U. Washington professors: Pharmacists important to health care
reform
Time for health care paradigm to recognize, incorporate
pharmacists’ broad expertise, Downing and Odegard write in
community newspaper.
Even as Members of Congress continue to struggle with the big issues
of health care reform (HCR) and how to pay for it, pharmacists are
maintaining their full-court press for inclusion of medication therapy
management (MTM) services in any bill that emerges from Capitol Hill.
From Washington State comes the latest example of such efforts: a July
29 opinion piece in the Bellingham
Herald authored by University of Washington pharmacy professors Don
Downing and Peggy Odegard.
The article begins with the simple example of a consumer seeking OTC
medications for stomachache and chronic knee pain. A pharmacist connects
the dots on possible NSAID-induced ulcers, leading the patient to seek
medical care for what turns out to be a minor ulcer and saving money,
improving quality of life, and avoiding a “dangerous medical
condition,” Downing and Odegard wrote.
The scope and gravity of America’s medication-use crisis is
then described, citing the $177 billion cost of medication-related
problems calculated in an Ernst and Grizzle article published in 2001 in
the Journal
of the American Pharmaceutical Association. With such high levels of
avoidable medication-related health problems, the authors noted,
“One might think our health care system would value pharmacists'
services enough to pay for them. But almost exclusively, they are only
paid to sell more medications—not for their routine work
identifying and resolving medication-related risks.”
“We support the kind of health care reform that reinforces
pharmacists' efforts to provide these vital services to the
public,” Downing and Odegard concluded. “Pharmacists make an
essential contribution to improving health outcomes and improving
medication safety. It is time for the health care paradigm to shift to a
model fully recognizing and integrating their broad
expertise.”
The newspaper article was praised in the APhA
CEO Blog, where Thomas E. Menighan cited it as a model for other
pharmacists to use in getting into local media: “Many pharmacists
don't consider themselves writers. Obviously, these two folks do an
excellent job. And you can too! Writing letters and short opinion
articles such as this one is an excellent way for us to tell our story.
Consider writing your own and submitting it to the local media in your
area.”
Related resources on www.pharmacist.com
L. Michael Posey, BPharm, (mposey)
Posted July 31, 2009, 5:15 pm EDT
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