CPAs empower pharmacists and improve patient outcomes
Collaborative practice agreements (CPAs) empower pharmacists to enhance patient care, improving access, continuity, and health outcomes, according to research published in Total Pharmacy. These agreements allow pharmacists to manage medication therapy and offer preventive care like vaccinations and contraception. CPAs also support chronic condition management, such as diabetes. A study on comprehensive medication management shows integrating clinical pharmacists into primary care improves outcomes, with gains in A1C, blood pressure, and statin use. Despite these benefits, reimbursement barriers remain a challenge. (Total Pharmacy)
Adherence, drug-drug interaction small part of picture
Health systems must go beyond adherence and drug interactions to embrace a holistic, outcomes-driven approach to medication. Traditional polypharmacy management no longer meets the needs of complex patients, according to a commentary in MedCity News. True optimization requires a patient-centered strategy ensuring medications are appropriate, effective, and aligned with health goals. For value-based care organizations, comprehensive medication management is critical — regularly assessing efficacy, identifying risks like organ damage or cognitive effects, and using technology to personalize care. Medications should be dynamic tools for achieving better health, not rigid protocols. (MedCity News)
Practice Transformation
On current vaccine trajectory, measles will be endemic
If vaccination rates continue to decline, the U.S. will have millions of measles cases over the next 25 years, and the virus will again become endemic, according to researchers writing in JAMA. Unsurprisingly, 82% of the measles cases reported this year came from communities with low vaccine coverage, according to the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Meanwhile, , the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy launched the Vaccine Integrity Project, to help ensure safe vaccine use. (JAMA; MMWR; CIDRAP)
Pharmacist review slashes 30-day readmissions
A hospital-based, pharmacist-led post-discharge medication review clinic significantly reduced 30-day hospital readmissions in adults, according to research in published in Springer Nature Link. This retrospective cohort study found unplanned readmissions were 7.1% in the clinic group versus 23.5% in controls. Patients attended the clinic within 30 days of discharge. The study supports extending pharmaceutical care into the early post-discharge period, especially in hospitals with robust clinical pharmacy services, highlighting its potential to improve outcomes and reduce readmissions. (Springer Nature Link)
Evidence & Innovation
Prescription costs up 25% over five years
Americans spent $98 billion out of pocket on prescription drugs in 2024, marking a cumulative 25% increase over five years, according to a report from analytics firm IQVIA. Net spending on medicine rose 11.4% in 2024 to $487 billion. More than one-quarter of new prescriptions were not filled in 2024, mostly because they were not covered by insurers. Some good news: Prescription opioid use fell to the lowest level since 1999, and overdose deaths decreased 29% in 2024. (Axios)
Policy Solutions
Trump’s FY26 budget: $33B in HHS Cuts
President Donald Trump released a proposed budget blueprint that cuts 33 billion from HHS, including NIH by $18 billion and the CDC by $3.6 billion, eliminating entire programs and divisions. It also cuts $674 million from CMS. Most health care organizations expressed dismay. “Retreating on health issues where we have made progress and where so many depend on their government to offer promising cures is not the American way,” Danielle Turnipseed, JD, MPP, chief public policy officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges, said in a public statement. (MedPage Today)
