National Association of Chain Drug Stores members and other pharmacy advocates have sent 1,500 letters to federal lawmakers over the past week and participated in over 220 in-person Congressional meetings during RxImpact Day on Capitol Hill.

NACDS members, pharmacy students and faculty, state pharmacy associations and other pharmacy advocates met in the offices of 67 senators and 153 members of the House of Representatives, touching base with key health care-related committees.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — National Association of Chain Drug Stores members and other pharmacy advocates have sent 1,500 letters to federal lawmakers over the past week and participated in over 220 in-person Congressional meetings during NACDS RxImpact Day on Capitol Hill.

The grassroots advocacy event, held March 10 and 11 in Washington, D.C., included more than 250 pharmacy advocates from 35 states, which NACDS noted marked a nearly 70% increase in participants versus last year’s event.

As part of the RxImpact Day, NACDS members, pharmacy students and faculty, state pharmacy associations and other pharmacy advocates met in the offices of 67 senators and 153 members of the House of Representatives, according to NACDS.

That included 130 Democrats, 88 Republicans and 2 Independents; 70% of the members of Congress serving on committees with health care jurisdiction; 16 of the 23 members of the Senate Finance Committee; 18 of the 23 members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; 43 of the 59 members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee; and 24 of the 41 members of the House Ways and Means Committee.

"This has been an amazingly powerful week for pharmacy, for patient care and for NACDS, and there still is time for the people of pharmacy to participate ‘virtually,’ " Steve Anderson, NACDS president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

"To make a difference for the profession and for the industry, log onto www.RxIMPACT.org and send a letter to your elected officials to tell your story as the face of neighborhood health care," Anderson added.

NACDS said the ongoing "virtual Hill day" echoes the messages delivered during the spate of Capitol Hill meetings during this year’s RxImpact Day. Participants’ written summaries of their meetings continue to arrive at NACDS, so the number of in-person meetings from the event is expected to rise, according to the association.

Plans are under way for the 2011 NACDS RxImpact Day on Capitol Hill, which will be held March 9 and 10, 2011, NACDS added.