Interprofessional education (IPE) is an important step in advancing health professional education for many years and has been endorsed by the Institute of Medicine as a mechanism to improve the overall quality of health care. IPE has also become an area of focus for the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), with several groups, including these authors from the AACP Interprofessional Education Task Force, working on developing resources to promote and support IPE planning and development. This review provides background on the definition of IPE, evidence to support IPE, the need for IPE, student competencies and objectives for IPE, barriers to implementation of IPE, and elements critical for successfully implementing IPE.

The direct acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs), including dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban, and edoxaban, have favorable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties and equal or superior efficacy and an improved safety profile compared with warfarin. Noted shortcomings with DOACs are shorter half-lives requiring stricter adherence, lack of standardized laboratory monitoring, lack of anticoagulation reversal agents, and loss of routine coagulation monitoring leading to fewer patient-clinician interactions. This review addresses many of these limitations including monitoring of DOACs for efficacy and toxicity, an assessment of selected qualitative and quantitative tests, and development of monitoring strategies for special populations. Coagulation monitoring is generally recommended only in overdose situations, but once standardized assays are readily available, they could be helpful to ensure efficacy, assess bleeding, and aid in drug selection in a number of other patient scenarios. Coagulation tests that may provide qualitative assessment include activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time, and thrombin time. Methods with potential utility for quantitative assessment of DOACs include plasma drug concentrations, ecarin clotting time, dilute thrombin time, and antifactor Xa concentrations. Noncoagulation laboratory monitoring should include serum creatinine, liver function tests, and complete blood counts. Clinical monitoring of the DOAC-treated patient should include routine assessment of adherence, bleeding risks, and drug interactions. Frequency of monitoring should be 1-3 months after initiation and then at least every 6 months, with more frequent follow-up (i.e., 3 months) based on patient specific characteristics such as age, renal impairment, hepatic impairment, and concomitant drug therapy. The authors provide a practical tool to assist in DOAC monitoring and recommend that pharmacists collaborate with physicians in selecting appropriate patients and tailoring patient-specific monitoring plans.

Objectives. To integrate components of team-based learning (TBL) into a cardiovascular module to increase students' responsibility for their own learning and actively engage students across 2 campuses in patient cases.Design. An existing cardiovascular course module was modified by replacing 8 hours of lectures with self-directed learning (SDL) assignments and transforming case discussion sessions using TBL methodologies. Case discussions were delivered using TBL methods to increase engagement of all students across both campuses while maintaining a low faculty-to-student ratio in the classrooms. Readiness assurance quizzes were performed with each SDL assignment and TBL case session. Assessment. Student and faculty satisfaction improved with the addition of SDL assignments and TBL cases without adverse effects on grades in the wake of the 14% decrease in lecture time. Total faculty time required increased primarily in the first year because of development of course materials. Conclusion. A modified TBL format was successfully integrated into a lecture-based cardiovascular module, resulting in improved student and faculty satisfaction with the course and no adverse effect on student performance.

Although there is evidence to support implementing interprofessional education (IPE) in the health sciences, widespread implementation in health professions education is not yet a reality. Challenges include the diversity in location and settings of schools and colleges, ie, many are not located within an academic health center. Faculty members may not have the necessary skill set for teaching in an IPE environment. Certain topics or themes in a pharmacy curriculum may be more appropriate than others for teaching in an IPE setting. This paper offers solutions to teaching IPE in diverse settings, the construct for implementing a faculty development program for IPE, and suggested curricular topics with their associated learning objectives, potential teaching methods, and timelines for implementation.