Cardiovascular Risk Reduction by Pharmacists at the Workplace

• Published in: Current cardiology reports 2020-02, Vol.22 (3), p.15-15, Article 15
• Main Authors: Macaulay, Tracy E., Schaidle, Sarah, Wayne, Nathan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cardiology; Ischemic Heart Disease (D Mukherjee; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Section Editor; Topical Collection on Ischemic Heart Disease
• ISSN: 1523-3782; 1534-3170
• DOI: 10.1007/s11886-020-1265-y

Purpose of Review The burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the USA remains unacceptably high. The associated morbidity and mortality of CVD has important implications on our healthcare system and society. With much of CVD considered preventable an increase emphasis on primary prevention is important. To review the evidence for pharmacists providing CVD primary prevention, particularly as a part of employer-based programs. Recent Findings A recent study evaluated the impact of a pharmacist-led 12-month preventative health program in 178 at-risk employees at University of British Columbia (UBC). Cardiovascular Assessment and Medication Management by Pharmacists at UBC (CAMMPUS) resulted in improved Framingham risk scores (FRS) from 11.7 to 10.7 ( p  = 0.0017), improvement in quality of life ( p  = 0.023), and medication adherence ( p  = 0.019). Findings are consistent with improvements observed in other pharmacist-led intervention trials but offer the unique perspective as an employer-based intervention. Summary Pharmacists-led interventions prevent CVD through improvement in health markers and medication adherence. The ability of pharmacists to provide these as part of an employer-sponsored benefit might be favorable as other billing models for pharmacist can be challenging to be justified in a fee-for-service payment structure; further, there is incentive for employers to lower healthcare cost and improve productivity. Future studies defining the impact of pharmacists in this and other settings may have important public health implications.