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Maryland P3 Program Featured in CDC Guide for Pharmacists, Physicians to Join Forces |
 A new program guide, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), features the Maryland
Patients, Pharmacists, Partnerships (P3) as an effective model of
how health care teams that include pharmacists can improve the outcomes
of patients with chronic diseases. P3 is a project initiated at the
University of Maryland School
of Pharmacy.
The CDC guide, Partnering with Pharmacists in the Prevention and
Control of Chronic Diseases, encourages health care providers and
organizations to build relationships with pharmacists.
"Physicians and pharmacists are joining forces through a number of
collaborations between some of the nation's largest physician groups
and retail drugstore chains," states the CDC guide. It highlights the
Maryland project as a national example of how pharmacists can partner
with other health care professionals to make a difference in patient
care, "Similarly, Maryland's P3 Program has demonstrated an effective
collaboration between the Maryland Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene, the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, the
Mid-Atlantic and Virginia Business Groups on Health, the Maryland
Pharmacists Association, and the Maryland General Assembly."
Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner, PharmD,
CDE, FAPhA, professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacy
Practice and Science and director of the Maryland P3 Program, says,
"Receiving this recognition from the CDC underscores how the School of
Pharmacy, the state of Maryland, the Maryland Pharmacists Association,
and the Maryland P3 Program continue to shape the scope of pharmacy
practice locally and nationally through the incorporation of
pharmacists in the health care team."
She continues, "Our practitioners continue to pioneer new roles for
pharmacists in advanced clinical practice and remain committed to a
continued partnership with community, institutional, and long-term care
pharmacies throughout the state and nation."
Acknowledging pharmacists as experts in the use of medications to
optimize patient drug therapy, the CDC notes that these practitioners
are also the most accessible members of the health care team. They
provide direct patient care to ensure that medications are used in a
safe and effective manner.
To illustrate the wide range of patient
care services that pharmacists can provide, the guide refers to the
Maryland P3 Program as an example of how pharmacists can partner
with other health care providers and organizations to offer
comprehensive medication management to improve chronic disease-related
health outcomes.
The program, which uses trained pharmacists to assist patients with
proper use of medications, diagnostic testing, counseling, and overall
disease management, was highlighted for its work supporting
pharmacists' collaboration with other health care providers to improve
medication adherence and clinical and economic outcomes.
Though there are a number of programs across the United States designed
to encourage health care providers and organizations to develop
relationships with pharmacists, the CDC only featured two such programs
in its guide, including the Maryland P3 Program.
"By becoming active participants in chronic disease management through
team-based care, pharmacists in the Maryland P3 Program are proactively
working to change pharmacy practice and advocate for payment reform,"
says Rodriguez de Bittner, who also served as a contributor to the CDC
guide. "This innovative program has taken root and grown throughout the
state and beyond because it enhances the continuity of care in the
health systems in which it operates and provides data that supports the
value of the pharmacist on the team."
Many state health departments had no experience working with
pharmacists in team-based care when the CDC began work on the guide
earlier this year. Following the publication of the guide, the agency
observed a substantial increase in interest among health care providers
and organizations wanting to partner with pharmacists to deliver
patient care.
The significance of this guide for pharmacy practice was also featured
in an article in
Pharmacy Today, a publication of the American Pharmacists
Association.
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