Seeking to enlist patients as advocates, NCPA launches online grassroots effort

ALEXANDRIA, Va. The nation’s top independent pharmacy organization has unveiled a plan to recruit patients themselves in a broad campaign to influence policy in Washington on behalf of community pharmacists.

The new initiative, dubbed Fight4Rx.org, is aimed to “recruiting and transforming patients into grassroots activists for community pharmacies,” noted the National Community Pharmacists Association, “by educating them on the vital role pharmacists play and the serious challenges they face in the delivery of health care.”

Fight4Rx patients will sign up through their local community pharmacies, some 1,000 of which have already begun recruiting patients, according to NCPA. The group has set an initial goal of enlisting 50,000 Fight4Rx patients by the end of 2009. That goal is “well within reach,” NCPA predicts. 

“America’s patients and their families greatly value their community pharmacists and the personalized services they provide,” said Bruce Roberts, EVP and CEO of the independent pharmacy organization. “Fight4Rx patients will have a new forum during the health care reform debate in Washington, DC. They will be able to research issues and speak directly to their legislators about key concerns affecting their access to prescription medication and services by their local community pharmacies.” 

Fight4Rx includes issue briefs on pharmacy patient issues, Medicare and healthcare news updates, and a video blog on the home page, www.Fight4Rx.org, with regular updates from pharmacy industry experts. Patients will receive a monthly e-mail newsletter that will update them on key pharmacy issues and breaking news. When necessary, Fight4Rx will encourage patients to contact their elected officials via a 1-800 number or e-mail. 

NCPA president Holly Henry said patients could become a highly effective ally in community pharmacy’s struggle for greater recognition and a level health care playing field. “I believe the Fight4Rx online community will lead us to fair and common-sense health care policies in the United States by empowering patients to let their voices be heard in establishing the pharmacy home of their choice,” said Henry, a Seattle-based pharmacy owner-operator.