SEATTLE — The Cardinal Health Foundation and the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) have formed a partnership to encourage pharmacists and student pharmacists to take an active role in preventing the abuse and misuse of prescription medications. The announcement was made at the APhA annual meeting and exposition here.

“We believe that as trusted health care experts, pharmacists and student pharmacists can play an important role in helping parents, educators, community leaders and teens to better understand the dangers of prescription drug abuse,” says Jessica Lineberger, manager of the Cardinal Health Foundation, which together with the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy developed GenerationRx toolkits to help combat the problem.

“We look forward to partnering with APhA to engage their members in the fight to save thousands of lives through the prevention of prescription drug abuse.”

With funding support from the foundation, APhA will encourage its pharmacist and student pharmacist members to join the fight to prevent prescription drug abuse through a wide range of initiatives.

For example, APhA will encourage its professional and student members to tap into two comprehensive communications toolkits developed by the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy and funded by the foundation.

The easy-to-use toolkits contain talking points, presentation materials and tips to make it time-efficient and easy for pharmacists and others to discuss the issue of prescription drug abuse in a variety of environments — from civic, community group and Parent Teacher Association meetings to classroom and youth settings.

“We are pleased to partner with the Cardinal Health Foundation to help pharmacists and student pharmacists educate their communities about the dangers of prescription drug abuse and to recognize pharmacists who are already leading the way when it comes to raising awareness of this important public health issue,” says APhA director of corporate alliances Elizabeth Cardello.

She adds that the foundation funding will also enable APhA to conduct workshops this fall on the issue of prescription medication abuse as part of the midyear regional meetings of the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP).

Earlier this year APhA launched a competition among its 116 APhA-ASP chapters, challenging them to use the toolkits to raise awareness of prescription drug abuse in their communities.

Student chapters were encouraged to submit a report summarizing their related work and accomplishments. The top five chapters in this inaugural competition were Idaho State University, Ohio State University, the University of Florida, the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Minnesota. These student chapters were recognized at APhA-ASP’s opening general session and received a commemorative plaque and cash award in recognition of their work.