Press Release
ASHP Foundation Announces 2021 Optimizing Technology Solutions Innovation Grant Recipients
BETHESDA, Md. — The ASHP Foundation (Foundation), in collaboration with the ASHP Innovation Center, recently awarded funding to two researchers through the Optimizing Technology Solutions Innovation Grant Program. Illeana Rodriques Nazario, Pharm.D., assistant professor at the University of Puerto Rico, and Andrea Newsome, Pharm.D., MSCR, clinical assistant professor at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, each received $30,000 for projects that demonstrate the ways new and emerging technologies can aid in the safe and effective use of medications.
“The Optimizing Innovation Grant program represents the Foundation’s ongoing commitment to supporting research and other initiatives that advance pharmacy practice and improve patient outcomes,” said ASHP Foundation CEO Steven A. Rubloff.
Launched in 2019, the grant is awarded to interprofessional healthcare teams with a pharmacist as a principal investigator. The Foundation prioritizes projects that demonstrate improved outcomes for patients, enhanced efficiency across systems, and effectiveness of care. Given the wide use of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foundation expanded its call for research projects during the 2021 cycle to include studies that evaluate outcomes of telehealth.
Dr. Nazario will explore the feasibility and acceptability of clinical pharmacy services delivered through telehealth at a team-based rheumatology clinics to enhance access to care.
Dr. Newsome’s research project will apply machine learning methodology to optimize the Medication Regimen Complexity (MRC)-ICU Scoring Tool, which uses predictive analytics that connects patient-level data to individualized pharmacist resource predictions to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs through optimization of the pharmacist-to-patient ratio.
“These ambitious and forward-thinking projects are exactly the type of research we hoped the ASHP Innovation Center and the Innovation Grants would encourage,” said ASHP Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President Kasey. K. Thompson, Pharm.D., M.S., M.B.A. “Drs. Nazario and Newsome’s research further demonstrate how hospital and health-system pharmacists continue to lead in the development, implementation, and effective use of new and emerging technologies to address healthcare challenges now and in the future.”
The Optimizing Technology Solutions Innovation Grant Program is funded by Omnicell.
About the ASHP Foundation
The ASHP Foundation was established in 1968 by ASHP as a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization. As the philanthropic arm of ASHP, the Foundation shares ASHP's vision that medication use will be optimal, safe, and effective for all people all of the time. Our mission is to support ASHP by advancing the professional practice of pharmacists and the pharmacy workforce by funding research and education that improves health outcomes through optimal, safe, and effective medication use. To learn more about the Foundation’s programs, visit ashpfoundation.org.
Contact Information
Steven A. Rubloff, Chief Executive Officer
ASHP Foundation
301-664-8650
[email protected]
Aretha Hankinson
Director, Media Relations
ASHP
301-664-8671
[email protected]