UPDATE: MAY 21, 2015
PittPharmacy won the National Challenge Award in the 2015 Medication Adherence Team Challenge as part of the national Script Your Future public awareness campaign coordinated by National Consumers League (NCL). The fourth annual competition was designed to engage health profession students and faculty across the nation by encouraging teams to develop creative ideas, events, and initiatives to raise public awareness about the importance of medication adherence.
The University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy partnered with medical, dental, and nursing students to counsel more than 1,100 patients about proper medication adherence both on campus and throughout their county. To achieve this goal, the team created a standardized intervention for patients that could be applied to different health care settings, including community pharmacies, hospitals, and medical clinics. The University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy held a variety of community outreach events and educated patients on the importance of adherence by distributing Script Your Future materials, offering on-site blood pressure screenings, and counseling patients who shared drug therapy concerns. Via social media, the school shared daily tips on improving medication adherence to hundreds of followers. Additionally, the team created a Public Service Announcement, stressing the importance of taking medications as directed and spreading the Script Your Future message.
Congratulations to our student leaders Dylan Atkinson, Alex Marshall, Taelr Eason, Ingrid Pan, and their faculty advisors Associate Professor Melissa McGivney and Assistant Professor Luke Berenbrok
UPDATE: MARCH 23, 2015
Script Your Future Medication Adherence Challenge
Through our outreach, the University of Pittsburgh Schools of Pharmacy, Medicine, Dental Medicine, and Nursing were able to reach 1,202 patients through face to face interactions at community pharmacies, medical clinics and hospitals. We also reached 18,000 people through the media in the form of published articles, social media, and educational videos produced by students on the importance of taking medications as directed.
During Medication Adherence Weeks, students from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy and School of Medicine educated patients at three pharmacies throughout January and February. The pharmacies included Falk Pharmacy, Presbyterian Prescription Shop, and University Pharmacy. People visiting certain pharmacies are able to interact with health science students, participate in a four question survey that assesses their baseline adherence to their prescriptions, and learn helpful tips and tools to make it easier to take their medication as directed. They also have the opportunity to sign up for text message medication reminders and receive a free blood pressure reading.
PittPharmacy students with PittMedical students: Christopher Hong, Anthony Popovich, Alex Marshall, Joy Trybula, Patrick Squires, Ingrid Pan, and Emily Taylor near the Presbyterian Prescription Shop.
