Preventing Millions of Heart Attacks: Expanding the Role of Pharmacists in Blood Pressure Control

2023-11-05 10:04:36

Expanding the role of the pharmacist prevents millions of heart attacks

If pharmacists had a greater role in prescribing medications to control blood pressure, they might prevent more than 15 million heart attacks, nearly 8 million strokes, and more than 4 million cases of angina and heart failure in the United States alone in 30 years, according to findings. A recent study conducted by a team of researchers led by Virginia Commonwealth University.

The study found that the US health care system might save more than $1.1 trillion over 30 years, equivalent to a cost savings of regarding $10,000.

Furthermore, the study researchers found that over a 30-year period, patients can regain more than 30 million patient-years of life, or so-called “quality-adjusted life-years,” with patients’ quality of life being much better than it would be if they were experiencing an emergency. Healthy as a result of complications from high blood pressure.

This study, published in the journal JAMA Network Owen (Friday), is among the first studies to explore the economics of pharmaceutical prescriptions to improve blood pressure control.

The leader of the research team, Dave Dixon, a professor of pharmacy at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy, told Asharq Al-Awsat: “These results show that widespread implementation of interventions prescribed by the pharmacist to improve blood pressure control would provide high economic value and help Preventing millions of heart attacks and strokes and improving quality of life compared to usual care.”

Pharmacists currently enjoy some type of prescription privileges in 49 US states (Public Domain)

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, patients visit a pharmacy 12 times more often than a primary care provider. The United States faces a shortage of primary care specialists.

To which Dixon commented: “Pharmacists can fill this gap,” explaining that the role of pharmacists as health care providers is not being exploited sufficiently. They can provide care to their communities, especially patients with high blood pressure.

He explained: “Although pharmacists in the United States currently enjoy some type of prescription privileges in 49 states and Washington, D.C., they are not recognized as service providers under the Social Security Act,” stressing that “this is one of the main obstacles to implementation.” “These measures are life-saving – and cost-saving for patients.”

According to the study results, the ability to provide these services might mean a reduction in cardiovascular emergencies, which is critical, given the increasing mortality rates related to high blood pressure.

Regarding the next step for the study team, Dixon said: “We seek to make this a reality in the United States by calling for legislative changes that give pharmacists the ability to receive money in exchange for providing these clinical services.”

Regarding whether it is possible to generalize these recommendations to other countries and regions around the world, he said: “I think this is possible,” noting that a previous study that was published in March 2017 showed that pharmacist intervention in this context was effective in Canada. He also emphasized that “pharmacist-led interventions have been shown to significantly improve blood pressure control among Black and racial and ethnic minority individuals in the United States.”

For his part, Dr. Ahmed Mahmoud Bandary, Assistant Professor of Cardiovascular Diseases at the Faculty of Medicine at the Egyptian Benha University, said: “The economic and health contexts may differ from one country to another, however, the basic principles of high blood pressure management and access to pharmacists as health care providers remain consistent.” “Globally.”

He explained: “There is potential to achieve similar benefits in the Arab world. However, it is necessary to consider local regulatory and cultural factors, as well as the scope of practice of pharmacists in each country, when assessing the generalizability of these findings.”

He added: “The study highlights the importance of exploring the untapped potential of pharmacists in addressing public health challenges, especially in areas with limited health care resources. Therefore, addressing regulatory and financial barriers is crucial to fully leveraging their capabilities as key players in healthcare delivery.”

This is what Dr. Islam Anan, Professor of Health Economics and Epidemiology at Misr International University, commented on: “The matter requires amending the regulatory framework to allow pharmacists to obtain the authority to prescribe medications.”

He added that the provision and accessibility of clinical and community pharmacies in our Arab countries would play a crucial role in the success of pharmacist-led interventions, in addition to adequate training and education personnel.

He continued: “Public awareness of accepting pharmaceutical prescriptions will also be important, as patients will need to have confidence in the role of pharmacists in managing their health, and healthcare professionals, including doctors, must be receptive to this model of collaborative care.”

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