College representatives joined RI Pharmacist’s Association for Face of Pharmacy Day
Dozens of URI Pharmacy students joined several faculty members and Dean Paul Larrat in bringing attention to the services pharmacists provide and lobbying for initiatives important to the industry during the 16th annual Face of Pharmacy Day at the Rhode Island Statehouse April 3.
Created by the Rhode Island Pharmacist’s Association, the Face of Pharmacy Day gives pharmacists and pharmacy teachers and students the chance to promote their profession to state leaders and advocate legislators for or against pharmaceutical issues. Students lined the hallways of the Statehouse to present their research projects to legislators and passers-by, and some joined faculty members in a speaking program to promote two issues important to many pharmacists and other health care workers: smoking cessation and birth control.
The College is supporting House bill 5558 and Senate bill 0306, which would allow pharmacists to prescribe and dispense tobacco cessation drugs and products. Pharmacists would be able to prescribe FDA-approved prescription medications (varenicline, bupropion), as well as nicotine replacement therapies like nicotine gum or the patch. The ability for pharmacists to prescribe the medications (from which they are currently barred in Rhode Island) is particularly important. Patients who took varenicline — commonly known as Chantix — were about 1.5 times as likely to achieve abstinence from smoking two to five months after quitting than those who used nicotine replacement therapies.
“Quitting smoking is often a spontaneous decision, and pharamcists are accessible health care professionals who can initiate therapy more quickly than a doctor, without an appointment,” said URI pharmacy Professor Anita Jacobson, one of the organizers of URI’s involvement at the Statehouse. “In addition to medication, pharmacists could prescribe other tobacco cessation products, which would allow them to be covered by insurance.”
The College representatives are also encouraging legislators to allow pharmacists to prescribe hormonal contraceptives, in the form of a patch or birth control pills (House bill 5549). Currently, Rhode Island law does not allow pharmacists to prescribe medication, but other states, including California, New Mexico, Maryland, Hawaii, Oregon and Colorado allow pharmacists to prescribe birth control, which increases accessibility to consumers without threatening their health.
“We chose these because none of these drugs require a physical exam or blood work, so patients don’t necessarily need to see a doctor,” Jacobson said.
Jacobson was joined by Professor Nicole Asal, Dean Larrat and URI pharmacy students Erin Connolly and Elena Beauregard in speaking to legislators and attendees in support of the measures.
Check out a gallery from the Face of Pharmacy Day below.
