On Tuesday, members of the APhA Board of Trustees, together with members of the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA), blitzed Capitol Hill to share insights and information with Members of Congress. We sought to retain the support for and protect the provisions in the Affordable Care Act for the pharmacists’ services that we fought so hard to secure. We reached 47 congressmen and senators in a very productive day. Just as was the case when we promoted our common sense approach to health care last year in the legislative process, we found support on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers for medication therapy management (MTM). However, the legislation only authorizes, but does not appropriate, funds; with this season’s elections underway, things could change. We wanted to be sure our message wasn’t lost.

The primary focus of the Capitol Hill visits was to gain support for the initiation and funding of the MTM Grant Programs (Section 3503). These grant programs would help establish pharmacist-provided MTM programs, providing increased patient access to these important services that improve the quality of care and reduce overall costs, particularly in the treatment of individuals with chronic illnesses.

I hope you’ll take the time to read what we’re up to on Pharmacist.com. In addition to maintaining your membership in both APhA and your state pharmacy association, we encourage you to check out APhA’s Advocacy Key Contact Network and complete the form to join the network.

I’m also writing a blog post on motivation to change. There’s a connection. I hope it makes sense to you.

Thanks to all of you who let me know you’re reading my blog.