National Pharmacy Week, Oct 21-27, 2001
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), formerly the Health Care Financing Administration, held an agency-wide observance of National Pharmacy Week for the first time in 2001. The agency’s observance consisted of the following:
1. An announcement on CMS’s Intranet describing the importance of the pharmacist’s contribution to the health care team (the text follows). This announcement appeared on the opening webpage as the employee logged on each day, and remained on this webpage for two weeks.
2. A broadcast email message to all employees the week before National Pharmacy Week, containing the text that was posted on the Intranet.
3. A booth outside the cafeteria during the lunch hour on the first day (Monday, October 22) of the week. A pharmacist was present from 11am-2pm, available to answer questions. An assortment of brochures was obtained that were available to interested employees.
Response from the agency’s employees was very positive. Many people stopped by the booth to ask questions and/or pick up informational brochures. All agencies are encouraged to consider promoting National Pharmacy Week to their employees.
Assistance/information was obtained from the following sources:
Maryland Poison Center, Baltimore, MD
APHA (http://www.ashp.org/public/public_relations/pharmweek/ and http://www.pharmacyandyou.org/)
ASHP (http://www.ashp.org/
CDC (http://www.bt.cdc.gov/)
AHRQ (http://www.ahrq.gov)
Contact: CAPT Diane L. Frankenfield
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Choices
Center for Beneficiary Choices
7500 Security Boulevard Mailstop S3-02-01
Baltimore, MD 21244
Telephone: 410-786-7293
Fax: 410-786-8532
Email address: dfrankenfield@cms.hhs.gov
Announcement of National Pharmacy Week (permission was obtained from APHA to use the logo for our observance):
National Pharmacy Week this year is October 21-27 and has the theme "Your Prescription for Good Health – Talk with Your Pharmacist".
Pharmacists do much more than just put your medicine in a bottle. They are experts on medicines, their benefits, side effects, warnings, and interactions. Discussing your medicines with your pharmacist is important for your good health. Not everyone may know, for example, that instructions such as "three times daily" usually mean to take this approximately every eight hours. Talk to your pharmacist about your daily schedule, including the times of day you eat, go to bed, or take other medicines. Find a schedule that makes sense and one that you can stick to.
Your pharmacist knows about interactions with food or other medicines or dietary supplements that can affect how medicines work. Some interactions can be dangerous. When picking up a new medicine, ask if it will work safely with other prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines you may be taking. Tell your pharmacist about any herbal products that you may be using as well.
It is important to choose one pharmacist, especially if you take many different medications or see more than one doctor. Choosing one pharmacist means that all the information about the medicines that you are taking is in one place, making it easier for you, your pharmacist, and your doctor to coordinate and manage your medicines. Your pharmacist should be someone you know and trust. You should give as much consideration to choosing your pharmacist as you do to choosing a doctor.
The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Pharmacy and Public Health Workgroup is sponsoring special activities in observance of National Pharmacy Week in the Metro Baltimore – Washington DC area. At CMS, we invite you to visit our National Pharmacy Week booth outside the cafeteria on Monday, October 22, 2001 from 11:00am-2:00pm for more information.