Pharmacy Research

Overview

The Cleveland Clinic Department of Pharmacy values research, innovation and continuous improvement. Pharmacy research is a multidisciplinary approach that engages those providing direct patient care to propose studies that impact patient outcomes, quality of patient-centered pharmacy practice and pharmacoeconomics. The Pharmacy Research Center of Excellence provides guidance to all pharmacy caregivers interested in pursuing research. Mentorship encompasses support ranging from ideation and funding procurement through dissemination and publication. Pharmacy leadership is committed to the advancement of research within the department, through the outcome measures research strategic planning team and annual objectives, and key results are accomplished to continuously improve the program.

Mission

The Cleveland Clinic Department of Pharmacy’s mission is to provide a lifetime of exceptional care through patient-centered pharmacy practice, research, and education.

Vision

The Pharmacy Research Center of Excellence will create leaders in pharmacy research by providing education and mentorship to pharmacy caregivers. A Health Economics and Research Outcomes Investigator supports the current program landscape with plans for research infrastructure growth to provide a comprehensive research environment. Excellence in pharmacy research is achieved through focused initiatives including:

• Quality, access, and cost-effectiveness of pharmacy practice.
• Patient-centered outcomes.
• Population health.

Setting

Cleveland Clinic Department of Pharmacy is distinctively structured to achieve the Pharmacy Research Center of Excellence vision.

• Robust services in 22 hospitals worldwide with over 6,600 beds, 275 ambulatory facilities, 11 outpatient pharmacies, specialty pharmacy, home infusion, and more.
• Fully integrated pharmacy teams promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and study coordination across sites of care.
• Shared electronic health records to provide valuable data for a variety of study designs.
• Financial support for pharmacy research and professional travel to showcase outcomes.
• Expert partnerships with Cleveland Clinic’s Quantitative Health Sciences, Center for Clinical Research, and Office of Sponsored Projects to support pharmacy researchers.

Education and Training

Research Curriculum

The Pharmacy Research Curriculum is a series of 15 modules led by pharmacist researchers. The curriculum is designed as self-directed learning for those interested in expanding their knowledge and application of research principles.

Cleveland Clinic Pharmacy Research Traineeship

The Cleveland Clinic Pharmacy Research Traineeship (PRT) aims to support pharmacists throughout the Cleveland Clinic Health System interested in acquiring the skills necessary to conduct investigator-initiated research as a principal investigator.

The internally developed 18-month program guides trainees through the completion of a focused observational research study from ideation to publication. PRT encompasses a formal research curriculum including developing a research question, research design, ethics, data collection, statistical analysis, presentation of results, abstract and poster preparation, manuscript writing, and the publication process.

The program faculty is comprised of pharmacy caregivers experienced in leading research endeavors. This program is supplementary to clinical duties with no additional salary component. Manager approval is required to allow for appropriate staffing modifications for PRT participation.

Research Advisor Network

The Pharmacy Research Advisor Network is comprised of pharmacist researchers willing to provide support to their peers. This platform is available to all pharmacy caregivers who may need a quick consult in a specific area to move their research idea forward.

Residency Research Orientation & Research Skills Workshops

The Pharmacy Residency Research Curriculum and Skills Workshops are offered annually to incoming residents, preceptors and interested pharmacy caregivers. The research curriculum is offered during orientation, while the skills workshops are offered throughout the year in alignment with the residency research project timeline. Concepts covered include biostatistics, research design, data collection and dissemination.

• Learn more about our pharmacy residency programs

Cleveland Clinic research educational offerings

Cleveland Clinic has a range of research support available to all caregivers. Institutes dedicated to this type of educational support include the Center for Clinical Research, the Office of Sponsored Research Programs, the Office of Research Development, Lerner Research Institute and the Education Institute.

Research Funding Opportunities

Protected time

A standardized process of applying for and awarding protected time for research is available for pharmacy researchers. Applications are reviewed by the pharmacy research committee for scientific merit and appropriateness of allotted time requested, up to 80 hours annually. The research committee provides recommendations to the employee and manager to allow for discretionary scheduling dependent upon staffing needs.

Research Development Award

The Research Development Award is available to pharmacists interested in the pursuit of extramural grant funding. This award provides 20% protected research time for two years. Ideal candidates for this award are highly motivated pharmacists who want to devote a portion of their careers to research. Review criteria are based on the demonstrated pursuit of excellence, dedication to a career as a researcher, quality of submitted research training plan and relationship with identified mentors and collaborators.

Department of Pharmacy research funding

An annual departmental funding budget is available for pharmacy-led projects research, quality assurance, and quality improvement projects. Requests for departmental funding must follow the review and approval process outlined by the Enterprise Research Committee and site-level research committees. Funding approval decisions are made at the frequency outlined by the Enterprise Research Committee.

Cleveland Clinic research funding

Cleveland Clinic offers a range of internal funding opportunities. These include those funded by Lerner Research Institute, Philanthropy Institute, and collaborative funding between other institutes. Examples include caregiver catalyst-SPARK awards and research program committee awards.

Research Impact

The Cleveland Clinic Department of Pharmacy utilizes the Category Normalized Citation Impact (CNCI) Score as a metric to quantify annual contribution of research. The CNCI score is generated from documents indexed in Web of Science.