Pharmacotherapy Content Outline 1 April 2010

BOARD OF PHARMACY SPECIALTIES

2215 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20037
202-429-7591 FAX 202-429-6304
[email protected] www.bpsweb.org
Content Outline for the
PHARMACOTHERAPY
SPECIALTY CERTIFICATION EXAMINATION
April 2010
The following domains, tasks and knowledge statements were delineated by the BPS Specialty
Council on Pharmacotherapy and validated through a role delineation study in 2010. The
proportion of examination items allotted to each domain was determined through analysis and
discussion of the results of the role delineation study by the Specialty Council.
Each of the major areas/domains of Pharmacotherapy practice noted below will be tested.
Questions will not be grouped by domain. Rather, items testing each domain are distributed
throughout the total examination. Please note this examination will SAMPLE a candidates
knowledge rather than try to test all of his/her knowledge.
The test items in Domain 1 that deal with patient-specific pharmacotherapy focus on the
therapeutic areas listed in the Systems and Patient-Care Problems section of this document (e.g.,
Cardiovascular, Endocrine, Infectious Diseases, etc.). Test items in Domain 1 that deal with age-
specific problems are reflected across all organ systems and patient-care problems. There is a
mixture of chronic and acute care pharmacotherapy problems, with several questions that are not
specific to a patient acuity level.


Domain 1: Patient-specific Pharmacotherapy (60% of exam)

Tasks:
1. Collect patient-specific data to identify problems and individualize care
a. Review patient data regarding history, physical assessment, working diagnosis,
laboratory and other diagnostic tests, and orders regarding drug therapy
b. Perform patient assessments (for example, physical examination, point of care
testing)
c. Obtain information from patient, family, and health-care team members
d. Obtain additional pertinent data

2. Interpret data to identify problems
a. Interpret subjective and objective data
b. Identify drug-related problems
c. Develop/update a problem list

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3. Design an individualized therapeutic plan
a. Determine and prioritize prevention and treatment goals
b. Consider ethical, cultural, legal, economic, quality of life and safety issues
c. Select drug and/or non-drug interventions
d. Identify potential for drug-drug, drug-disease, drug-nutrient, drug-device, and/or
drug-laboratory interactions

4. Implement a therapeutic plan in collaboration with other health care professionals
a. Evaluate and resolve patient or health-care-system problems in the
implementation of a patients therapeutic plan
b. Administer drugs
c. Order diagnostic and/or laboratory tests
d. Perform diagnostic and/or laboratory tests
e. Communicate a therapeutic plan to health care professionals
f. Document a therapeutic plan

5. Educate patient and/or caregiver regarding a therapeutic plan
a. Identify and prioritize patient education needs
b. Recognize patient education barriers
c. Select and use appropriate educational method(s)
d. Assess patients knowledge/skill acquisition

6. Monitor and modify a therapeutic plan
a. Monitor a therapeutic plan by collecting and interpreting data
b. Modify a therapeutic plan as needed

Knowledge of:
01 Anatomy and physiology
02 Disease state knowledge (prognosis; pathophysiology; epidemiology; etiology;
risk factors; pathogenesis; signs and symptoms; diagnostic criteria;
pharmacotherapy; pharmacokinetics; pharmacodynamics; pharmacoeconomics;
pharmacogenomic; pharmaceutics; drug-drug, drug-laboratory, drug-nutrient,
drug-device, and drug-disease interactions; adverse drug effects; non-drug
treatment; drug administration)
03 Disease/drug monitoring parameters (physical examination, laboratory and point
of care tests, diagnostic tests, therapeutic goals)
04 Evidence-based practice guidelines
05 Patient education principles and methods
06 Health literacy
07 Regulatory requirements related to prescribing and monitoring specific drugs
(e.g., methadone, isotretinoin, REMS programs)
08 Federal regulations related to patients rights and protections (e.g., privacy,
child/adult protective services, advance directives, living will, power of attorney,
do not resuscitate)
09 Ethical issues
10 Formats used to document pharmacotherapy recommendations and follow-up
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11 Humanistic factors or outcomes (e.g., patient satisfaction, quality of life)
12 Cultural competence and sensitivity
13 Health promotion and disease prevention
14 Complementary and alternative medicine


Domain 2: Retrieval, Generation, Interpretation and Dissemination of Knowledge in
Pharmacotherapy (25% of exam)

Tasks:
1. Identify and retrieve relevant biomedical literature
2. Interpret biomedical literature with regard to study design and methodology, statistical
analysis, and significance of reported data and conclusions
3. Educate health care professionals, students, patients, and the public
4. Conduct research to generate clinical, economic, humanistic or translational knowledge
applicable to patient care
5. Prepare and disseminate new knowledge (e.g., original research, review articles, case
reports, abstracts, reviews and monographs)

Knowledge of:
01 Primary, secondary, and tertiary references
02 Search strategies
03 Information resources
04 Biostatistical methods
05 Internal and external validity
06 Clinical and statistical significance
07 Principles and methods of educating health care students and professionals
08 Role modeling, mentoring, and coaching techniques
09 Knowledge/skills assessment techniques
10 Research hypothesis generation
11 Research design and methodology
12 Protocol and proposal development
13 Regulatory requirements for the conduct of research (e.g., HIPAA, IRB, OSHA,
NIH)
14 Data management
15 Design of publications for dissemination of new knowledge

Domain 3: Systems and Population-based Pharmacotherapy (15% of exam)

Tasks:
1. Document and report new, unusual, or severe pharmacotherapeutic events (e.g., adverse
reactions, drug interactions, medication errors, drug/device/assay defects)
2. Collect and interpret data to characterize/identify health system and/or public health
related problems
3. Design, justify, and garner support for health system and/or public health-related
initiatives
4. Implement health system and/or public health-related initiatives
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5. Measure and monitor outcomes of health system and/or public health-related initiatives

Knowledge of:
01 National regulatory and accrediting agency requirements for preventing, tracking,
and reporting new, unusual, or severe pharmacotherapeutic events
02 Process/procedures for reporting to the FDA and other organizations new, unusual
or severe adverse events related to drugs and/or devices
03 Evidence-based clinical practice and patient-care standards
04 Comparative effectiveness research/reviews
05 Health system-based standards and Federal regulations (e.g., TJC, NCQA, OSHA,
CMS, HEDIS, LEAPFROG, HIPAA, FDA)
06 Principles of medication-use evaluation and prevention of drug-related injury
07 Performance improvement process
08 Principles of formulary and drug use system management
09 Ethical issues (industry interactions, conflict of interest, disclosure)
10 Continuity of patient care (e.g., medication reconciliation, in-home medication
use)
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SYSTEMS AND PATIENT-CARE PROBLEMS

Bone/J oint and Rheumatology
Fibromyalgia
Osteoarthritis
Gout/Hyperuricemia
Osteoporosis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Cardiovascular
Acute coronary syndromes
Advance cardiac life support
Arrhythmias
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Coronary artery disease
Dyslipidemia
Heart failure
Hypertension
Peripheral arterial disease
Primary pulmonary hypertension
Septic shock
Thromboembolic disorders
Valvular heart disease
Dermatologic
Acne
Burns
Dermatitis
Decubitus ulcers
Psoriasis
Urticaria
Endocrine
Adrenal disorders
Diabetes insipidus
Diabetes mellitus
Obesity
Parathyroid disorders
Polycystic ovary syndrome
SIADH
Thyroid disorders
Eyes, Ears, Nose, and Throat
Allergic rhinitis
Glaucoma
Macular degeneration
Vertigo
Fluid and Electrolyte/Nutrition
Acid-base disorders
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Electrolyte abnormalities
Nutritional deficiencies
Gastrointestinal
Constipation
Diarrhea
Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
Gastroesophageal reflux disease
Gastrointestinal bleeding
Hepatitis
Inflammatory bowel disease
Irritable bowel syndrome
Malabsorption syndrome
Nausea/vomiting
Pancreatitis
Peptic ulcer disease
Stress Ulcer Prophylaxis
Genitourinary
Prostatic hyperplasia
Sexual dysfunction
Urinary incontinence
Hematologic
Anemias
Clotting factor disorder
Disseminated intravascular coagulation
Sickle cell disease
Thrombocytopenia
I mmunologic
Allergy/anaphylaxis
Angioedema
Organ transplantation
Stevens-Johnson syndrome
I nfectious Diseases
Antimicrobial prophylaxis
Bone and joint infections
Central nervous system infections
Ear infections
Febrile neutropenia
Fungal infections
Gastrointestinal infections
Gynecologic infections
Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection
Infectious endocarditis
Intra-abdominal infections
Lung abscess
Ophthalmic infections
Prostatitis
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Respiratory tract infections
Sepsis
Sexually transmitted diseases
Sinusitis
Skin and soft tissue infections
Tuberculosis
Urinary tract infections
Neurological
Central nervous system hemorrhage
Cerebral ischemia (including ischemic stroke)
Dementia
Epilepsy
Headache/migraine
ICU sedation/paralysis/delirium
Neuromuscular diseases
Parkinsons disease
Pain
Peripheral neuropathy
Spinal-cord injuries/abnormalities
Status epilepticus
Traumatic brain injury
Tremors
Obstetrics/Gynecology
Chronic disease in pregnancy
Contraception
Endometriosis
Infertility
Lactation
Menopausal symptoms
Menstrual disorders
Pregnancy-related disease
Oncology
Breast cancer
Colon cancer
Gynecological cancers
Leukemia
Lung cancer
Prostate cancer
Skin cancer
Supportive care (e.g., preventing / treating complications associated with malignancy or
treatment)
Psychiatric
Anxiety disorders
Attention deficit disorders
Bipolar disorders
Depressive disorders
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Drug/alcohol overdose/withdrawal
Schizophrenia
Sleep disorders
Substance abuse
Renal
Acute renal failure
Chronic kidney disease
Dialysis (managing associated complications and drug dosing)
Nephrolithiasis
Pulmonary
Adult respiratory distress syndrome
Asthma
Chronic obstructive lung disease
Respiratory failure
Sleep apnea
Health Maintenance/Public Health
Bioterrorism
Health advice, education, or instruction
Immunizations
Lifestyle modification
Patient safety
Routine health screening