Walmart aids university in Rx education effort

CHARLESTON, W.Va. —The future of pharmacy education has arrived in West Virginia where the University of Charleston School of Pharmacy has created an innovative educational practice setting in partnership with Walmart.

The partnership involves a fully functioning pharmacy called PharmUC that is housed at the school of pharmacy, which makes it possible for students to work alongside Walmart pharmacists and university faculty. PharmUC is located on the ground floor of the pharmacy school where it is open to the general public Mondays through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Another feature that makes the facility stand out from a typical retail pharmacy is the emphasis on counseling activities made possible by five counseling rooms.

“What we want customers to understand is that the medications they receive are just one small piece of how the pharmacist can be of assistance to them. We want pharmacists to be recognized as dispensers of information and education who also provide the appropriate medication,” said Michelle Easton, interim dean at the school of pharmacy. “We envision that this partnership will greatly enhance the learning opportunities of our students by increasing their exposure and involvement in all facets of community pharmacy practice as they progress through our curriculum.”

The counseling rooms are noteworthy because they are equipped with video technology, so counseling sessions can be recorded if patients approve. The video can be displayed in any room at the school of pharmacy for use in classroom training where students can learn effective communication techniques.

“What we are really trying to do with this approach is develop new models of practice,” Easton said. “We really want patients to come looking for pharmacists to present information to them in addition to their medications.”

In addition to one-on-one counseling, plans also call for PharmUC to host frequent clinics so that pharmacy students gain experience talking to patients about such health conditions as hypertension and high cholesterol and such diseases as diabetes and asthma.

Initially, many of the patients served by the new pharmacy are expected to be students, faculty and staff of the university. However, outreach efforts also have been conducted with assisted living facilities and churches. In addition, word of the innovative pharmacy is expected to travel quickly throughout Charleston’s healthcare community.

Walmart’s involvement with the school of pharmacy came about after requests for proposals were distributed seeking a partner to operate the facility.

“When we were planning for the school of pharmacy, the vision from the very beginning was that we wanted to have a fully functioning pharmacy,” Easton said. “So when the building was built, we created a space for it, but we needed a partner. We were looking for a partner to basically run the pharmacy but do so in such a manner that it would be seamless from the customers’ perspective.”

RFPs were sent out to all types of pharmacies, including independents and large and small chains. Walmart was chosen, according to Easton, because the retailer and the pharmacy school shared a vision of serving patients in rural areas and decreasing the shortage of pharmacists in West Virginia and other Appalachian areas.

Walmart pharmacy district manager Dwayne Childers, who oversees the Charleston area. recognized the opportunity as a result of the partnership he had built with the university when the pharmacy school opened in the fall of 2006, according to Walmart spokeswoman Christi Gallagher. The first class is set to graduate in May 2010.

“Collectively, we recognized that there is a shortage of strong community pharmacists in the greater rural Appalachian areas,” Gallagher said. “Dwayne recognized the high caliber of students that the University of Charleston attracted, and its state-of-the-art technology mirrored Walmart’s commitment to technology advancement.”

While West Virginia might not be the first place the healthcare industry looks for innovation, it has attracted attention as a result of Walmart’s arrangement with the new pharmacy school. According to Easton, the partnership with a retailer to operate a fully functioning pharmacy is unique and already attracting interest from other institutions. Walmart’s perspective is that the undertaking is a pilot.

“Our focus with this partnership is on developing a program and curriculum at the University of Charleston that creates future community pharmacy leaders,” Gallagher said. “As with any pilot program, there is plenty to learn and develop, so it is too early to tell if any future partnerships with other universities will be cultivated.”