Surgeon General's Call to Action to Control Hypertension
APhA enthusiastically supports the Surgeon
General’s Call to Action to Control
Hypertension, which aims to make hypertension
control a national public health priority.
- The Call to Action supports the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services' Healthy
People 2030 goals to increase hypertension control
by promoting and identifying proven strategies that can be replicated,
adapted, and scaled across diverse settings.
- The report emphasizes pharmacists’ value in hypertension control efforts
as well as obstacles to greater participation and impact, including
reimbursement.
- Information related to specific
sectors
and strategies to accelerate progress is
available.
- Pharmacists can help spread the word that hypertension control is
possible by sharing resources in the partner
toolkit.
- Read A
National Commitment to Improve the Care of Patients With
Hypertension in the US.
APhA is calling on pharmacists nationwide to prioritize hypertension control
in their pharmacy practices. APhA is a founding member of the
National Hypertension Control Roundtable and has long
championed the pharmacist's role in controlling hypertension by engaging in
the Million
Hearts initiative and collaboration with the National
Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention.
APhA Can Help You Help Patients Control Hypertension
The
Pharmacists’ Patient Care Process Approach: An Implementation Guide for
Public Health Practitioners: CDC developed this guide to
demonstrate how pharmacists can be incorporated into multidisciplinary teams to
improve quality of care, including the reduction of racial and socioeconomic
disparities. It features real-world examples from the Michigan Medicine
Hypertension Pharmacists’ Program.
Pharmacist-Provided
Medication Therapy Management in Medicaid: This guide
explores what state health agencies and Medicaid decision-makers could consider
when implementing or expanding MTM programs and details the core elements of an
MTM Service model for implementation.
Using
the Pharmacists’ Patient Care Process: A Resource Guide for
Pharmacists: CDC developed this guide in partnership with
APhA to outline how the Pharmacists’ Patient Care Process can be used to
prevent and manage high blood pressure through team-based care.
Methods
and Resources for Engaging Pharmacy Partners: CDC developed
this resource in partnership with APhA to outline strategies that health
departments can use to enhance team-based care by establishing or expanding
pharmacy services as part of public health initiatives.
Using a validated blood pressure device is key to accurately monitoring blood
pressure control. Check to make sure you and your patients are using a validated
device by visiting ValidateBP.org.
The Million Hearts Hypertension
Control Change Package can help health care professionals
improve patient blood pressure control with evidence-based resources. This
resource outlines process improvements, tools, and resources to optimize control
in clinical settings.
Pharmacist
Collaborative Practice Agreements: Who, What, Why, and How:
This APhA 1-hour CE home study explores how removing existing barriers to
efficient pharmacist provided care can reduce the incidence and prevalence of
hypertension and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
APhA PharmacyLibrary
subscribers can view the PharmacotherapyFirst
Cardiology modules for the latest clinical information and
guidance, the pharmacist's role, and strategies to address health
disparities.
Evidence Supporting Pharmacists' Role in Controlling Hypertension
Cardiovascular
Disease: Pharmacy-based Medication Adherence Interventions:
The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends tailored
pharmacy-based adherence interventions for cardiovascular disease prevention.
Evidence shows interventions delivered or guided by pharmacists increase the
number of patients who report taking medications as prescribed.
Project
IMPACT: Hypertension: Evaluates the impact of pharmacists,
working collaboratively with patients, on blood pressure control, lifestyle goal
setting, adherence to antihypertensive therapy, patient knowledge and
satisfaction, and modification of cardiovascular risk factors.
The
2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association
hypertension guideline and opportunities for community
pharmacists: Explores opportunities for pharmacists to
improve blood pressure control through recommended team-based care models and
appropriate follow-up and monitoring.
APhA News Stories
Pharmacists
and hypertension management: Reflecting one year after the Surgeon
General’s call to action (December 2021)
Pharmacists’
contributions to hypertension control go beyond dispensing, Surgeon
General says (October 2020)
Pharmacy
owner saves hypertension patient in rural South Carolina
town (April 2018)