Awarded by the National Consumers League (NCL) and its partners, this month-long outreach competition was held in February 2013 to engage interdisciplinary student teams from pharmacy, medicine, nursing, and other health professions charged with tackling the problem of poor medicine adherence. Teams implemented innovative solutions and outreach in their communities to raise awareness and improve understanding about medication adherence using Script Your Future materials.

TUC’s College of Pharmacy targeted underserved populations in their outreach efforts, including uninsured, Hispanic, African American, South and Southeast Asian populations. Noting the high prevalence of chronic disease, non-adherence and barriers to accessing health care for these populations, 80% of the Challenge month events targeted under-represented communities, reaching over 1,200 patients. The team conducted blood glucose and blood pressure screenings and referred a number of patients to seek further care due to high blood pressure.

“We are so proud of the broad participation of Touro students, faculty, residents and fellows in this project. Medication adherence is a multi-factorial problem that needs to be attached from many directions,” said Dr. Katherine Knapp, Dan of Touro University California College of Pharmacy.

TUC’s College of Pharmacy was selected from more than 58 applications, and 85 participating colleges and schools of pharmacy, as well as other health professions.

The Medication Adherence Team Challenge is part of the Script Your Future public awareness campaign launched in 2011 by NCL. Its purpose is to conduct activities such as public forums, health fairs, health screenings and educational seminars to improve awareness about the importance of medication adherence. Research shows that nearly three out of four Americans don’t take their medications as directed, often causing devastating results, particularly for people with chronic conditions. 

The national campaign includes more than 130 public and private stakeholder organizations, including the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Foundation, the American Medical Association (AMA), and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA).