Workshop 5 – From data to decision – Improve the use of EBM in clinical practice

Linked to EAHP Statements

Section 4 – Clinical Pharmacy Services: Statements 4.1, 4.4, 4.6
Section 6 – Education and Research: Statement 6.2, 6.3

ACPE UAN: 0475-0000-22-025-L04-P. An application-based activity.

Abstract

Clinical pharmacists are increasingly involved in decision making around patients’ pharmacotherapy and need to be able to find and use the most up-to-date evidence and guidelines when providing advice and recommendations. Many clinical pharmacists are in the habit of relying on “old” knowledge and do what feels safe. There is often limited time for continuous education within pharmacotherapy, plus the pharmaceutical industry may work to influence decisions and introduce biased knowledge. They also need to be able to quality-assure the evidence and communicate their findings to physicians and patients in an appropriate manner. They also need to be aware of what patient data is necessary to have in order to be able to give recommendations in each situation; (medical history, vitals, lab data, patient preferences, geriatric assessment/frailty index, and abilities of the patient) and how to achieve this. Continuous education for clinical pharmacists, it is important to keep updated and not only rely on old text book knowledge. This workshop will be a training session that can be used in the participants’ home settings. We will be using authentic patient cases that include therapeutic areas with a lot of new development and knowledge so that the participants need to consult the literature and guidelines to ensure their recommendations are correct. In the workshop there will be practical advice on how to achieve this. It will also be discussed what patient data and factors that need to be available and considered. Then participants will practice how to communicate the evidence and the different treatment options with the physician and the patient. What are the risks and benefits? How does it correspond to the patient’s preferences and abilities?

Learning objectives
After the workshop, participants should be able to:

• Understand the importance of using the most up-to-date evidence and guidelines when providing advice and recommendations
• Demonstrate how EBM can be used in clinical practice
• Demonstrate skills in communicating EBM to health-care professionals and patients

Educational need addressed
This workshop addresses the skills needed by hospital pharmacists able to find, use and communicate the most up-to-date evidence and guidelines when providing advice and recommendations in patient care.

Keywords: EBM, Continuous education, clinical pharmacy, decision making