Bright Spot: Team Up. Pressure Down.

photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

This bright spot was originally published in the 100 Million Healthier Lives Change Library and is brought to you through partnership with 100 Million Healthier Lives and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

Overview

Detailed Description

Million Hearts is a national public-private initiative led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with the goal of preventing 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. As part of this effort, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and pharmacists 'teamed up' to launch Team Up. Pressure Down. an educational program that promotes team-based care and offers support for health care professionals helping Americans improve medication adherence and more effectively manage their blood pressure. The program can be tailored for any pharmacy setting. It offers effective and time-saving resources, from video vignettes to conversation starters that encourage and support pharmacists in providing advice and counseling to patients with high blood pressure. A suite of patient education materials is also available to help people take a more active role in self-management efforts and to encourage increased interaction with their pharmacists on medication adherence and blood pressure control issues.

Expected Outcomes

The expected outcomes are:

Decrease in the number of heart attacks and strokes among people with uncontrolled high blood pressure.
Increase the number of people who adhere to blood pressure medications as prescribed by their doctor.
Increase the number of people whose blood pressure is controlled for sustained periods of time.

Cost Details

Only the cost of implementing the intervention, such as the cost of printing the material in the toolkit.

Key Steps for Implementation

Team Up. Pressure Down. has been developed to allow a pharmacy to customize the program based on its needs. Below are some key elements:

Promote Team Up. Pressure Down. and highlight your role in this important effort by: Raising awareness of the program among your pharmacy colleagues and printing and hanging the Team Up. Pressure Down. poster inside your pharmacy.
Identify uncontrolled hypertensive patients and use Team Up. Pressure Down. materials to educate and encourage them to monitor their blood pressure regularly and take their hypertension medications as directed.
Create and implement policies and procedures to establish in-store blood pressure counseling services using Team Up. Pressure Down. materials.

Required Staffing (FTEs)

Existing employees (pharmacists) can deliver the intervention.

Training

Pharmacists are encouraged to participate in a free education activity, Team Up. Pressure Down. Coaching Patients to Take Control, and earn Continuing Pharmacy Education (CPE) credits. This one-hour, on demand webinar will provide updates on blood pressure management issues and tips for communicating with patients.

Upon completion of this knowledge-based CPE activity, pharmacists will be able to:

Discuss the Million HeartsTeam Up. Pressure Down. initiative.
Describe the incidence and effect of hypertension on the health of Americans.
Discuss the obstacles and impact of adherence in patients with hypertension.
Utilize tools to identify and assist non-adherent patients to achieve better health outcomes.
Examine the use of motivational interviewing techniques to help patients improve blood pressure control.
Effectively counsel, engage and coach patients on ways to manage their hypertension.

Types of Staff

Pharmacists should deliver the intervention.

Return on Investment Details

Team Up. Pressure Down. partners with organizations from across the public and private health sectors, including federal agencies, pharmacists, businesses, health advocacy groups, and community organizations.