In A Major Address On Health Care Reform President Obama Cites Pharmacists InPush For Coordinated Care

Main Category: Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Article Date: 17 Jun 2009 - 6:00 PDT

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The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) applauds President Obama's address to the annual conference of the American Medical Association (AMA) Monday in Chicago in which he outlined his vision for health care reform. Pharmacists stand ready to be part of the solution and active participants in developing the framework for a reformed health care system.

President Obama said "for the first time-key stakeholders are aligning not against, but in favor of reform. They're coming out-they're coming together out of a recognition that while reform will take everyone in our health care community to do their part-everybody is going to have to pitch in-ultimately, everybody will benefit."

Obama showcased islands of excellence, "We need to build on the examples of outstanding medicine at places like the Cincinnati Children's Hospital, where the quality of care for cystic fibrosis patients shot up after the hospital began incorporating suggestions from parents," he said, "And places like Tallahassee Memorial Health Care, where deaths were dramatically reduced with rapid response teams that monitored patients' conditions and 'multidisciplinary rounds' with everyone from physicians to pharmacists."

An increasing evidence base indicates that pharmacists help keep health care costs down through pharmacist-provided medication therapy management (MTM) services, such as educating patients on how to take their prescription medications properly and safely, as well as administering health screenings and immunizations. With current costs to the health care system to treat chronic diseases at $1.3 trillion annually, proper medication use can help avert hospitalizations and emergency department visits.

Patient care programs like the APhA Foundation's Diabetes Ten City Challenge and the Asheville Project, demonstrate how employers and pharmacists - serving as the patient's health care coach-can work together to help patients manage their chronic disease and reduce health care costs. In the Asheville Project, days of sick time decreased every year (1997-2001) for one employer group, with projected increases in productivity estimated at $18,000 annually. Total average direct medical costs decreased by $1,200 - $1,872 per patient per year compared to baseline.

Source
American Pharmacists Association (APhA)