RECIPIENT PROFILE: INDIVIDUAL WINNER
David J. Blair, R.Ph.

David Blair, a practicing community pharmacist in Indiana for nearly 20 years, founded Medical Care & Outcomes (Indianapolis) in 1996. Its mission is to provide health care professionals with patient data on compliance, adverse effects and therapeutic outcomes following an office visit or hospital stay."The better educated the patient is about his/her medications and what medication can accomplish if taken correctly, the more proactive the patient will be concerning his health," notes Mr. Blair.

His patient contact / physician-feedback program, which has involved over 250 patients, embodies NCPIE's concept of the medicine education team. Following a physician office visit, pharmacists contact patients to ask about their prescribed medication, about any adverse reactions, and if symptoms are improving. Other prescription and/or non-prescription medications are also reviewed. Dosing schedules are discussed, and patients' questions about their medication(s) are answered. The results of pharmacists' contacts are faxed directly to the patient's physician for entry into the patient record. If the patient's situation shows no improvement or has deteriorated, the physician's office is alerted and the pharmacist, if requested, can discuss possible reasons for therapeutic failure.

Of the 250 patient contacts, pharmacists found 69 patients requiring immediate medical attention, representing a 27% intervention rate. Further, over one-fifth of all patients reported that their situation was unchanged.

Blair has presented his program to a pharmaceuticals manufacturer, the Indiana Department of Health, a third-party administrator, and the Midwest Center for Rural Health. This additional outreach is indicative of Blair's commitment to broader implementation of his program.