Second annual tweet-a-thon proved how #Pharmacists can make a difference
Kicking off American Pharmacists Month this year on Oct. 2 was the second annual #Pharmacist tweet-a-thon. Highlighting the important role pharmacists play in patient care, their communities and the broader healthcare landscape, more than 11,000 tweets with the hashtag #Pharmacist were sent during the 24-hour period — some 467 an hour, according to healthcare social media watcher Symplur.
Last year, more than 7,100 tweets with the hashtag #Pharmacist were sent during the inaugural tweet-a-thon on Oct. 3, 2013. Year-over-year, that's a 55% increase in participation.
That's a lot of pharmacists touting about their noble profession. @Phowler (Lisa Schwartz) tweeted, "I want patients to ask me questions about medications — when to start, how to take and when to stop. Rx, OTC or supplements. #Pharmacist." "Do u spend a lot each month on meds? Talk to a #pharmacist now about less expensive alternatives! #helpmehelpyou," tweeted @joeymattingly (Joey). And @KurtProctor, (Kurt Proctor, SVP strategic initiatives at the National Community Pharmacists Association), tweeted, "Your #pharmacist is ready to help, no matter what is keeping you from taking your medications as prescribed."
Pharmacists are not only knowledgeable healthcare professionals who can provide counseling in the form of medication therapy management or disease state management; pharmacists are not only caring professionals who can help patients save money in an effort to boost adherence (and lower future healthcare costs); pharmacists are also there, conveniently located and easily accessible, or in other words "ready to help" as Proctor tweeted.
The value of the pharmacist is signficant, and patients are looking to tap into it. According to McKesson Patient Relationship Solutions' research released last week, an increasing number of patients do not fully understand their medical condition and are more interested in personal communications from their healthcare practitioners concerning their condition. And increasingly, that communication is coming from their neighborhood pharmacist. More than half (52%) of patients surveyed rely on their pharmacist for information about their medication, and an increasing number are seeking information about how to save on medicines from their pharmacist (34%).
Drug Store News director of continuing education and clinical content Suzanne Feeney, PharmD, even got in on the action by taking over the DSN Twitter handle @drugstorenews for the second annual #Pharmacist tweet-a-thon."A big thank you to all the #pharmacists out there for being committed to the health & safety of your patients every day!," she tweeted, after a very busy day of following the trending hashtag #pharmacist. Feeney featured a photo of her getting her annual flu shot, administered by her pharmacist at Jewel-Osco.
The now annual tweet-a-thon aims to spark awareness of the good that the pharmacy profession does on a daily basis. To help underscore that value of the pharmacist in today's healthcare paradigm, the American Pharmacists Association kicked off its campaign at the top of the month, called “Know Your Pharmacist — Know Your Medicine.” The more patients who know their pharmacists, the more they'll know about their medications — from documented successes to contraindications, according to the APhA.