February marks American Heart Month, a national observance sponsored by the American Heart Association that’s geared toward building public awareness about heart disease and stroke.
With about one-third of American adults affected by heart disease, it’s likely that many patients in your pharmacy are affected, too. About 2,150 Americans die of cardiovascular disease each day, according to the American Heart Association’s 2015 update, yet many of these deaths are preventable.
As an independent community pharmacist, you’re in an ideal position to help your patients combat heart disease and to promote heart health. American Heart Month is the perfect time to build awareness for these issues.
By celebrating American Heart Month in your pharmacy, you can show off your own health knowledge, promote your products and services and improve your patients’ health outcomes. Here are some ideas to promote American Heart Month this February.
Make your pharmacy heart-themed
While you don’t have to cover your front end in heart-shaped decorations, you can use American Heart Month as your inspiration for your displays, window signs and posters.
Display products that foster a healthy lifestyle and a healthy heart, such as aspirin and vitamins. Hang up posters that share facts about heart disease and American Heart Month. Don’t shy away from the color red—it’s the official color for heart disease awareness!
Go red on February 6
The first Friday of February is National Wear Red Day, a movement sponsored by Go Red For Women to promote awareness about heart disease affecting women. Wear red, and encourage your employees to do the same. You could offer a discount to patients wearing red, or to women, on this day, too.
Launch a social media campaign
American Heart Month is a great time to blast your patients with tips on how to lead a heart-healthy lifestyle. You can educate and engage your patients, while giving your social media pages a boost at the same time.
If you need some ideas on what to post on your social media pages, the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion offers some sample announcements and tweets here. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has a list of health tips for the month of February: “28 Days to a Healthier Heart.”
Host an event
Get patients into your pharmacy by hosting a heart-related health event. For example, you could give screenings for conditions that put patients at risk for heart disease, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, or you could partner with your local Red Cross to host a CPR training event.
Promote your medication adherence and synchronization programs
Medication adherence is especially important for patients with chronic conditions, such as heart disease. Talk with your patients about how you can help them improve their overall health outcomes by making sure they’re set up to take their medications on time and as directed. Once they understand that adherence is essential, you can work on setting them up in your programs. (Here’s more information on adherence and synchronization programs.)
Give back to the community
Consider donating a portion of your profits for the month to a local or national charity that fights heart disease. Or, sponsor a local event that promotes heart health, such as a 5k race.
An Independently Owned Organization Serving Independent Pharmacies
PBA Health is dedicated to helping independent pharmacies reach their full potential on the buy side of their business. The company is a member-owned organization that serves independent pharmacies with group purchasing services, expert contract negotiations, proprietary purchasing tools, distribution services, and more.
PBA Health, an HDA member, operates its own VAWD-certified warehouse with more than 6,000 SKUs, including brands, generics, narcotics CII-CV, cold-storage products, and over-the-counter (OTC) products.
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