Health Care Reform Legislation Would Expand Access To Pharmacist-Patient Care Services

Main Category: Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Article Date: 23 Sep 2009 - 6:00 PST

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The American Pharmacist Association (APhA) applauds Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont, for unveiling the Committee's long-awaited health care reform proposal. The release of the Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 will continue to advance legislative process and hopefully lead to passage of meaningful healthcare reform that will benefit millions of Americans. The bill is estimated to cost $856 billion over 10 years.

The bill has provisions that would expand access to pharmacist-delivered medication therapy management (MTM) services grants that would expand opportunities for pharmacists to deliver MTM services through local community-based, multi-disciplinary health teams to patients who suffer from chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

The U.S. healthcare system currently incurs more than $177 billion annually in mostly avoidable health costs to treat adverse drug events from the inappropriate use of medications. In addition, the treatment of chronic disease costs our health system $1.3 trillion annually - about 75 cents of every healthcare dollar.

MTM services provided by pharmacists, working with physicians and other healthcare providers, helps improve therapeutic outcomes, reduces medication errors and adverse drug events, enhances coordination of care, improves patients' overall quality of life, and reduces overall healthcare costs.

"We are pleased that the Senate Finance Committee bill acknowledges that chronic diseases are not optimally treated," said Thomas E. Menighan, APhA Executive Vice President and CEO.

"We applaud the Committee proposal for identifying the problems associated with inappropriate medication use and for recognizing the important role of pharmacists as providers of clinical care services that can improve the quality of patient care by focusing on appropriate medication use and can contribute to reducing overall costs in the treatment of chronic diseases."

By working collaboratively with physicians and other health care providers, pharmacists help patients better understand their medications and how to get the full benefit of their medication therapy. Pharmacists are the key to solving our medication use crisis.

Source
American Pharmacists Association (APhA)

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