NACDS RxIMPACT pharmacy tours are charging ahead and recently crossed the significant 100-tour milestone when Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) toured a Harrisburg, Pa., Giant pharmacy this week. Adding to the momentum, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) toured a Hy-Vee pharmacy in Springfield, Ill., and Tim Weippert, R.Ph., the executive vice president of Thrifty White Pharmacy, met with Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) to discuss key pharmacy topics including NACDS-backed medication therapy management legislation. The total number of NACDS RxIMPACT in-district activities has now reached 102 in 2014—and counting.
The Hy-Vee pharmacy team said they discussed several issues with Sen. Durbin during his tour, including provider status legislation, which would designate pharmacists as healthcare providers under the Medicare program. The team said the senator was very interested in all the issues they spoke about, and they look forward to following up with him on the difference pharmacy is making every day in his constituents’ lives.
Pharmacy tour recaps like this are common—legislators and their staff members often come away from NACDS RxIMPACT pharmacy tours with knowledge about pharmacies they didn’t have before. Fact sheets and talking points provide great information, but nothing resonates like a story, told firsthand, by someone who sees the benefits of pharmacy in providing accessible, effective healthcare options to patients.
Each pharmacy tour lets Congress know why supporting NACDS-backed, bipartisan legislation is essential to improving patient outcomes and reducing overall healthcare costs.
Find out how you can make a difference at the seventh annual NACDS RxIMPACT Day on Capitol Hill, March 11-12, 2015, in Washington, D.C.
