The UW–Madison School of Pharmacy’s PearlRx — the nation’s largest research network of its kind — connects pharmacists and researchers to improve Wisconsin practice

By Archer Parquette

Pharmacy practice is evolving on two fronts: the bustling patient-facing encounters and the quiet, methodical research labs. But too often, breakthroughs made in one space don’t reach the other. That’s where PearlRx comes in.

Born at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy in 2013, this powerful practice-based research network connects frontline pharmacists with cutting-edge researchers, transforming urgent challenges into collaborative solutions that are reshaping patient care across Wisconsin.

PearlRx (Pharmacy Practice Enhancement and Action Research Link), housed within the School of Pharmacy’s Sonderegger Research Center for Improved Medication Outcomes (SRC), started as a small network, inviting pharmacists to collaborate with SRC researchers.

“Health care is messy. It’s chaotic. Nurses, doctors, and pharmacists don’t always have the right information they need to provide optimal care,” says Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor Michelle Chui, the SRC’s current director. “A practice-based research network can fine-tune and adapt what we learn in a lab setting here at UW and apply it into that messiness of healthcare to really see what works and what doesn’t.”

“A practice-based research network can fine-tune and adapt what we learn in a lab setting here at UW and apply it into that messiness of healthcare to really see what works and what doesn’t.”
—Michelle Chui

Over its first five years, PearlRx recruited around 150 pharmacist members, usually collaborating on one or two projects a year. But over the past seven years, it’s seen explosive growth, becoming the largest pharmacy practice-based research network in the country, with over 1,400 members across 63 Wisconsin counties. It facilitates projects across the state, connecting pharmacists and researchers to bring the work of the university to the front lines.

“The growth of the PearlRx practice-based research network into the nation’s largest is a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation in pharmacy practice,” says Kate Hartkopf (PharmD ’08), director of team-based care strategies and business development at the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin (PSW).

Growing a powerful network

PearlRx’s major growth spurt started in 2017 when Chui became the SRC’s director and pursued a broader goal for the research network.

“I really wanted PearlRx to be more than a network within UW,” she says. “I wanted it to be a network for all of Wisconsin.”

She closed PearlRx to prepare a major relaunch. Over the next year, she hired Kate Rotzenberg (PharmD ’07) as administrator for the program and partnered with PSW to expand the network to researchers outside of the UW system. That partnership brought Wisconsin’s other two pharmacy schools, at Concordia University Wisconsin and the Medical College of Wisconsin, into the network.  

“I didn’t want this to be a situation where people were competing for resources or time,” Chui says. “Pharmacy can be a lonely business. PearlRx provides a community of like-minded individuals who care about taking care of patients and advancing practice.”

In 2018, PearlRx relaunched with its new statewide focus — and with that relaunch came an influx of new members from both within and outside of UW. As it expanded, the scope of its projects grew.

“By bringing together Wisconsin’s schools of pharmacy and offering a logical bridge for PSW members to engage in practice-based research, PearlRx continues to expand its impact — strengthening research, fostering innovation, and enhancing the profession’s ability to meet evolving healthcare needs,” says Hartkopf, PSW’s staff liaison.

So far, the network has been involved in 36 projects that improved pharmacy workflow and patient care across the state, including one that grew to transform opioid stewardship at three Wisconsin health systems.

Identifying pharmacists’ needs

PearlRx began reaching out to health systems across the state to identify the medication use problems they were most concerned about and opportunities for future projects. One of PearlRx’s first projects addressed an important need at the time for Fort Healthcare in Fort Atkinson, a rural health system that was struggling to implement an effective opioid stewardship program.

“There are many areas of health care that can be frustrating,” Chui says. “Pharmacists hit barriers, whether that’s time constraints, reimbursement issues, technology issues. One of the ways we break down these barriers is research.”

In collaboration with Fort HealthCare, PearlRx wrote a grant to address the health system’s issues with opioid stewardship. They held meetings with providers, patients, caregivers, community pharmacists and other stakeholders to develop a program to help address the need.

“We wanted to ensure we were helping primary care physicians make good choices while also ensuring that patients have adequate pain control,” says Sarah Pagenkopf (PharmD ’07), then the director of pharmacy at Fort Healthcare. She worked alongside Chris Barron (BS ’97), the executive director of population health and clinical services at Fort Healthcare, to take the feedback from stakeholders and create a solution.  

The project led to the creation of an opioid stewardship toolkit, a digital resource that includes guidelines, interviews and more to teach best practices for opioid prescribing and management. The toolkit has since been implemented by two other Wisconsin health systems.

“I love that project because it highlights the Wisconsin Idea of giving back,” says Rotzenberg. “So many different people came together to make that happen.”

“It’s a great example of what PearlRx can do,” says Chui. “Pharmacists in Wisconsin said, ‘We need this. We’re suffering.’ PearlRx got involved. Researchers at UW got involved. And we did something about it. We were responsive to their needs and developed something they could use.”

Pagenkopf is now the director of professional and educational services at PSW, where she continues to work with PearlRx. Recently, she helped develop and implement a training and education program about naloxone dispensing to combat opioid overdoses. The program resulted in a dramatic increase in the PSW’s partner pharmacies dispensing and provisioning naloxone — in some cases by nearly 200%.

“Without PearlRx, that wouldn’t have happened,” Pagenkopf says. “Those patients wouldn’t have been helped. PearlRx has really been instrumental in connecting researchers with frontline pharmacists who are engaging with patients on a routine basis.”

Reaching wider

This year, Jamie Stone took over for Rotzenberg as administrator of PearlRx, and Rotzenberg is transitioning into the role of pharmacist editor of the Journal of the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin.

“I’d like to keep building off all the amazing work Michelle and Kate have done,” Stone says.

She hopes to grow membership across Wisconsin and increase the number of pharmacy technician members in the network and projects tailored toward their work.

“Whether you’re working with opioids, or pain management or whatever the issue might be, there’s such a wide range of pharmacy professionals in the network from all across the state who can provide insight.”
—Sarah Pagenkopf

“Technicians play a really critical role in pharmacy,” she says.

Currently, the network, which is funded by the School of Pharmacy, is working on several projects. RxSocialConnect is studying the epidemic of loneliness, its effect on physical health, and determining how pharmacists can help. PearlRx is also involved in an intervention to reduce the misuse of over-the-counter medications among Hispanic older adults.  

“The amazing part of PearlRx is that its nimble,” says Pagenkopf. “Whether you’re working with opioids, or pain management or whatever the issue might be, there’s such a wide range of pharmacy professionals in the network from all across the state who can provide insight.”