Pharmacies are "Ad"dressing Healthcare Issues

I've posted about the National Association of Chain Drug Stores' Washington, D.C. ad campaign with the theme:  "Pharmacies.  The face of neighborhood healthcare."  Today, we're releasing even more substance that backs up the messages of the campaign, and calls for action to maximize the opportunities that pharmacy presents for healthcare. 

With the American Pharmacists Association, and the National Community Pharmacists Association, we announced today the results, status and next steps of Project Destiny.  You can take a look at the press release or the executive summary of the complete report.  The project seeks to identify ways that patients and the healthcare system can benefit from pharmacy's medication expertise, in a way that is economically viable for all parties. 

Did you know that failure to keep up with medication therapy and failure to take medications as prescribed cost about $177 billion per year?  And did you know that the seven most common chronic diseases in the U.S. put a $1.3 trillion annual drag (and rising ... quickly) on the economy?  Most importantly, think about the individual lives that contribute to this macro perspective.

The federal and state governments make just about half of all healthcare payments in this country.  As wrestling continues over budgets and reform issues, we believe there are some positive takeaways in Project Destiny.  Payers, employers, other providers and patient groups will find points of interest as well.  (In fact, this project reflects extensive input from these groups - and a commitment continued dialogue is at its core.)