Pharmacist vs physician management of e-visit requests for COVID-19 medication: A randomized clinical trial | Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy
BACKGROUND: Electronic visits (e-visits), defined as structured asynchronous electronic messages between patients and clinicians requiring clinical decision-making, are being increasingly used to enhance access to outpatient health care services, but the primary care physicians who typically manage them face work overflow. Pharmacists have been proposed to manage e-visits that lead to prescription requests, but scant evidence exists about the effectiveness of this approach. OBJECTIVE: To compare pharmacist management of structured asynchronous e-visit requests for COVID-19 medication with physician management regarding quality of care, timeliness, and patient care experience. METHODS: This cluster-randomized clinical trial included adults from 17 medical facilities of Kaiser Permanente Northern California who made e-visits requesting COVID-19 medication (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir) from October 9 to December 11, 2023. In the Pharmacist Care group, a regional team of pharmacists managed e-v
