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Cardiovascular Risk Reduction by Pharmacists at the Workplace

  • Ischemic Heart Disease (D Mukherjee, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Cardiology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

The burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the USA remains unacceptably high. The associated morbidity and mortality of CVD has important implications on our healthcare system and society. With much of CVD considered preventable an increase emphasis on primary prevention is important. To review the evidence for pharmacists providing CVD primary prevention, particularly as a part of employer-based programs.

Recent Findings

A recent study evaluated the impact of a pharmacist-led 12-month preventative health program in 178 at-risk employees at University of British Columbia (UBC). Cardiovascular Assessment and Medication Management by Pharmacists at UBC (CAMMPUS) resulted in improved Framingham risk scores (FRS) from 11.7 to 10.7 (p = 0.0017), improvement in quality of life (p = 0.023), and medication adherence (p = 0.019). Findings are consistent with improvements observed in other pharmacist-led intervention trials but offer the unique perspective as an employer-based intervention.

Summary

Pharmacists-led interventions prevent CVD through improvement in health markers and medication adherence. The ability of pharmacists to provide these as part of an employer-sponsored benefit might be favorable as other billing models for pharmacist can be challenging to be justified in a fee-for-service payment structure; further, there is incentive for employers to lower healthcare cost and improve productivity. Future studies defining the impact of pharmacists in this and other settings may have important public health implications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, 789 S. Limestone Street, TODD 223, Lexington, KY, 40536, USA

    Tracy E. Macaulay

  2. Northwestern Memorial Hospital, 251 E. Huron Street, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Sarah Schaidle

  3. Augusta University Medical Center, 1120 15th Street, BI-2101, Augusta, GA, 30912, USA

    Nathan Wayne

Authors
  1. Tracy E. Macaulay
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  2. Sarah Schaidle
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  3. Nathan Wayne
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Correspondence to Tracy E. Macaulay.

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Tracy E. Macaulay, Sarah Schaidle, and Nathan Wayne declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Ischemic Heart Disease

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Macaulay, T.E., Schaidle, S. & Wayne, N. Cardiovascular Risk Reduction by Pharmacists at the Workplace. Curr Cardiol Rep 22, 15 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-020-1265-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-020-1265-y

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