The goal of the Collaborative is to ensure that patient care delivered by HRSA grantees and other healthcare providers serving uninsured, underserved and vulnerable populations becomes the safest and best in the nation. Because medications play an integral role in improving patient care and related health outcomes, the primary emphasis in this Collaborative is on the improvement and integration of healthcare delivery systems which maximize use of clinical pharmacy services and safe medication practices that ultimately result in improved patient outcomes.  For the purposes of this Collaborative, clinical pharmacy services are defined as patient-centered services that promote the appropriate selection and utilization of medications to optimize individualized therapeutic outcomes.  Clinical pharmacy services are provided by an inter-disciplinary professional healthcare team through individualized patient assessment and management. These services are best provided by a pharmacist or by another healthcare professional in collaboration with a pharmacist.

The Collaborative uses an “action learning system” designed to spread leading practices that have been shown to produce the intended results.  HRSA has pulled together teams of healthcare providers from communities across the nation to learn, replicate, test, and adopt specific practices in patient safety and clinical pharmacy services to improve health outcomes and reduce adverse drug events.   In an 18 month process, improvement efforts are organized around regular Learning Sessions where teams come together for several days to learn leading practices.   Between each Learning Session are Action Periods where teams bring these leading practices into their practice settings for testing and adapting.

RESOURCES for the Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative:
(click the linked headers to go directly to the resources)

• Charter:
  • Communicates the problem statement;
  • Provides background regarding opportunity for impact of improvement efforts in the area of Patient Safety and Pharmacy;
  • States the Collaborative aim and goals;
  • Describes the methods and leadership for the Collaborative.

• Change Concepts for Patient Safety and Pharmacy:   
  • Provides ideas for changes that, if successfully implemented into care delivery systems, should result in improvements in health outcomes and quality of care;
  • The PSPC Change Package is organized into strategies.  Each strategy includes change concepts, each of which is accompanied by action items (e.g., “assess organizational needs for quality…”) that created results for high-performing organizations.

• Frequently Asked Questions:
  • These web pages on the HRSA website answer questions frequently asked by interested parties, and include useful information about costs, funding, how to join, timelines, and other updates.

• High Performer Matrix:
  • The Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative (PSPC) High Performer Matrix lists organization types identified as having proven results in patient health outcomes, patient safety and effective use of clinical pharmacy services.
  • From a sample of more than 90 organizations determined to have leading practices, 34 organizations representing seven geographic regions were selected for site visits, using the a set of primary and secondary criteria.
  • The results from these sites form the basis of the Change Package, a menu of leading practices for the teams that participate.
• National Faculty:
  •  These individuals serve as faculty for the Patient Safety and Pharmacy Collaborative, providing leadership, support, and guidance to help teams succeed.

Additional Information and Resources

Many Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services resources are posted in the publicly accessible Library area of the HRSA Knowledge Gateway at www.HealthDisparities.net.   This includes a number of recordings and materials from introductory PSPC conference calls.  To find these resources, go to the Library from the main menu and conduct a search, or browse in the Library Catalog under HRSA/Patient Safety and Pharmacy.

All members of teams should join the “PSPC Teams” group under Office/My Account/ Group Memberships. This includes team members who are not traveling to the Learning Sessions.   Group membership provides Knowledge Gateway users with access to the PSPC Teams Virtual Office and listserv.  For more information on signing up and joining groups, please see the following website FAQs:

How do I sign up as a new user on the HealthDisparities.net website?

I am already signed up as a user on the website. How can I gain access to additional areas of the Virtual Office and subscribe to the associated listserv within the website?

Please email webmaster@healthdisparities.net with any support requests related to the use of the website and listserv

Key Contact Information:

Krista Scardina, HRSA
Kscardina@hrsa.gov

Phone: 301.443.5294