NACDD’s Cardiovascular Health Team, in collaboration with the CDC Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, hosted a two-day virtual workshop with teams from Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, Texas, and Virginia as part of the Advancing Pharmacy-Related Interventions to Control Hypertension and Manage Cholesterol Learning Collaborative. The intent for this unique learning opportunity was to support the priorities of 1817 by focusing on innovative, team-based approaches to hypertension control and cholesterol management. Each team consists of health department staff working with 1817 pharmacy strategies and their pharmacy partners, including local colleges of pharmacy, state pharmacy associations, and quality improvement organizations.
Together, the Learning Collaborative teams participated in expert-led presentations, work plan development, and peer exchange. The workshop originally was intended to be held in-person but was modified due to COVID-19 travel and safety guidelines. State teams participated in lively discussions on partnerships and sustainability with presenters, including pharmacy experts Troy Trygstad and Marialice Bennett. Attendees also advanced their work plans in virtual team breakout sessions and participated in breakouts with public health and pharmacy partners. Questions centered around opportunities and barriers encountered in partnering with each other; how they foresee their partnerships with public health or pharmacy changing as a result of COVID-19 (either related to this project or beyond); and how both fields can help to reinforce the need for hypertension and cholesterol patients to continue to stay adherent to their medication.
Lessons learned from this project likely will apply to pharmacy and health department collaborations addressing other chronic diseases. A summary of the workshop will be available on the NACDD CVH webpage. The teams will continue to implement their work plans with support from NACDD, CDC, and pharmacy content experts. Plans for an in-person workshop are on hold until further notice.