School wins Script Your Future team challenge award

Pharmacy students participated in Script Your Future health fairs as part of the Medication Adherence Team Challenge.

he School of Pharmacy has been recognized as one of five winners in the second annual Script Your Future Medication Adherence Team Challenge for health professions students.

Sponsored by the National Consumers League and its partners, the monthlong competition engages health professions students and faculty in developing creative ideas for raising awareness about medication adherence as a critical public-health issue.

“We are thrilled to be the recipient of the Chronic Condition Outreach Award from the Script Your Future campaign,” said Leigh Ann Ross, associate dean for clinical affairs. “Medication adherence is critical to improve outcomes for our patients, and the School of Pharmacy is always seeking opportunities to work with pharmacists and other health care providers to improve adherence in our Mississippi communities.”

The award, which includes a certificate and $700 to further advance community outreach, recognizes the school for partnering with public and private groups to focus on medication adherence in populations with cardiovascular disease. Mississippi has the nation’s highest cardiovascular disease mortality rate.

UM faculty and students held health fairs in Jackson, using Script Your Future materials to keep participants engaged with a series of activities and stations. Students from nursing, medicine, pharmacy and other health-related professions conducted health screenings and education sessions with patients.

“The health fairs were a great success,” said Lauren Bloodworth, coordinator for student services and student professional development. “We feel like we really impacted our patients as we assessed cardiovascular risk, performed cardiovascular screenings and educated every patient about the importance of taking their medications as prescribed.”

An evaluation of patients who attended the fairs unearthed interesting population trends and led to a number of referrals for follow-up visits. All involved in the outreach, from students to faculty to patients, recognized the importance and strength of interprofessional collaboration when addressing chronic diseases.

The Medication Adherence Team Challenge is part of the Script Your Future public awareness campaign launched in 2011 by NCL. The campaign includes more than 130 public and private stakeholder organizations, including the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation, American Medical Association and National Community Pharmacists Association.

As part of the national competition, more than 1,700 future health care professionals held 200 events in 35 states and the District of Columbia, counseling more than 12,000 patients and reaching more than 3 million consumers nationwide.

“Positive health outcomes for patients require good medication adherence and the collective efforts of community pharmacists and other health care professionals. This is why the National Community Pharmacists Association is proud to be a sponsor of the Script Your Future team challenge, as it recognizes the indispensable role of each member of a patient’s health care team and encourages each to be the best patient advocate they can be,” said NCPA chief executive officer B. Douglas Hoey.

Other Script Your Future winners are the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, University of Charleston School of Pharmacy, University of the Pacific Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy & Health Sciences and the Touro University-California College of Pharmacy.