SEATTLE — The Cardinal Health Foundation and the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) have unveiled a partnership to urge pharmacists and pharmacy students to take an active role in preventing the abuse and misuse of prescription drugs.
Under the effort, announced at the APhA Annual Meeting and Exposition in Seattle, the association — with funding support from the Cardinal Health Foundation — will encourage its pharmacist and student pharmacist members to join the fight to prevent prescription medication abuse through a variety of initiatives.
APhA will urge its professional and student members to tap into two comprehensive, easy-to-use communications tool kits, developed by The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy and funded by the Cardinal Health Foundation. Available at www.CardinalHealth.com/generationrx, the kits contain talking points, presentation materials and tips to make it time-efficient and easy for pharmacists and others to discuss the issue of prescription drug abuse in environments ranging from civic, community group and parent-teacher association meetings to classroom and youth settings.
Earlier this year, APhA also launched a competition among its 116 APhA Academy of Student Pharmacist (ASP) chapters, challenging them to utilize the GenerationRx tool kit to raise awareness of prescription drug abuse in their communities. Student chapters were encouraged to submit a report summarizing their related work and accomplishments. The top five chapters in the inaugural competition were Idaho State University, The Ohio State University, University of Florida, University of Illinois at Chicago and University of Minnesota. The student chapters were recognized during the APhA-ASP Opening General Session and received a commemorative plaque and cash award in recognition of their work.
In addition, APhA recently introduced the APhA GenerationRx Award of Excellence, endowed by the Cardinal Health Foundation, which will each year recognize one pharmacist for outstanding efforts in prescription medication abuse prevention. Applications will be accepted later this year for the inaugural award, which will be presented at the APhA 2012 Annual Meeting and Exposition. The association will also develop a GenerationRx Preceptor Program, which will engage pharmacy educators in efforts to raise awareness of the dangers of prescription drug abuse.
"We are pleased to partner with the Cardinal Health Foundation to help pharmacists and student pharmacists educate their communities about the dangers of prescription drug abuse and to recognize pharmacists who are already leading the way when it comes to raising awareness of this important public health issue," Elizabeth Cardello, APhA’s director of corporate alliances, said in a statement.
Cardello added that the Cardinal Health Foundation funding will also enable APhA to conduct workshops on the issue of prescription medication abuse as part of its annual APhA-ASP Midyear Regional Meetings.
"We believe that as trusted health care experts, pharmacists and student pharmacists can play an important role in helping parents, educators, community leaders and teens better understand the dangers of prescription drug abuse," stated Jessica Lineberger, manager of the Cardinal Health Foundation. "We look forward to partnering with APhA to engage their members in the fight to save thousands of lives through prescription drug abuse prevention."
