First pharmacist-focused session coming to AHA Scientific Sessions 2011

Over the past 3 decades, pharmacists have become integrated members of multidisciplinary teams. To recognize the value of the role of pharmacists in improving patient outcomes and safety in cardiac care, the American Heart Association (AHA) will offer pharmacists a session focused specifically on them at this year’s AHA Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Fla.

AHA  with the American College of Clinical Pharmacy’s (ACCP) Cardiology Practice and Research Network (Cardiology PRN), along with members of the AHA Clinical Pharmacology Committee will collaborate to target this session to the approximately 400 pharmacists who attend AHA annually.

The session will offer information on the specialized roles of pharmacists in the cardiovascular setting, demonstrate the impact of pharmacist interventions on healthcare, describe successful clinical programs, and provide insight into how the pharmacist can most effectively manage conditions such as hyperlipidemia, heart failure, hypertension, and anticoagulation, to improve patient outcomes and safety.

The session, called Improving Clinical Outcomes and Patient Safety Through Interventions by Clinical Pharmacists, will take place on Sunday, November 13, from 5:30 to 6:45 pm and will be co-moderated by Sheryl L. Chow, PharmD, BCPS and Robert L. Page, II, PharmD, MSPH, BCPS, FCCP, FAHA.

The program outline includes:

• Cardiac Risk Reduction: Moving Beyond Statins
• Heart Failure: More Than Titrating Doses
• Hypertension: Getting Blood Pressure to Goal
• Anticoagulation: Preventing Bleeding While Preventing Stroke
• Q&A Discussion

For more information and to register, interested pharmacists can go to the Scientific Sessions on the American Heart Association website.