There's an excellent article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal
by the dean of the University of Southern California School of
Pharmacy, Dr. Pete Vanderveen. Dr. Vanderveen does a great job
describing how pharmacists can help fill the gaps in patient care that
will result from having 30 million more patients covered by health
insurance as a result of health care reform. Pete points to examples
such as the now famous Asheville Project, a safety-net clinic in Los Angeles, and the Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Collaborative that is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration.
The interdisciplinary model that Dr. Vanderveen describes engages
physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and others as a team working together
to achieve the best possible outcomes for patients. This model has been
around for a long time, and the evidence proves that it works!
Pete notes in his article that there are a few changes that need to
occur to make the model more prevalent, such as including pharmacists as
providers in Medicare Part B.
The last thing I will mention about Dr. Vanderveen's Wall Street
Journal article is that we need more individual practitioners and
leaders like him to write similar articles about the great
things pharmacists are doing as members of interdisciplinary teams. It
doesn't have to be in a national media outlet like the Wall Street
Journal. Local newspapers, radio stations, community events, blogs, and
other media sources in states and local communities are
effective channels to communicate about what pharmacists and teams are
doing to help people in their communities. ASHP members are encouraged
to contact our Public Relations Team if they would like advice on how to access these media outlets and craft their messages. ASHP State Affiliates are also great resources for this information.
Congratulations and thanks to Dr. Vanderveen for sharing his perspectives in this important publication. Health care reform
provides many opportunities for pharmacists to improve the lives of
patients, and this article provides some very compelling examples.