WASHINGTON — Moving from the concept of dispensing medication to that of a “primary care pharmacist,” one that focuses on managing medications and positively impacting health outcomes, was among the main goals identified by the initial report of “Project Destiny,” a joint initiative of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), released yesterday. Pharmaceutical companies supporting the project financially include sanofi-aventis, GlaxoSmithKline, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer U.S. Pharmaceuticals and Wyeth. Putting this concept into practice would require the development of pharmacy-based patient care management services that are consistent nationwide, while maintaining the autonomy of individual pharmacies. The Patient Care Management Services envisioned in the model go beyond a narrow definition of medication therapy management and include interventions targeting 15 conditions, plus polypharmacy (the use of multiple medications by a patient), that drive demand for avoidable health care utilization.

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