Food and Drug Administration announces grant funds for ‘Script Your Future’ medication adherence campaign – National Consumers League

June 11, 2013 

Contact: NCL Communications, Ben Klein, (202) 835-3323, benk@nclnet.org

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League, the nation’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization, has been notified by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) of the availability of grant funds to support its Script Your Future campaign. The multi-year groundbreaking national campaign (www.ScriptYourFuture.org) aims to raise awareness among consumers, family caregivers, and health care professionals about the importance of medication adherence. Nearly three out of four Americans do not take their medication as directed; one out of three people never fill their prescriptions. Poor medication adherence results in 125,000 deaths per year. Improving adherence could save $290 billion in unnecessary health care costs.

The recent Federal Register announcement that the FDA has committed to support the continued efforts of Script Your Future is welcome news to the campaign’s 130 Committed Partners, including health care professionals, pharmacies, patient groups, insurers, governmental agencies, and researchers. The grant will assist in the development of new online resources, provide additional support for counseling and consumer education, and increase awareness and understanding of medication adherence.

“We are excited that the FDA has recognized the Script Your Future campaign as a leader in taking on the nation’s medication adherence problem,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director. “Improving medication adherence among patients is a multi-stakeholder effort. Just as it takes a dedicated team of engaged patients, health care professionals, family caregivers, and support systems to improve adherence, Script Your Future’s ongoing success has been due in part to the support and collaboration by stakeholder organizations throughout the public and private sectors. We look forward to continuing to work with FDA on this campaign.”

Since Script Your Future’s national launch in May 2011, dozens of new partners have joined, and the campaign has generated hundreds of millions of impressions. Strong local coalitions in six cities nationwide have conducted community outreach and stimulated innovate and creative approaches for health care professionals to use as they encourage their patients to take their medications as directed. “The FDA’s support is further evidence,” Greenberg added, “of the seriousness of the adherence problem and of the importance of Script Your Future in addressing it successfully.”

On July 10, 2013, Script Your Future will hold its annual meeting of the Committed Partners in Washington, DC. United States Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin and Dr. Janet Woodcock, Director, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, FDA will speak at the meeting.

To learn more about Script Your Future or to inquire about becoming a Committed Partner, contact Rebecca Burkholder at rebeccab@nclnet.org.

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About Script Your Future

Script Your Future is a campaign of the National Consumers League (NCL), a private, non-profit membership organization founded in 1899. NCL’s mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad.For more information about the Script Your Future campaign, visit www.ScriptYourFuture.org. For more information on NCL, please visit www.nclnet.org.