), primary care clinical pharmacy specialists have a long history of integration with medical practices and are located in close proximity to physicians, nurses, and other members of the health care team. Since 1992, Primary Care Clinical Pharmacy Services (PCCPS) has expanded from 4 to 30 full-time equivalents (FTEs) to provide services in all KPCO medical office buildings. With this growth in size, PCCPS has evolved to play a vital role in working with primary care medical teams to ensure that drug therapy is effective, safe, and affordable. In addition, PCCPS specialists provide ambulatory teaching sites for pharmacy students and pharmacy residents. There is approximately 1 specialist FTE for every 13,000 adult KPCO members and every 9 clinical FTEs of internal medicine and family medicine physicians. All clinical pharmacy specialists in the pharmacy department are required to have a PharmD degree, to complete postgraduate year 2 residencies, and, as a condition of employment, to become board certified in an applicable specialty. The evolution, current structure, and role of PCCPS at KPCO, including factors facilitating successful integration within the medical team, are highlighted. Patient and nonpatient care responsibilities are described.

Travel to remote destinations has increased dramatically in recent years. The Clinical Pharmacy International Travel Clinic (CPITC) was established in 1991 in the Kaiser Permanente Colorado Region to provide pre-travel advice to members to decrease their risk of travel-related diseases. The CPITC is unique from other travel medicine clinics because it is a pharmacist-run telepharmacy service. The team includes an infectious diseases physician, an infectious diseases clinical pharmacy specialist, 4 clinical pharmacists, and a pharmacy technician. The clinical pharmacists provide consultations via telephone. Both patient- and trip-related information are gathered to assess the traveler's health risks. Recommendations are provided regarding food- and water-borne diseases, insect-borne diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, and diseases related to animal bites. Additionally, detailed information is provided on vaccines that may be needed to protect travelers against various diseases. The travel consult is documented electronically. A copy of the consult, along with a booklet that provides travel information, is mailed to the patient. Success of the CPITC is demonstrated in several ways. The clinic initially served Kaiser Permanente members in the Colorado Region. The service has expanded and now also provides travel consults to Kaiser Permanente members in the Northwest and Ohio Regions. Patient satisfaction is high, and significant cost-savings have been realized secondary to avoiding the use of unnecessary vaccinations and medications. The CPITC allows resources to be leveraged and provides one center where individuals trained in travel medicine provide information to members, thus improving efficiency and decreasing cost.

Objective: To provide an extensive review of ambulatory care clinical pharmacy services and evaluate the services and research data in the field., Data Sources: MEDLINE was searched from January 1992 through July 1999. Search terms included pharmacy, clinical pharmacy, and pharmaceutical care, cross-referenced with ambulatory care, primary care, family medicine, and managed care., Study Selection: Relevant peer-reviewed studies and reports since our previous article in 1992 were selected and described. Literature prior to 1992 was briefly reviewed., Data Synthesis: The relevant literature was reviewed and some examples from the authors' institutions are provided. Much research has continued to be published documenting the value of clinical pharmacy services in ambulatory care, including in community pharmacy, anticoagulation services, family medicine, primary care clinics, Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, and managed care. However, these innovative services are underrepresented in the community at large. The vast majority of the public does not have access to these types of services., Conclusions: There will be continued and dramatic expansion of ambulatory care pharmacy services in the new decade beginning in the year 2000. It will be critical that standards of practice be very high. We believe there is a critical need for visible demonstration projects and large multicenter research projects that demonstrate the value of these services.

Objective: To describe a formulary antiulcer agent prescribing program developed as the result of a drug use evaluation (DUE). Program implementation, methods, cost impact, and results of a follow-up DUE are provided., Background: The institution is a 51,000-bed correctional system consisting of 40 separate units each containing an ambulatory care clinic. Medication orders are transmitted via mainframe computer system to one of four pharmacies, which collectively dispense an average of 4000 medication orders (30 days' supply) per day., Methods: Results from the antiulcer agent (cimetidine, ranitidine, sucralfate) DUE revealed that the agents studied were prescribed in dosages and durations exceeding criteria developed by the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee. A program designed to reduce dosages to maintenance therapy after eight weeks at treatment dosage was developed by the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee with staff physician input. Antiulcer agent use and expenditures were followed and a follow-up DUE was completed seven months after program implementation. Antacid use and frequency of upper gastrointestinal studies that were ordered were followed., Results: The follow-up DUE showed the mean daily dosage for prescribed histamine2-receptor antagonists decreased (cimetidine from 694 to 454 mg, ranitidine from 280 to 183 mg) and the mean duration of therapy decreased from 14 to 10 months. The percentage of patients with potentially significant drug interactions decreased from 14.2 to 6.5 percent. The mean number of antiulcer agents dosage units dispensed per month decreased by 24,461 units, resulting in a projected annual savings of $327,273. There were no identifiable clinically important changes in the use of antacid products or prescribing of upper gastrointestinal studies., Conclusions: A cost-savings program sponsored by the pharmacy and therapeutics committee decreased costs, corrected prescribing to more closely meet preset criteria, and produced no discernable unfavorable effect on patient care.

Objective: To determine if there was a difference in the long-term glycemic control, average daily dose, and cost of therapy in patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) treated with glyburide and glipizide in a health maintenance organization (HMO)., Design: Retrospective evaluation of medical and pharmacy records., Setting: Multispecialty group practice HMO., Patients: 140 NIDDM patients being treated with either glyburide (n = 70) or glipizide (n = 70) were randomly selected from the populations of patients receiving either drug using computerized pharmacy records., Main Outcome Measure: Mean daily doses and blood glucose measurements (fasting blood glucose, random blood glucose, hemoglobin A1C) were stratified in 3-month periods from the time the drug therapy was started or the patient first presented to the clinic for a total of 18 months. Long-term glycemic control was defined as fasting blood glucose less than 8.33 mmol/L (150 mg/dL)., Results: The groups were comparable with regard to age (53.4 y glyburide, 56.7 y glipizide), gender (43 M:27 F glyburide, 47 M:23 F glipizide), race (38 W/16 B/16 H glyburide, 45 W/16 B/9 H glipizide), concurrent medical conditions, adverse effects, and compliance. Long-term glycemic control was similar in both groups. Although the number of subjects who were controlled (by definition) tended to be greater in the glyburide group, no clinical or statistical difference was found. There was no statistical difference in mean daily dose between the ethnic groups, but the small numbers preclude further analysis. The glipizide group had a larger percentage increase in dose within the first year than did the glyburide group; however, the percentage increase from the 3-month dose was similar after 18 months (22.7 percent glyburide, 27.5 percent glipizide.) Average daily cost of therapy, based on mean daily dose, was slightly lower for glyburide-treated patients., Conclusions: If glycemic control is similar with glyburide and glipizide, as seen in this study, economic considerations regarding choice of therapy and formulary inclusion may be appropriate.

Objective: To review studies that document the impact of clinical pharmacy services in ambulatory care settings and to propose standards of practice and resource allocation needs in ambulatory care., Data Sources: English-language literature from 1970 through 1991 was reviewed and the representative literature is described., Study Selection: Studies were selected that examined the impact of clinical pharmacy services on patient outcomes and costs. Studies that evaluated pharmacist consultations by blind peer-review panels were also evaluated., Data Extraction: Trials were assessed based on their methodologies and ability to assess the value of clinical pharmacy services on patient outcomes., Data Synthesis: Numerous studies from the past 20 years are described illustrating the impact that ambulatory care pharmacy practitioners have made on patient care. These studies demonstrate that clinical pharmacists in ambulatory care not only serve as consultants on pharmacotherapy issues, but also can improve the quality of care for individual patients., Conclusions: Based on the studies cited and the needs of ambulatory patients, this article highlights the authors' views on what the standards of practice should be for ambulatory care practitioners and where resources should be allocated as ambulatory programs are expanded.