Developing a Patient Database

Preceptor Development: Patient Care Process

Outline

• Setting the stage for developing a patient database
• Elements of the patient database
• The interview
• Preparing your student
• Reviewing the database
• Feedback and evaluation of your student
• Overview of preceptor role
• An example: my practice

​

Setting the Stage

1. Evaluate and identify how you gather information to create a patient database in your patient care practice
• What is your practice environment?
• Who are your team members, if any?
• What is the nature of your patient interactions which informs the data collection process?
• Complete assessments
• Focused assessments – e.g. drug selection, disease specific (CDM), med history and reconciliation, allergy assessment, adherence assessment, combination
• Time allotment for a typical patient interaction
• Prioritization

​

Setting the Stage

2. Get to know your student; specifically, their comfort and experience with gathering information
• How many patient interviews has your student conducted?
• What types of patients has your student had exposure to for creating a database?
3. Share your approach with your student
• Do you use a patient database form?
• What information can be gathered prior to a patient interview? How do you access this information?
• What are the common disease states covered?

Elements in a Database

The Interview: Preparing Your Student

• Location/environment (maintaining patient confidentiality)
• Framing the interview expectations (purpose of interview)
• Review timelines for interview (determine appropriateness with patient)
• Direct versus indirect supervision

The Interview: Preparing Your Student

• Review pre-gathered information
• Sharing known patient goals
• Discuss questioning technique
• Anticipated issues with communication
• Types of questions (open- vs closed-ended vs probing)
• Interview Closure
• Review next steps and how

follow-up will occur

The Interview: Review

• Reviewing the database with your student
• Before or after the patient leaves?
• Is the information gathered complete? Will it allow for assessment of drug therapy?
• Strategy for gathering missed information
• What is needed, and how will it be gathered?
• Patient, medical chart, Netcare, community pharmacy, MD, allied healthcare providers, other

​

Feedback and Evaluation

1. Provide the following feedback to your student:
• His/her data collection strategy - appropriateness, quality and efficiency
2. Evaluate your student on the following criteria:
• Appropriateness of information collected
• Is too much/too little information collected?
• Did your student focus the interview properly?
• Did your student exhibit professional behaviour?
• Quality and accuracy of information collected
• Did your student collect sufficient details within each area?
• Efficiency for gathering information
• Did your student utilize time appropriately?

Note: If student is unable to appropriately gather information despite feedback and sufficient practice, please contact the course coordinator.

Overview of Preceptor Role

Before the clinical placement

• Inform student about the types of patients they will be routinely seeing in your practice and what preparation will help them in creating a patient database

Early in the clinical placement

• Discuss with the student your expectations for creating an appropriate patient database in your practice
• Review initial databases thoroughly with the student to determine strengths and areas for improvement

Later in clinical placement

• Allow for more independent work as appropriate

​

Precepting and the database in my practice

• Ambulatory stroke prevention clinic
• Engage students in selecting database
• Allow time for students to create database
• Allow some independence, but with review of database once complete
• Provide feedback on appropriateness, quality and efficiency of database creation
• Review process with them at midpoint