Washington, DC – The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) and APhA Foundation, today, joined 20 other organizations comprised of patients, healthcare providers, public health, payers and purchasers, in support of the National Forum for Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention’s Value & Access Initiative by signing a Joint Policy Statement, including recommendations that will expand access to care options for patients nationwide, especially in underserved or otherwise vulnerable populations.
The policy recommendations align with our organizations’ sustained efforts to demonstrate how pharmacists and other healthcare providers can work collaboratively to facilitate patient access and improve both health outcomes and cost-effective care.
Mounting evidence shows that people with underlying conditions such as hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes, are more likely to suffer severe COVID-19 illness. Even before the pandemic, these conditions were leading drivers of healthcare costs, hospitalizations, premature deaths, disability, and lost productivity. The links to severe COVID-19 illness underscore the urgent need to optimize care for patients with cardiovascular and other chronic diseases and ensure all patients have continuous access to essential treatments.
“There is a pressing need to address access to care issues that drive health disparities and overall healthcare costs,” said APhA CEO and Executive Vice President Scott J. Knoer, MS, PharmD, FASHP. “This effort, and the resulting policy statements, reflect an important dialogue around barriers to care and a commitment by a diverse group of stakeholders to put patients first.”
Research conducted by the APhA Foundation demonstrates that improved patient care outcomes are achieved when pharmacists are part of a multi-disciplinary healthcare team. For example, in Project ImPACT (Improve Persistence And Compliance with Therapy): Hyperlipidemia, pharmacists successfully addressed the needs of high-risk patients from underserved and at risk populations with existing coronary artery disease. This team-based approach achieved patient outcome metrics over 2.5 times better than a trial with similar populations that did not utilize the same team-based care process.
“There are over 300 million people who pass through the front doors of community pharmacies every 7 days in the United States,” added APhA Foundation Executive Director, Elizabeth K. Keyes. “During the COVID-19 public health emergency, pharmacies remain open as essential businesses, and pharmacists deliver care to more patients than any other provider. Please join us in this effort as we endeavor to do good for those we serve!”
About the American Pharmacists Association Foundation
The APhA Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC, is a trusted source of research demonstrating how pharmacists can improve health care. The APhA Foundation’s mission is to improve health by inspiring philanthropy, research and innovation that advances pharmacists’ patient care services. The APhA Foundation is affiliated with the American Pharmacists Association, the national professional society of pharmacists in the U.S. Follow the APhA Foundation on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates.
About the American Pharmacists AssociationThe American Pharmacists Association, founded in 1852 as the American Pharmaceutical Association, is a 501 (c)(6) organization, representing more than 62,000 practicing pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, student pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and others interested in advancing the profession. APhA is dedicated to helping all pharmacists improve medication use and advance patient care and is the first-established and largest association of pharmacists in the United States. For more information, please visit www.pharmacist.com.