By
Malak Abbas,
2017 Pharm.D. candidate, Wayne State University Eugene Applebaum College of
Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Are you
caught up in the demanding profession of pharmacy? I sure am! Between juggling a
complex pharmacy school course load, being involved with professional organizations
and maintaining an internship, I rarely find extra time to actively advocate for
my profession. Since we are amid a fight for provider status at the federal
level, this is a crucial time to be continuously involved in advocacy,
especially among our national decision makers. However, as a student, I have
been struggling with finding balance. Luckily, there is an organization I have
found to help me become involved with pharmacy political advocacy!
As a member
of Michigan Pharmacists Association (MPA), I recently discovered the
organization that is involved with advocating for a pharmacy-friendly
legislative agenda: the Michigan Pharmacy Political Action Council (PAC). Michigan
Pharmacy PAC is a collective group of MPA member pharmacists, pharmacy
technicians and student pharmacists with a common interest and goal: the
promotion and protection of the pharmacy profession.
Pharmacy PAC
is a “voluntary, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of pharmacy professionals
who actively seek to promote positive good government and public health.” The
focus of Pharmacy PAC is to defend the relevant professional interests of
pharmacy, advocate for public policy that improves patient health and wellness,
increase pharmacy’s awareness and heighten pharmacy’s influence in the Michigan
Legislature. They are involved with legislators in numerous ways, including reaching
out to elected officials to discuss pharmacy issues and contributions to candidates
who have or who make pharmacy and patients their top priorities.
Legislators
tend to be impacted by those who contribute to their campaign process. However,
supporting a political candidate’s campaign on your own comes with a hefty
cost. I can relate to the difficulty of offering monetary contributions,
especially since I have student loans that keep racking up, bills to pay and
minimal income. Nevertheless, if each individual can contribute a small amount
to Pharmacy PAC, then our joint monetary resources will have a much larger
impact in creating awareness by legislators and candidates. Let us not forget
that the Michigan Legislature does not have a pharmacy professional serving in office and, as a
result, we need to work
hard to ensure our voice is heard. Therefore, it is necessary that we support
Pharmacy PAC and, through our contributions, the organization will provide
financial support to the candidates who support our mission. This support will
lead to the development of long-lasting relationships with key decision makers.
Working together, we will have a stronger, more collective voice.
Many people
wonder where their money goes when they donate to a PAC. To help contributors
gain a better understanding of what Michigan Pharmacy PAC funds are used for, an
annual report was developed to share with you. Starting this year, the annual
report of PAC functions, titled The Advocate, was released. The report contains
a complete review of 2014 PAC activities and fundraisers as well as additional
facts about Michigan Pharmacy PAC. The Advocate 2014 report can be found online.
Of course, as
with any organization and advocacy group, MPA’s efforts can only be made
possible with our support. It is rather important for many reasons to
contribute to Pharmacy PAC and become part of the united voice protecting
pharmacy. Not only will your donations allow the organization to
support legislators, but it will also allow them to participate in events and
speak on behalf of pharmacy’s interests. Pharmacy
is at risk of being overshadowed, as jobs continue to decline due to technology
and mail-order pharmacy. Pharmacy PAC makes a promise to work hard to preserve
the importance of face-to-face health care. As we all know, personalized
patient-pharmacist relationships are vital to improving health outcomes.
Legislators need to be educated on the importance of patient care and pharmacy
involvement.
Contributions
from pharmacy professionals will provide Pharmacy PAC with the tools to attend
important events to educate legislators and speak on behalf of pharmacy’s
interests. We need unceasing activity and action promoting our concerns,
especially as new legislators take office, as they have this year. If we do not
unite and have a voice defending our profession, then other health care
professionals, third party payers, health plans and other organizations will advocate
on our behalf. They have large amounts of funds available to them and that will
push for agendas that may not be in our best interest or in best interest of our
patients. If there is a larger group of people involved with a collective
interest, then they will have a greater influence with legislators. With this
in mind, legislators would eventually have to listen to what we have to say and
will undoubtedly work to make sure our constituent needs are met.
I found that
by contributing monetarily and becoming a member of Pharmacy PAC, I can make my
voice heard without having to be present at all the events that take place.
Through this small contribution, I am moving one step closer with making a
difference in advancing the profession.
It is rather simple for YOU to be an active member in
defending our profession. By donating to Michigan Pharmacy PAC, you will
promote pharmacy priorities and take part in educating legislators on essential
health care issues so we can continue to move forward in our profession. Through
your contribution and by becoming a member, not only will you be recognized,
but you will also have access to key legislators and continue to be informed
and educated about public policy issues of importance to the profession. For
more information and to donate, please visit http://www.michiganpharmacists.org/pharmacypac.
You can take
your efforts one step further by joining the Pharmacy Advocacy Response Team
(PART)! If you are interested in becoming a PART of our advocacy efforts,
please call Amanda Lick, MPA manager of advocacy, governmental and regulatory
affairs at (517) 377-0254 or Amanda@MichiganPharmacists.org.
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