Pharmacy InternAnderson Free Clinic

Anderson, SC

Reagan Stokes

Fall 2015 Health Science Intern

• Throughout this semester I have completed my health science internship at the Anderson Free Clinic

• I have been interested in the field of pharmacy for a while and was placed at the AFC to get experience interning in their pharmacy

• Although I focused most of my internship time working in the pharmacy, I also played a role in the medical clinic at the AFC

Anderson Free Clinic Mission Statement:

“Providing a health care home for the

underserved. Made possible by a partnership

of the Free Clinic, the patient, and a caring

community.”

Anderson Free Clinic• Anderson Free Clinic, along with Honea Path Free

Clinic, provides healthcare services to low-income, uninsured residents of Anderson County.

• Includes medical, dental and prescription assistance• Dedicated to improving patient wellness through..

• Individual and group education • Referrals to community resources

Photo by Matthew McDermott, AmeriCares

AFC Spotlight • The Free Clinic focuses on helping

patients manage their own care• The health of a patients is affected

by the patient’s lifestyle outside of the clinic

• AFC wants to improve patient outcomes by looking at the patient’s lifestyle factors

• AFC now has a care coordinator, a staff RN, who works with most vulnerable patients to improve these patient’s health outcomes

Anderson Free Clinic Pharmacy

I spent most of my time at the Anderson Free Clinic interning in the Pharmacy

under the pharmacist, Lisa Thorndyke.

Photo by Matthew McDermott, AmeriCares

AFC Pharmacy • The Anderson Free Clinic

operates a dispensing pharmacy, regulated by the SC Board of Pharmacy

• Pharmacy staff along with free clinic volunteers fill and dispense necessary medications to the free clinic patients who need them

• In order to continue operating, the pharmacy must charge $2 per prescription

Photos by Matthew McDermott, AmeriCares

AFC Pharmacy • AFC pharmacy only carries certain,

commonly used prescription medicine• The medicine dispensed is medicine for

common chronic conditions such as,• High blood pressure• Diabetes • Neuropathy• Depression• Asthma

Lisinopril is one of the blood pressure pills the AFC provides

Roles as a Pharmacy Intern

• Dispensed medicine to patients

• Checked patient’s prescription bags to be sure the correct medications were going to the correct patient

• Read prescription labels in order to fill prescriptions

• Ordered patient prescription refills when needed using QS/1• QS/1 is a Pharmacy Management Software• Becoming familiar with QS/1 will be beneficial

for future pharmacy jobs I wish to pursue

Roles in Pharmacy (continued)

• Learned about and sat in on a Telepharmacy conference

• Called pharmacy company to order prescription refills

• Organized prescription bags alphabetically on the shelves

• Checked to see if patient owed a balance and wrote that balance down to be given to the patient

• Took expired medication out of its packaging to be disposed of

• Put donation stickers on the donated items • Researched medications

Roles at AFC Outside of Pharmacy

• Called patients to remind them of their appointments or make them an appointment

• Filed patient papers into patient folders

• Pre-audited patient appointments • Created PDFs for patient

appointments • Shadowed doctors during patient

group session

Roles Outside the Pharmacy

(continued)• Went to training to learn about Practice Fusion, the new electronic file system the AFC is transitioning to

• Scaned patient files into the computer to be put into Practice Fusion

• Entered patient appointments into Practice Fusion

• Checked QS/1 to be sure patients are picking up their prescriptions on time

• Called patients to remind them to pick up their prescriptions

• Typed up dental policies and procedures

Patient Compliance Project

• All semester I have been using QS/1 to look up patient’s prescription history

• Each week I check to see that patients are picking up their prescriptions in a timely matter

• For patients who have not picked up their prescriptions, I have called them to remind them they have prescriptions ready to be picked up• I also noted which medications they

are not picking up

AFC Transition to Practice Fusion

• The AFC is currently in the process of transitioning to electronic files using a system called Practice Fusion

• This process involves,• Learning how to use Practice Fusion• Scanning patient files into Practice Fusion • Entering appointments into Practice Fusion

• I have been a part of this transition by helping scan, enter appointments and learning how to use the basics of practice fusion

Researching Medication

• In my free time at the clinic I researched the many aspects of the medicine, Gabapentin

• I chose to research Gabapentin because many of the free clinic patients are prescribed this medication

• Gabapentin is used to treat the effects of neuropathy (nerve pain) and also treats epilepsy. • Many of the free clinic patients are prescribed Gabapentin to help the

treatment of Diabetic Neuropathy, nerve damage due to diabetes

• Along with the uses of Gabapentin, I learned about the administration and dosage, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, distribution, and warning and precautions

Conclusion • Overall, I had an incredible experience

interning at the Anderson Free Clinic• I got excellent pharmacy experience from

dispensing to filling prescription medication• I learned about the daily operations of a

healthcare facility • I made connections with and learned from

healthcare professionals • I confirmed my decision to pursue further

graduate studies in Pharmacy in hopes of one day becoming a Pharmacist