Erick Siegenthaler

PGY2 Longitudinal Project:

Background: The American Society of Health System Pharmacy (ASHP) has endorsed increasing complexity of tasks and levels of involvement pharmacy technicians take within the pharmacy department. ASHP supports the advancement of these roles and responsibilities and recognizes technicians for their part in enhancing patient care. Technicians practicing at the top of their legal abilities will allow pharmacists to provide more direct patient care activities. We… Show more

PGY2 Longitudinal Project:

Background: The American Society of Health System Pharmacy (ASHP) has endorsed increasing complexity of tasks and levels of involvement pharmacy technicians take within the pharmacy department. ASHP supports the advancement of these roles and responsibilities and recognizes technicians for their part in enhancing patient care. Technicians practicing at the top of their legal abilities will allow pharmacists to provide more direct patient care activities. We have seen a major push to expand pharmacy technician roles and responsibilities in all settings of care; yet, no clear pathways exist for these employees to take advantage. At Froedtert, we have continued to expand our technician responsibilities with over 30 different technician-level positions within the system. However, there are currently no defined criteria for technicians to advance their career within the health system. As the roles of pharmacy technicians continue to expand, there is an increasing need to evaluate pharmacy’s approach to technician career advancement in order to align with these responsibilities and encourage retention. There is a lack of published data highlighting pharmacy technician career advancement programs or career ladders. A single published article from 1994 describes a technician advancement program, which lead to a reduction in turnover from 33% to 15% over three years.

Mission: The mission for this task force is to develop and implement clearly defined pathways for pharmacy technicians to better understand what they can do to advance their position through a career ladder. Development of these pathways will increase retention of our technician workforce and reward top employees more fairly for their performance.
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Assessed system usage of infliximab and vedolizumab through medication usage evaluation and presented findings to system Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee; subsequently partnered with gastroenterology physician leadership to establish medication usage guidelines and restrictions.

Designed and implemented pilot to evaluate benefit of decentralized pharmacy services in the Froedtert Hospital Birth Center, located remotely in the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. Evaluated benefit of pharmacy services including medication histories, discharge counseling and prescription delivery, and pharmacist interventions during rounds. Determined opportunities for improvement both operationally and clinically to enhance services being provided.

Evaluated the efficacy and safety following the recent implementation of a bedside medication delivery program within a surgery outpatient center at Dean Pharmacy/St. Mary's Hospital. Three arms were identified in the evaluation including pre-surgery consultation, video consultation (during post-surgery recovery), and consultation of the caregiver directly. Follow-up phone calls were performed at 72 hours and a standard set of questions evaluating proper medication usage and side effects were… Show more

Evaluated the efficacy and safety following the recent implementation of a bedside medication delivery program within a surgery outpatient center at Dean Pharmacy/St. Mary's Hospital. Three arms were identified in the evaluation including pre-surgery consultation, video consultation (during post-surgery recovery), and consultation of the caregiver directly. Follow-up phone calls were performed at 72 hours and a standard set of questions evaluating proper medication usage and side effects were asked. Data tracked (by arm) included administration errors, adverse effects, and pharmacist interventions performed. Secondary data collected included callback 'success' rate, and time requirements involved in performing this service. Show less

Evaluation of central pharmacy distribution of Infusion Clinic medications to an inpatient infusion clinic. Following workflow evaluation, developed and educated staff on a new workflow to reduce time to administration of medications. Pre/post total pharmacy time (verification, preparation, delivery, administration) was reduced by 34% over a 12-week post implementation measurement period. While managing this project, I was able to work together with the Infusion Clinic pharmacist, four core… Show more

Evaluation of central pharmacy distribution of Infusion Clinic medications to an inpatient infusion clinic. Following workflow evaluation, developed and educated staff on a new workflow to reduce time to administration of medications. Pre/post total pharmacy time (verification, preparation, delivery, administration) was reduced by 34% over a 12-week post implementation measurement period. While managing this project, I was able to work together with the Infusion Clinic pharmacist, four core central pharmacists, and Infusion Clinic nurse management to develop a plan for implementation, education, and ongoing data monitoring. Show less

Examined 340B drug pricing and develop a guided prescribing strategy to help the clinic save costs on drugs – returning these savings to additional patient care services. Opportunities for therapeutic intervention and cost-savings were focused on high-cost medications including inhalers and insulin products. This project resulted in a cost avoidance of nearly $1400 over three weeks, and communication strategies led to a 55% intervention acceptance rate.

Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin Practice Advancement Leadership Team (PALT):

Worked to evaluate advanced pharmacy technician roles through a statewide survey and interpretation of workforce trends. Partnered with ASHP to develop technician case studies to promote expansion of advanced roles throughout nation.

PGY1 Longitudinal Project:

The purpose of this project was to develop and analyze the impact of a medication safety scorecard and targeted communication interventions on medication safety culture within the pharmacy department at Froedtert Hospital. A modified AHRQ survey was completed pre/post interventions implemented in order to measure the benefit of interventions made.

This study demonstrated a positive effect from each of the three interventions implemented: Weekly Pharmacy… Show more

PGY1 Longitudinal Project:

The purpose of this project was to develop and analyze the impact of a medication safety scorecard and targeted communication interventions on medication safety culture within the pharmacy department at Froedtert Hospital. A modified AHRQ survey was completed pre/post interventions implemented in order to measure the benefit of interventions made.

This study demonstrated a positive effect from each of the three interventions implemented: Weekly Pharmacy Conference (medication error discussions), Medication Safety Scorecard, and an emailed Weekly Safety Update. The majority of respondents remarked that the interventions were beneficial to the safety culture of the department. Furthermore, the broad range of medias used increases staff exposure to interventions. Results suggest that similar institutions may find benefit within their department by creating greater exposure and conversation surrounding safety culture. Show less