Price Chopper Recognized by American Pharmacists Association

Price Chopper Supermarkets was one of 25 pharmacy operators – only two of which were supermarkets - to receive national recognition from the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Foundation’s Project IMPACT: Diabetes for the role that the food and pharmacy chain has played in helping to improve care for people affected by diabetes across the United States. Through Project IMPACT: Diabetes, Price Chopper Pharmacy developed a comprehensive, diabetes care program that was offered to patients residing in the Schenectady and Albany County communities. This program aligned perfectly with other Price Chopper initiatives such as the Diabetes AdvantEdge program, which provides patients with free diabetes medication, supplies and a testing meter. Price Chopper’s use of the NuVal Nutrition Scoring system was also critical to the success of this initiative as it helped patients make healthier food choices. These resources helped ensure that patients and shoppers can always access assistance to improve their nutrition and diabetes management. Price Chopper Pharmacy also partnered with Capital District Physician’s Health Plan (CDPHP) and Whitney M. Young Health Center to expand these programs and improve access to care for people who are disproportionately affected by diabetes.  Price Chopper Pharmacists and Registered Dietitians met individually with patients to provide diabetes education, medical nutrition therapy, and shopping tours. These education sessions often took place in local Price Chopper stores, allowing for convenient teaching opportunities and real life decision making. The project goal was to increase the percentage of patients who met composite Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures and to improve patient outcomes in blood pressure, cholesterol and hemoglobin A1c through pharmacist-delivered education and training.  The HEDIS measurement is a tool used by health plans to measure performance on important dimensions of care and service. The Price Chopper program decreased hemoglobin A1c by 0.6%, a statistically significant measurement that showed real results being obtained by people in the program. “The Affordable Care Act has expanded our opportunities to collaborate with our community health care partners in providing cost effective care and improving patient outcomes. Our participation in Project IMPACT: Diabetes has allowed us to offer innovative healthcare program models which align nicely with this goal,” said Kathy Bryant, Price Chopper’s vice president of pharmacy.