A Costco pharmacy in Los Angeles hosted the 104th NACDS RxIMPACT pharmacy tour of 2017, highlighting pharmacy’s value and accessibility.
A Costco pharmacy in Los Angeles hosted the 104th NACDS RxIMPACT tour of 2017 for a staff member from Senator Kamala D. Harris’ (D-CA) office. The pharmacy team called the experience “informative, fun and important for the pharmacy profession.”
The pharmacy team explained to Harris’s staffer, Brent Robinson, that their pharmacy had been in the community for more than 20 years, serve 22 percent of Medicare Part D members and filled 7,000 prescriptions just in last month alone. The team told Robinson, “We enjoy being healthcare professionals that are readily accessible to the community.”
Robinson asked the team if they had been administering the hepatitis A vaccine and the team explained that they do, but it is more prevalent in their San Diego Costco locations where there is currently an outbreak of the virus. The team explained that pharmacists help educate the public during outbreaks as well as with travel immunizations. The team discussed the benefits of medication therapy management and the services the pharmacy provides for patients managing chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, osteoporosis, diabetes and elevated cholesterol levels. The team also encouraged support for provider status legislation, the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act (H.R. 592, S. 109).
On a related note, NACDS is assisting the San Diego Department of Health as they contend with the hepatitis A virus outbreak. The Public Health Preparedness and Response Branch of County of San Diego Public Health Services has asked NACDS for help in reaching out to member company pharmacies to assess counts of the hepatitis A virus. This effort has allowed San Diego County to have a better handle on vaccine availability across the community.
