One sunny day in Cleveland, Ohio, last spring, pharmacists from University Hospitals sat down with ASHP and a film crew to share stories of how they put their specialized training, skills, and knowledge to work to improve patient care.
University Hospitals also allowed the cameras to roll that week in the emergency department, oncology clinic, and other locations throughout the health system. After four days, the crew walked away with a treasure trove of stories and an exciting foundation for a national public awareness campaign focused on hospital and health-system pharmacists.
While nearly 1 in 3 pharmacists work in health systems, including hospitals, clinics, and hospital-based community pharmacies, the public has a different perception of what a pharmacist does. In Cleveland, each pharmacist interviewed had a similar response when asked “When you tell someone that you’re a pharmacist, what’s the first thing that comes to their mind?”
“They ask me, ‘What drugstore do you work for?’” responded one clinical pharmacist. “They automatically think I work in retail pharmacy and count pills,” said another pharmacist who is an emergency medicine specialist. Said another: “They think I work at CVS or Walgreens. Those jobs are really important, and I respect those pharmacists, but we do so much more than that.”
Those responses were not surprising. In a recent public survey conducted by ASHP, nearly 3 in 4 respondents indicated that they received healthcare services from a pharmacist in a retail setting. But less than 2 in 10 responded that they had received healthcare services from a pharmacist in a hospital, clinic, or outpatient setting.
In addition, nearly two-thirds of respondents agreed that they would seek out a pharmacist for questions related to the availability of medication, or how to safely take a medication. But less than 10% indicated they would seek out a pharmacist to ask about pain management or to seek guidance on changes to a treatment plan for a disease or condition.
ASHP members practice across dozens of specialty practice areas, working collaboratively as part of the interprofessional patient care team. Bringing visibility and recognition to that work is what inspired ASHP to take on the creation of a national campaign. With a $3 million investment approved by the ASHP Board of Directors, and another $1 million pledged by the ASHP Foundation, ASHP undertook the charge of creating a multi-media campaign that would bring the diverse and essential contributions of hospital and health-system pharmacists to life.
On May 30, 2024, We’re Your Pharmacist made its debut.
So far, the digital advertising campaign has been seen by tens of millions of Americans. Nearly three quarters of a million people have viewed campaign video content, and the campaign website, yourpharmacist.com, has been visited by more than 55,000 people.
Last month, we launched the We’re Your Pharmacist podcast series as another way to tell members’ stories, and to add new voices to the campaign, including patients, physicians, nurses. And in the coming months we will turn our focus to a younger audience, with stories and messages to inspire the next generation of hospital and health-system pharmacists.
The key to any awareness campaign is repetition and consistency. ASHP is committed to telling as many member stories as possible over this multi-year effort. You can submit your story on ashp.org, and you can help spread the word by following ASHP on our social media channels to share campaign content with your friends, family, and colleagues.
There will also be several ways to engage in the campaign at the upcoming Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exhibition in New Orleans. We will hold special focus groups to get feedback on the campaign and solicit new ideas on how we can further engage members. We will record live podcasts on site, hearing firsthand from attendees what they love about being a pharmacist and what it means to be a member of the patient care team. Finally, in the ASHP Experience Center in the exhibit hall, attendees can see their stories come to life visually with the help of a talented graphic artist. Be sure to stop by booth 719 during exhibit hours on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday to participate and for a chance to win a special prize.
