The value of pharmacy is on display in the NACDS Literature Program. Most recently, the third of three articles prepared by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Center for High-Value Health Care has been published by Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy.
Considered as a whole, the article series describes the value of pharmacy for chronic disease prevention and treatment, and it recommends policy changes necessary to help even more patients.
“Americans like the convenient access to high-quality care provided by highly educated and trusted pharmacists. The NACDS Literature Program aligns research and recommendations to help federal and state policymakers sustain and improve this much-needed access,” said NACDS President & CEO Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE.
“Beyond this series of articles, the NACDS Literature Program will continue to support NACDS’ advocacy for pro-patient and pro-pharmacy policy. The NACDS Literature Program is vital to the campaign that NACDS is waging to enhance patients’ access to a broader array of community pharmacist-provided services.”
The most recent article – “Impact of Community Pharmacist-Led Interventions in Chronic Disease Management on Clinical, Utilization, and Economic Outcomes: An Umbrella Review” – demonstrates that community pharmacists can improve clinical outcomes in a wide array of chronic diseases, including diabetes, hyperlipidemia, HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
The authors summarized the results of their literature review:
“Community pharmacist-led interventions mostly consisted of patient consultations and education. In diabetes, interventions achieved significant reductions in hemoglobin A1c, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Reviews also reported favorable reductions in blood pressure, improved medication adherence and reduced readmission rates in patients with heart failure, improved lung function in patients with respiratory conditions, and increased medication adherence in those with HIV/AIDs.”
Prior articles in the series include:
- “Impact of community pharmacist-provided preventive services on clinical, utilization, and economic outcomes: an umbrella review,” Preventive Medicine, October 2018; and
- “Optimizing the Role of Community Pharmacists in Managing the Health of Populations: Barriers, Facilitators, and Policy Recommendations,” Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, September 2019.
The article published in Preventive Medicine noted the importance to underserved communities of community pharmacy-based preventive services:
“There is general agreement on the positive impact of community pharmacists in increasing access to preventive health, particularly among patients who otherwise would not be reached by other healthcare providers.”
The article published in the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy noted barriers to leveraging pharmacy patient care:
“Although community pharmacists have great potential to improve population health outcomes because of their accessibility and clinical interventions that have demonstrated improved outcomes, pharmacists are not recognized as merit-based incentive eligible providers and, as a result, may be underutilized in this role.”
More information about NACDS’ pro-patient and pro-pharmacy policy recommendations – including extensive comments to all branches and levels of government – is available at NACDS’ Access Agenda microsite.
