According to the VA’s Office of Rural Health’s www.ruralhealth.va.gov Spring 2017 newsletter, the 2.9 million enrolled rural veteran patients who rely on the VA for healthcare may benefit from the recent use of Clinical Pharmacy Specialists in advanced practice provider roles.
For nearly 40 years, VA Clinical Pharmacists and Clinical Pharmacy Specialists have demonstrated their ability to provide quality of care, access to care, and clinical outcomes for veteran patients.
As part of the VA’s Office of Rural Health’s FY 2017 “Enterprise-Wide Initiatives”, more than 100 Clinical Pharmacy Specialist positions will be added at more than 60 VA facilities and community-based outpatient clinics in rural communities in the U.S.
The VA’s Clinical Pharmacy Specialists are a highly trained clinical workforce. They will focus on how to increase rural veterans’ access to primary care and provide much needed medication management services to helping rural veterans in areas such as diabetes, high blood pressure, pain management, mental health, heart health, cancer treatment, anticoagulation, and women’s health.
“This initiative will significantly enhance the number of Clinical Pharmacy Specialists able to provide comprehensive medication management to rural veteran populations and is estimated to increase access by more than 230,000 visits annually,” said Dr. Anthony Morreale, Assistant Chief Consultant for Clinical Pharmacy Services and Healthcare Services Research.
Go to www.ruralhealth.va.gov/providers/collaborativeaccess.asp to learn more about the FY 2017 ORH-funded Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Enterprise-Wide initiative.