What Is a PBRN?
As defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) http://www.ahrq.gov, primary care Practice-Based Research Networks (PBRNs) are a “group of ambulatory practices devoted principally to the primary care of patients, and affiliated in their mission to investigate questions related to community-based practice and to improve the quality of primary care.”
Traditionally, PBRNs are found in physician office settings, but pharmacist-based PBRNs are increasingly common. As the role of the pharmacist expands, so does the need and desire for pharmacists to partner in practice-based research.
What do PBRNs offer?
Practice-based Research Networks (PBRNs) bring together practitioners and researchers to collaborate on projects and answer research questions that are applicable to “real-world” practice. Although PBRNs have existed for more than 125 years in medicine, they are relatively new to the pharmacy profession. Professional organizations such as the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) have developed research training and support for PBRN research within pharmacy.1
In February 2008, collaboration among the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, the Minnesota Pharmacists Association, and pharmacist practitioners throughout the state resulted in the Minnesota Pharmacy PBRN.2 Faculty at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy collaborated with the American Pharmacy Services Corporation (APSC), a cooperative of independent pharmacies, to establish a community pharmacy network that was active between 1998 and 2003.3Most recently, Purdue University established RxSafeNet, a PBRN of community pharmacists focusing on medication safety issues.4
Example PBRN Projects
- Medication Error Detection, Amelioration, and Prevention (MEDAP) Study. American College of Clinical Pharmacy PBRN.5
- Advancing Medication Reconciliation in an Outpatient Internal Medicine Clinic through a Pharmacist-Led Educational Initiative. Minnesota Pharmacy Practice-Based Research Network.5
- The Effect of a Novel Proactive First Day Prescription Counseling Program on Adherence to Select Cardiovascular Medications. Minnesota Pharmacy Practice-Based Research Network.7
To address practice issues and conduct research to improve medication use and health outcomes, and advance the practice of pharmacy across all settings in Kentucky, the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy’s Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Practice has established CAPPNet - a collaborative practice-based research network of pharmacists. For more information about CAPPNet, please complete the registration form included in your packet and return to the address provided. Alternatively, you can email CAPPNet and we will contact you to discuss your participation.
- Lipowske EE. Pharmacy practice-based research networks: why, what, who and how. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2008 Mar-Apr;48:142-52.
- Carr MB, Divine H, Hanna C, Freeman PR, and Blumenschein K. Independent community pharmacist interest in participating in community pharmacy research networks. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2011 Nov-Dec;51:727-33.
- Purdue University Rx-SafeNet. Available at: http://www.pharmacy.purdue.edu/rx-safenet/. Accessed October 2, 2012.
- ACCP Research Institute. ACCP PBRN Celebrates Completion of MEDAP Study. Available at http://www.accpri.org/pbrn/news.aspx?y=2011&m=2. Accessed October 1, 2012.
- Westberg SM, Beeksma K. INNOVATIONS in pharmacy. 2010;1(1): Article 11, 11 pages. Available at http://www.pharmacy.umn.edu/innovations/vol1no1/home.html. Accessed October 5, 2012.
- McConaha JL and Lynch K. INNOVATIONS in pharmacy. 2011;2(4): Article 62, 9 pages. Available at http://www.pharmacy.umn.edu/innovations/vol2no4/home.html. Accessed October 5, 2012.