[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 37 (Monday, March 15, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S1515]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CONTRIBUTIONS OF PHARMACIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY

  Mrs. HAGAN. Mr. President, today, I am proud to recognize the 
contributions of our Nations' pharmacies to the American health care 
system. Over 200 members of the pharmacy community--including 
practicing pharmacists, pharmacy school faculty and students, state 
pharmacy leaders, and pharmacy company executives--will come together 
to highlight the importance of supporting policies that protect access 
to neighborhood pharmacies and utilizes pharmacists to improve quality 
and reduce health costs.
  Currently, there are over 50,000 community pharmacies operating 
nationwide. Pharmacists are one of the Nation's most accessible health 
care providers, and nearly all Americans live within about 2 miles from 
a community retail pharmacy. Pharmacy has a long history of receiving, 
filling, billing, and dispensing prescriptions in tandem with 
counseling. But pharmacists, utilizing their specialized education, 
also play a major role in medication therapy management, disease state 
management, immunizations, health care screenings, and other health 
care services designed to improve patient health and reduce overall 
health care costs.
  Pharmacists help patients adhere to their medications to improve 
health outcomes and reduce the risks of adverse events and unnecessary 
costly hospital readmissions and emergency room visits. Pharmacists are 
uniquely qualified to work with patients to help manage their 
medications and play an essential role in helping them take their 
medications as prescribed. Unfortunately, only 50 percent of Americans 
living with chronic diseases adhere to their drug regimens. Patient 
nonadherence costs the Nation's economy an estimated $290 billion each 
year, not to mention the avoidable loss of quality of life for patients 
and their loved ones. Congress recognized the important role of local 
pharmacists when it included a medication therapy management, MTM, 
benefit in Medicare Part D. As we have seen the increasing power of 
this benefit in improving patient health outcomes, I support community 
pharmacy's efforts to strengthen the MTM benefit so it is available for 
seniors and others struggling with chronic conditions and other 
illnesses.
  As the face of neighborhood health care, pharmacies across the Nation 
offer these and other cost-saving programs and services to help 
patients take medicines they need to achieve positive results from 
appropriate use of their medications. For more than a century, 
pharmacies and pharmacists have made a difference in the lives of 
people in North Carolina and the rest of America. In order to ensure 
pharmacies continue to exist in our local communities, pharmacists 
deserve fair reimbursements for the cost effective medications that 
they dispense.
  Today, I celebrate the value of pharmacy and support efforts to 
protect access to neighborhood pharmacies and utilize pharmacies to 
improve the quality and reduce the costs of health care. Finally, I 
would like to congratulate over 200 pharmacy leaders, pharmacists, 
students, and executives and the pharmacy community for their 
contributions to the good health of the American people.

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