FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                               

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Communications and Marketing

Sheila Champlin – (901) 448-4957, schampli@uthsc.edu, or

Dena Owens – (901) 448-4072, dowens10@uthsc.edu

 

                                                                       

Marie Chisholm-Burns, Newly Appointed Dean for the College of Pharmacy at 

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Named 2011 Pharmacy Practice Research Award Winner

________________________________________________

Research Finds Involving Pharmacists in Direct Patient Care has Positive Effects

________________________________________________

 

Memphis, Tenn. (October 18, 2011) – Marie Chisholm-Burns, PharmD, MPH, FCCP, FASHP, the newly appointed dean for the College of Pharmacy at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), has been named recipient of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Research and Education Foundation’s 2011 Pharmacy Practice Research Award.  The award recognizes her research article on the positive effects pharmacists have on direct patient care as members of interprofessional health care teams.  Such benefits include reduced adverse drug events and improved outcomes for patients with chronic diseases.

The Pharmacy Practice Research Award is one of five bestowed annually as part of the ASHP Foundation’s Literature Awards Program.  The program honors original, significant contributions to biomedical literature by pharmacists.  The foundation will recognize Dr. Chisholm-Burns and other award recipients on December 7 during a meeting in New Orleans, La.  In 2010, her winning article titled “U.S. Pharmacists’ Effect as Team Members on Patient Care: Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses” was published in Medical Care, the official journal of the American Public Health Association, Medical Care Section.  

“I have spent a great deal of time working with interprofessional health care teams, and I’m always impressed by the knowledge, skills and resources that each person brings to the team,” says Dr. Chisolm-Burns.  “I am proud to be a pharmacist and to witness the excellent contributions we make to direct patient care outcomes.”

Dr. Chisholm-Burns, who is currently professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy, will assume her duties as dean for the UTHSC College of Pharmacy during the spring semester of the 2011-2012 academic year.  In her role at the University of Arizona, she led a team of researchers investigating the therapeutic, safety and humanistic outcomes of involving pharmacists in direct patient care activities.

The research, which included a review of nearly 300 articles, found that patients are 47 percent less likely to experience an adverse drug event when a pharmacist is involved in their care.  Pharmacist interventions also improve outcomes when they are involved in disease management, particularly for patients with diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol.  The research showed that nearly 90 percent of studies tracking pharmacists’ impact on managing hemoglobin A1c* showed favorable results.  In addition, 85 percent of the studies focused on managing blood pressure and 82 percent of those managing high cholesterol also showed favorable results. 

“The study provides substantial evidence of the beneficial effects of pharmacist-provided direct patient care on clinical and humanistic indicators,” says Dr. Chisholm-Burns.  “The findings favor inclusion of pharmacists in interprofessional health care delivery models as a strategy to improve health outcomes.  As health care practitioners, pharmacists and public servants, we have an obligation to share our wisdom, insights and experiences to facilitate the well-being of all patients.  Our findings demonstrate that pharmacists are fulfilling this mission.”  

Dr. Chilsolm-Burns’ research article was co-authored by her team members at the University of Arizona – Jeannie K. Lee, PharmD, Christina Spivey, PhD, Marion Slack, PhD, Richard N. Herrier, PharmD, Elizabeth Hall-Lipsy, JD, MPH, Ivo Abraham, PhD, RN, John Palmer, MD, PhD, Jennifer R. Martin, MA, Sandra S. Kramer, MA, and Timothy Wunz, PhD – and by Joshua Graff Zivin, PhD, of the University of California, San Diego.

“As a pharmacist, the research article is dear to my heart because it presents evidence of the good works of the members of my profession,” says Dr. Chisolm-Burns. “More specifically, it documents the beneficial effects of pharmacists as members of interprofessional health care teams on direct patient care.”

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Research and Education Foundation (www.ashpfoundation.org) was established in 1968 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) (www.ashp.org).  The foundation is the philanthropic arm of ASHP, carrying the mission of improving the health and well-being of patients in health systems through appropriate, safe and effective medication use.  In 1970, the ASHP established the Literature Awards Program, which has recognized more than 400 practitioners for their significant contributions to the literature of pharmacy practice. For more information regarding the Literature Awards Program, visit www.ashpfoundation.org/litawards.

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service.  In 2011, UT Health Science Center celebrates its centennial: 100 years advancing the future of health care.  Offering a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities, the main UTHSC campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy.  The UTHSC campus in Knoxville includes a College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  In addition, the UTHSC Chattanooga campus includes a College of Medicine and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  Since its founding in 1911, UTHSC has educated and trained more than 53,000 health care professionals on campuses and in health care facilities across the state.  For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

###