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Fort HealthCare a Partner in Cardinal Health Foundation Grant Awarded for Optimal Prescribing in Pain Management Initiative

Community
Thursday, August 8, 2019

On August 2, 2019, the Wisconsin Pharmacy Foundation, the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy, and Fort HealthCare announced that the partnership received a grant from the Cardinal Health Foundation, through its new Optimal Prescribing in Pain Management (OPPM) initiative.

This project, titled “Implementing and Scaling Electronic Health Record Clinical Support Tools to Optimize Prescribing of Pain Medications,” will evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the electronic health record-based clinical decision support toolkit related to opioid prescribing and naloxone co-prescribing. Further, the project will leverage the statewide standing order enabling pharmacists to dispense naloxone at local independent community pharmacies. “This grant will support our efforts to improve the health and well-being of the patients of Jefferson County,” noted Chris Barron, Executive Director of Population Health and Sarah Pagenkopf, Pharmacy Director for Fort Healthcare.

The national grant program pairs schools of pharmacy with state pharmacy associations, bringing together complementary assets to address the issue. The Cardinal Health Foundation, in partnership with the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA) and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), is the national convener of the program.

The project developed through a partnership between the Wisconsin Pharmacy Foundation, the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin, the UW–Madison School of Pharmacy, and Fort HealthCare was one of five project submissions selected for an OPPM grant. The grant program seeks to identify patient care interventions focused on mitigation of opioid use disorder which may be applicable to other communities across the state of Wisconsin, or even the nation. The grant focus is to support strategies that drive optimal prescribing of pain medications and the appropriate use of opioid medications.

“The Wisconsin Pharmacy Foundation, the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin, the UW–Madison School of Pharmacy, and Fort HealthCare share our goal of preventing opioid misuse,” said Jessie Cannon, Vice President of Community Relations at Cardinal Health. “We know that doing so requires multiple strategies, including supporting the work to reduce prescribing and find alternatives for pain management. We are so pleased to engage pharmacists in this important work.”

All grant recipients will participate in a national learning collaborative to facilitate accelerated action and measurement at the local level. The Alliance for Integrated Medication Management (AIMM) will lead the collaborative and provide individual coaching to grantees.

“We’re pleased to be working with our partners—NASPA, AACP and AIMM—and the grant recipients,” Cannon said. “All of us are committed to fostering solutions to the complex public health crisis of opioid misuse. As they work together over the next two years, our grantees will learn from each other—and we will learn from them.”

Pictured: Partners from Fort HealthCare, University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Pharmacy, and Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin

To learn more about Wisconsin Pharmacy Foundation, the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin, the UW- Madison School of Pharmacy, and Fort HealthCare’s ongoing efforts to fight the opioid epidemic, please visit the following websites.

 

         

About Wisconsin Pharmacy Foundation and the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Pharmacy Foundation supports the pursuit of professional education and research programs to advance the science and practice of pharmacy. The Wisconsin Pharmacy Foundation works in partnership with the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin, the state professional society representing pharmacists and pharmacy practices. With over 4,100 members at the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin, they believe that together we can inspire professional success with the singular purpose of enhancing the lives of patients. For more information, visit www.pswi.org.

About UW–Madison School of Pharmacy

A global leader in pharmacy education, research, service and professional development, the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy has educated the world’s finest pharmacists and scientists for more than 135 years. Their constantly evolving curriculum, state-of-the-art facilities and commitment to hands-on learning mean their students graduate with a thorough education, grounded in the latest biomedical, pharmaceutical, social and clinical science, and the practical skills to advance tomorrow’s patient care. Inspired by the Wisconsin Idea, the renowned faculty, groundbreaking research labs and institutes of the School of Pharmacy are united by a single mission: to enhance the health and quality of life of people in Wisconsin and around the world. For more information, visit https://pharmacy.wisc.edu or follow them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

About Fort HealthCare

Fort HealthCare provides quality healthcare to the residents of an eight-community area, and has the only hospital in Jefferson County. The hospital is a modern, fully accredited, acute care facility with 49 beds. In addition to comprehensive inpatient services, Fort HealthCare offers ambulatory surgery and specialty clinics, a birthing center, cardiac rehabilitation, emergency services including the Urgent Care Program for after-hours treatment of minor illnesses and injuries, occupational medicine and more. Fort Medical Group is a multi-specialty group practice with satellite clinics offering primary and specialty care at local area clinics throughout the communities they serve. Fort HealthCare’s Mission Statement guides them in the daily endeavor to provide the best health care possible. Fort HealthCare’s Mission Statement is: Improve the Health and Well-being of Our Community and their Vision Statement is: Be the Healthiest Community in Wisconsin. For more information, visit www.FortHealthCare.com and follow on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

About Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health, Inc. is a global, integrated healthcare services and products company, providing customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories and physician offices worldwide. The company enhances supply chain efficiency for clinically proven medical products, pharmaceuticals and cost-effective solutions. To combat prescription drug misuse, the Cardinal Health Foundation and its education partners created Generation Rx, a national drug prevention education and awareness program. The Foundation actively supports an array of other solutions, including efforts to reduce opioid prescribing, promote drug take back and safe disposal and expand collaborative community work. Cardinal Health is backed by nearly 100 years of experience with operations in nearly 46 countries. For more information, visit http://www.cardinalhealth.com/ or follow on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.