Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the impact of a clinic-based specialty pharmacy on clinical

outcomes for HIV-positive patients in comparison with other pharmacies.

Methods: Community pharmacists’ favorably impact adherence rates of HIV-positive patients but clinical outcomes are often not measured. This research is a retrospective, single-center, cohort study that will be based at a specialty pharmacy located inside a physician clinic practice. HIV-positive patients who are at least 18 years of age, treatment-naive, and new to the physician clinic between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013 will be included in this study. Six months after initiating antiretroviral therapy, difference in viral load (VL), CD4+ count, and highly active antiretroviral therapy regimen will be analyzed. Results for patients utilizing the in-clinic pharmacy will be compared with those utilizing other outside pharmacies including traditional, specialty, and mail-order pharmacies. The difference between characteristics of two groups will be analyzed using χ2 test. Difference in VL and CD4+ count between the groups will be assessed using Student t test.

Results: The research is currently in progress. Previous studies have researched community pharmacists’ impact on adherence rates of HIV-positive patients. This study will analyze community pharmacists’ influence on patient specific clinical outcomes through services they provide such as patient-specific education, medication synchronization, and interacting with patients’ health care team regarding treatment plans.