USPHS Pharmacist Professional Advisory Committee - Report to Surgeon General
Improving Patient and Health System
Outcomes through Advanced Pharmacy Practice
A Report to the US Surgeon General, 2011
Click Image to View the Report / Letter
This comprehensive Report to the U.S. Surgeon General Dr.
Regina Benjamin on current pharmacy practice has been reviewed
and discussed collaboratively between U.S. Public Health Service
(PHS) Pharmacy leadership, the Office of the Surgeon General,
and Dr. Benjamin throughout the past year. For the first time
in our history, the U.S. Surgeon General was presented with
a comprehensive evidence-based report on pharmacy practice.
After reviewing the Report, Dr. Benjamin issued a signed letter
of support.
The Report utilizes objective data to advance the discussion
of how models of innovative care involving pharmacists can ultimately
help alleviate demands on the health care system (access, safety,
quality, cost, provider shortages, etc.) and improve outcomes.
The Report describes existing, accepted, and successful models
of health care delivery and patient care using pharmacists as
health care providers and essential members of the health care
team.
This Report provides a thorough evidence-based discussion
of the comprehensive patient care services that pharmacists
currently provide. For nearly 50 years, federal pharmacists
have been afforded the opportunity to practice collaboratively
with physicians and other health care providers in expanded
scopes delivering comprehensive disease management, health promotion,
disease prevention, medication therapy management and other
cognitive clinical services. The Report presents public and
private sector models, and calls for health leadership and policy
makers to support and implement existing, evidence-based and
cost-effective pharmacist-delivered patient care models as the
demands within our health care system escalate.
The Report is organized into four focus points of discussion:
Focus Point 1 discusses how pharmacists
are already integrated in many practice settings as health care
providers through collaborative practice with physicians or
as an essential part of a health care team. The Report presents
data that interprofessional support exists for this model of
care.
Focus Points 2 and 3 make the case that for pharmacists
to continue to improve patient and health care system outcomes
as well as sustain various roles in the delivery of care, recognition
as health care providers and compensation models reflective
of the range of care provided are needed.
Focus Point 4 outlines
a robust amount of evidence-based outcomes from pharmacist-delivered
care, aligned with demands on the health care system such as
access, prevention, quality and cost-effectiveness.
RADM Scott Giberson, Chief Professional Officer for PHS Pharmacists
stated, “I firmly believe that one of the most evidence-based
and cost-effective decisions we can make as a nation is to maximize
the expertise and scope of pharmacists, and minimize expansion
barriers to successful health care delivery models. It is the
right thing to do for our patients.”
He added, “PHS Pharmacy has a responsibility to help advance
the profession and provide resources to assist our pharmacists
as they improve health care outcomes. I would like to personally
thank pharmacy stakeholders nationwide for their partnerships
and ongoing commitment to move the profession forward and improve
the overall health care and wellness of the nation.”
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