Why CPESN
CPESN stands for Community Pharmacy Enhanced Service Network, a group of pharmacies similarly focused on patient outcomes. CPESN pharmacies focus on strong, personal relationships with each individual patient. These pharmacies provide patient-centered enhanced services, such as point of care testing (POCT), to improve patient health outcomes.
My Prior Experience
I have worked as a pharmacy technician and now as a pharmacy intern at a chain pharmacy for the past four years in New Jersey and Florida. Despite being a part of the same chain pharmacy and experiencing multiple store locations, each pharmacy’s workflow and experiences differ. This is all dependent on location, management, staffing, and store volume. Historically, community pharmacy was a patient-centered business, however, I have experienced a shift towards a more transactional and metric-based driven business. Due to time and staffing constraints and corporate deadlines, focusing on individualized patient outcomes has been challenging as a first-year pharmacy student. Yet, I hope this area of pharmacy can be improved and refocus the effort on patient-centered care.
My IPPE Experience at a CPESN Pharmacy
Experiencing a CPESN pharmacy has been unique and very educational. Compared to my prior experience with chain pharmacies, there are more opportunities for student pharmacists to learn and engage in interactive experiences. My rotation site had a lower patient volume for the dispensing workflow, which allowed for more personal interactions and deeper connections between pharmacists, technicians, and patients. At Progress Pharmacy, student pharmacists benefit from one-on-one learning with pharmacists and experienced technicians. The following allowed for a focus on learning how to become a valuable team member rather than an emphasis to solely perform routine dispensing tasks. This independent, CPESN affiliated, pharmacy offers enhanced services such as non-sterile and sterile compounding, delivery, mail order, POCT, immunization screenings, PNOE (a breath analysis device), InBody, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan, and VALD performance. All of which I’ve gained experience in. Specifically, I was also able to gain hands on experience in A1C and lipid panel POCT and non-sterile compounding including capsules, creams, shampoos, and trochees.
Comparison of CPESN Pharmacies
Although my four-week Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) rotation site was Progress Pharmacy, I also visited three additional CPESN affiliated pharmacies: Atlantis Pharmacy (Atlantis, FL), Bay Street Pharmacy (Sebastian, FL) and Prescription Shop of Stuart (Stuart, FL). From my site visits, I was able to compare these pharmacies and their enhanced services. From Progress Pharmacy I learned how to incorporate functional medicine into the pharmacy. Atlantis Pharmacy showed me the opportunity of offering adherence packaging, electronic care (eCare) planning, international normalized ration (INR) testing and monitoring, and medication synchronization (MedSync) to patients. Bay Street Pharmacy provided me exposure to learn about continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME). Lastly, Prescription Shop of Stuart exposed me to learn about hospice care and how to incorporate mental health into a pharmacy. Although each of these pharmacies are part of CPESN Florida, they each have their own unique focus and workflow.
The Takeaway
As I look back at my first IPPE rotation, I realize a CPESN pharmacy taught me valuable lessons from a variety of brilliant pharmacists and team members. This is why I now believe there is a need for independent pharmacies and why it is important to experience a CPESN independent pharmacy as a student pharmacist. It even seems there is so much to learn that four weeks may not be enough!
Written by:
Brianna Velardi
Student Pharmacist | Lloyd L. Gregory School of Pharmacy | Palm Beach Atlantic University
Preceptor:
Jessica B. Finke, PharmD
Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Director of PGY-1 Community-based Pharmacy Residency Program
Lloyd L. Gregory School of Pharmacy | Palm Beach Atlantic University
Acknowledgements:
Thank you to the pharmacy teams and owners for your time and effort of empowering the next generation of pharmacists.
Pharmacies: Atlantis Pharmacy (Atlantis, FL); Bay Street Pharmacy (Sebastien, FL); Prescription Shop of Stuart (Stuart, FL); Progress Pharmacy (West Palm Beach, FL).