Collaborative Practice Agreements: Resources and More

In addition to the overview below, this resource contains links to the CPA toolkit, a CPA overview webinar, more resources on CPAs, and support for pharmacists services.

About Collaborative Practice Agreements

Collaborative Practice Agreements (CPAs) create formal practice relationships between pharmacists and prescribers. CPAs can benefit collaborative care delivery by identifying what functions – in addition to the pharmacist’s typical scope of practice – are delegated to the pharmacist by the collaborating prescriber, under negotiated conditions outlined in the agreement.

Benefits to Practice

While CPAs are not a prerequisite for collaborative care delivery, they can serve to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of collaborative care delivery. When used to their full potential, CPAs have the ability to increase access to care, expand available services to patients, increase the efficiency and coordination of care, and leverage pharmacists’ medication expertise to complement the skills and knowledge of the other health care team members.

For example, CPAs can decrease the number of phone calls required to authorize refills or modify prescriptions, thus allowing each member of the health care team to complement the skills and knowledge of the other member(s), more effectively facilitate patient care, and improve patient outcomes.

Applications of CPAs

A variety of patient care functions—such as initiating, modifying, or discontinuing medication therapy—can be delegated to a pharmacist using a CPA. These functions can facilitate the delivery of services such as:

    • Chronic Care Management
    • Refill Authorization
    • Formulary Management

Toolkit: Advancing Team-Based Care through CPAs

Pharmacists looking to develop a collaborative practice agreement may need assistance figuring out where to start. To help with that process, a toolkit entitled “Advancing Team-Based Care through Collaborative Practice Agreements” has been developed. The toolkit is a resource for pharmacists to use in developing and executing collaborative practice agreements in the spirit of advancing team-based care. It provides a customizable template that can be used as a starting point to developing a collaborative practice agreement.

This toolkit was developed by ChangeLab Solutions, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA), and the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) through a cooperative agreement with ChangeLab Solutions.

Download the Toolkit

Pharmacist Collaborative Practice Agreements: Who, What, Why, and How

Click the image above to take the FREE CPA continuing education course from the CDC, ChangeLab Solutions, NASPA, and APhA.

An Introduction to Collaborative Practice Agreements: a Brief Webinar

Click the image above to view a recording of the August 24, 2017 webinar.

Where to Learn More

For more information on CPA’s and related pharmacist-provided services, check out the following resources.

From NASPA:

From APhA:

From CDC:

From AMA:

Support for Pharmacists Services:

 

Click Here to Go to the Pharmacist Prescribing Resource Page