Third-year professional pharmacy students have been learning skills necessary to provide medication therapy management through simulation provided in the Thrifty White Concept Pharmacy located in the College of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Allied Sciences. Medication therapy management is a partnership of the pharmacist, the patient and other health professionals that promotes safe and effective use of medications.

Students provided medication therapy management and point-of-care testing to 45 volunteer NDSU faculty and staff during the first week of March. The students have learned to identify and resolve medication therapy issues, evaluate medication interactions and take appropriate action, evaluate medication information when responding to medication-related questions, manage cost containment of medications and communicating professionally with healthcare peers.

Each volunteer had a one-hour appointment with two pharmacy students and one pharmacist faculty member. The appointment was used to improve health outcomes, and volunteers had the option to receive free health screenings, including blood pressure, blood glucose, total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein. A similar appointment and health screenings could cost up to $100 at local pharmacies.

The Thrifty White Concept Pharmacy is a state-of-the-art licensed model pharmacy that allows students to experience and understand various roles of pharmacists in the healthcare system through integrated lab instruction.