(77) Identifying New Practice Initiatives via Business Plan Assignment during Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences

Objective : Students are encouraged to learn about and advance the profession and practice of pharmacy. This is specifically outlined in CAPE 2014 Educational Outcomes to recognize the importance of leadership and innovation needed in the practice of pharmacy. Students are required to write a business plan during their APPE year as a longitudinal project guided by a need or vision at one of their practice sites. The culmination of this assignment provides insight into the needs and direction of advancing the practice of pharmacy.

The objective is to identify and review the developing areas and needs of expanding clinical and operational pharmacy services within various practice areas through a retrospective review of APPE student business plan proposals.

Methods: A retrospective descriptive review of three years of APPE students’ business plan proposals identifying areas of innovation. Business plan submissions were categorized into nine different practice areas and four service categories.

Results: Based on a total of 94 business plan submissions, the largest area for business development was in the area of outpatient clinical services at 24%. The least growth areas were industry and informatics at 1% each. Other large growth areas include outpatient community, the transition of care, and inpatient hospital.

Conclusions: Students while on APPE rotations were assigned to develop business plans for future pharmacy services in a variety of growth areas demonstrating their creativity to meet the needs of unique practice settings and identify a variety of service areas including positions, technology, and core service lines and innovation. The potential of underrepresented growth includes health care informatics and industry, as fewer students are exposed to these experiences as they are not required rotations.