WASHINGTON — The overwhelming and underappreciated cost of medication nonadherence was highlighted last month in a supplement in The Washington Post.

The chain drug industry was well represented in the 12-page report, assembled by MediaPlanet Publishing Inc. and subtitled “Fixing America’s Other Drug Problem.” Contributors included National Association of Chain Drug Stores president and chief executive officer Steve Anderson, CVS Caremark Corp. executive vice president and chief medical officer Troyen Brennan, and McKesson U.S. Pharmaceutical vice president and general manager Peggy Yelinek. NACDS, CVS Caremark, McKesson and Cardinal Health Inc. all advertised in the section.

“Actively encouraging medication adherence is a top priority,” CVS’ Brennan says.
NACDS was approached for the supplement because of its expertise on medication noncompliance and its advocacy of pharmacy as a solution, says NACDS vice president of media relations Chrissy Kopple.

The supplement came out soon after the association’s relaunch of its own advertising campaign, she noted. Anderson is pictured on two pages and quoted on the second page of the report, under the heading “We Recommend,” stating: “Perhaps the greatest untapped potential is in the training and education of pharmacists.”

A full opinion piece by Anderson runs on the ninth page. It discusses the public’s trust of pharmacists and their accessibility on the front line of health care. It also backs new legislation on behalf of medication therapy management, citing the tremendous return on investment of MTM.

Anderson’s contributions help make pharmacy an important component of the whole supplement, says Kopple. (The fourth of four highlighted tips in the section is “Talk to your pharmacist.”)

The report incorporates pharmacy “in an integral way,” she adds. “And we’re obviously very pleased and are sharing this with members of Congress and NACDS members. It’s an important piece illustrating what pharmacy does as part of the health care delivery system.”