Pharmacists take a Friendly Approach to Educating Patients about Asthma

 St. Louis College of Pharmacy receives $70,000 to continue its Asthma Friendly Pharmacy program

ST. LOUIS – Asthma is a major health problem in St. Louis; the city was named the 2009 “Asthma Capital” by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Because of that, many local pharmacists have taken active roles to curtail the problem. Through a unique collaboration with the St. Louis Asthma Consortium, St. Louis College of Pharmacy (STLCOP) will continue to lead a pharmacy-focused initiative aimed at better care for asthma patients.

Recently, STLCOP received nearly $70,000 for its Asthma Friendly Pharmacy program (AFP). The funding is for one year and part of a $700,000 Centers for Disease Control grant to Asthma Management for At-Risk Children in St. Louis (AMARC).

The STLCOP program provides in-service sessions and training materials to teach pharmacists and their staff about asthma care standards by helping ensure that patients receive the proper asthma medications, correctly use asthma medication devices, and receive information on how to treat and prevent asthma symptoms.

“There’s a great need for asthma education in our community,” said Theresa Prosser, professor of pharmacy practice who, along with Professors Tricia Berry and Sue Bollmeier, oversees the program. “Asthma is a readily treatable disease that impacts individuals and society in terms of costs – such as hospitalization, lost work time for adults and lost school time for students. Many people with asthma accept having asthma symptoms because they don’t understand how to prevent the appearance and escalation of their symptoms. This grant will allow us to expand the Asthma Friendly Pharmacy model to provide more intensive educational messages to patients.”

According to AMARC, asthma costs Eastern Missouri more than $75 million annually in health care and medication costs, absenteeism, and lost wages; and it disproportionally affects minorities.

Prosser said the program helps patients understand that pharmacists, who are the community’s most accessible health care professionals, are viable resources for asthma education. Additionally, the program will work with third-party payers to develop a model for compensating pharmacists who provide educational interventions. Currently, there are 30 AFP sites in the St. Louis region and participants promote themselves as “Asthma Friendly Pharmacies.”

The program began five years ago as a component of the Controlling Asthma in St. Louis Program (CASL). Nearly 200 pharmacists and pharmacy technicians have received training. By the end of the 2010 academic year, almost 700 STLCOP students will have been exposed to the asthma initiative.

About St. Louis College of Pharmacy: Founded in 1864, St. Louis College of Pharmacy is one of the oldest and largest colleges of pharmacy in America. The College admits students directly from high school and integrates the liberal arts and sciences with a six-year professional curriculum leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. Approximately 1,250 students attend, and more than 72 percent of practicing pharmacists in the St. Louis metropolitan area are alumni.

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