Journal of the American Pharmacists Association Practice Innovations: Enhancing Evidence-Based Decision Making Through Primary Care Provider–Pharmacist Collaboration and Patient Simulation Training
Improving Chronic Care Through PCP–Pharmacist Collaboration
With a growing shortage of primary care providers and rising chronic disease burden, VillageMD, Walgreens, and TRC’s QURE team studied how pharmacists can support better care. Using validated QURE patient simulations, they found that PCP–pharmacist teams made more evidence-based decisions than PCPs working alone—especially in medication management and preventive care. Real-time feedback also led to measurable improvements in future care decisions.
Why This Matters
The U.S. faces a shortage of primary care providers (PCPs) while more patients need treatment for chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Pharmacists, who are experts in medication therapy management, can help fill this gap by collaborating with PCPs to improve treatment decisions. Getting care teams comfortable with new roles and patient interactions will require proven and scalable training tools. The QURE study demonstrates that case-based simulations can improve evidence-based decision-making and support scalable, team-based training.
Study Focus
The study explored two key questions:
- Do PCPs paired with Pharmacists make more evidence-based care decisions than PCPs working alone?
- Does real-time feedback in case-based simulations improve future decision-making?
How It Worked
Participants completed short, online patient simulations featuring common chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension. They made care decisions as they would in practice—including work-up, diagnosis, medication management, support services, and preventive care—and received real-time feedback on each choice (including which decisions were evidence-based or non-evidence-based).
The study included three rounds:
- Round 1: All PCPs completed three cases independently.
- Round 2: A subset of PCPs were paired with Pharmacists to complete the next three cases, while others continued solo.
- Round 3: Both groups completed another round of cases to measure improvements.
Study Highlights
- Improved Medication Management: The PCP–Pharmacist teams were more likely to stop unnecessary medications (like sulfonylureas, which can be risky for older adults) and prescribe newer, evidence-based drugs (like SGLT2 inhibitors for diabetes).
- Better Preventive Care: The PCP-Pharmacist teams were more likely to recommend vaccinations like shingles and pneumonia, reducing hospitalizations.
- Higher Overall Care: The PCP-Pharmacist pairs outperformed solo PCPs, especially in medication-related decisions.
- Real-Time Learning Works: The PCP-Pharmacist pairs saw their care improve in the final round of cases after receiving feedback on their previous decisions.
- Positive User Feedback: 94% of pharmacists and 91% of PCPs said the simulations were valuable and would recommend them.
Why Simulations Work
They offer a fast, scalable way to identify clinical variations and gaps in evidence-based practice, provide targeted, real-time feedback, and drive better decision-making—especially in high-risk, high-cost areas like chronic care. Simulations are also easy to scale for large groups of providers across different locations. As an added benefit, participants earn CME and MOC credits for their participation.
Key Takeaway
Collaboration between PCPs and Pharmacists improves patient outcomes. Patient simulations are a powerful tool to improve medical decision-making, reduce variations, and improve care for patients with chronic conditions.