2022 Script Your Future Medication Adherence Team Challenge Winners

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The eleventh annual Script Your Future contest saw participation by 24 schools in 11 states and directly counseled nearly 7,000 patients nationwide

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

May 13, 2022

Washington, DC —Today, the National Consumers League (NCL) and its partners announced the winners of the eleventh annual Script Your Future Medication Adherence Team Challenge, a competition designed to engage pharmacy students and faculty across the nation by encouraging teams to develop creative initiatives to raise public awareness about the importance of medication adherence, vaccine confidence, and safe drug disposal.

This year’s winners are Wilkes University, Temple University, Western University, Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED), University of Pittsburgh, and Touro University California.

The 2022 Script Your Future Team Challenge is an awareness campaign coordinated by NCL with support from its partners and the Challenge sponsors—Eli Lilly, Deterra, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA).

The Team Challenge was first established in 2011 to nurture adherence-minded values in future generations of professionals entering the workplace.

In 2022, our Team Challenge student health professionals spread messaging on the importance of medication adherence, vaccine confidence, and a new health topic: safe drug disposal. This year, over 1,000 future healthcare professionals and volunteers from across 11 states participated in the Team Challenge.

2021 Medication Adherence Team Challenge Winners

This year’s winners, selected from dozens of applications and 24 participating educational institutions, are listed below.

National Award Winner: Wilkes University Nesbitt School of Pharmacy – PA

Wilkes University is a fourth-time participant of the Script Your Future Team Challenge, and a first-time winner of the National Award! During the 2022 Team Challenge, students on the Wilkes team successfully collaborated with Highmark Health pharmacists to create a medication adherence questionnaire that was circulated to patients. They also creatively used social media, including TikTok and YouTube, to spread messages about the importance of medication adherence, vaccine confidence, and safe drug disposal. These messages got over 58,000 views. Students were also able to vaccinate patients for COVID-19 (boosters), Shingles, and Influenza. The Wilkes team was able to directly counsel 1,184 patients, and reached 49,313 people through their outreach efforts.

 

National Award Winner: Temple University School of Pharmacy – PA

Temple University is also a first-time winner of the Script Your Future National Award! This year, Temple students of pharmacy collaborated with health and community organizations in Philadelphia, including Temple University Hospital, and its affiliated clinics as well as the places where people live their lives such as local community pharmacies, parks, churches, charitable organizations, and schools. For example, Temple’s team worked with Dispose Rx to spread messages about the importance of safe drug disposal in North Philadelphia. This team also worked with the Children’s Mission to serve people who have no or unstable housing, and counseled them on their medications along with conducting blood pressure checks. Temple students directly counseled 234 patients, and reached over 400 patients through their activities.

 

Health Disparities/Underserved Focus Award Winner: Northeast Ohio Medical University School of Pharmacy – OH

The Northeast Ohio Medical University School of Pharmacy (NEOMED) team is this year’s winner of the Script Your Future Health Disparities Award! NEOMED’s team focused on reaching low-income and homeless individuals, the elderly, and refugees. NEOMED students worked with the Center for Families and Children, IKON Health Foundation, and Rose Centers for Aging Well to reach these underserved populations. Through their efforts, the NEOMED team vaccinated 456 patients, directly counseled 1,323 patients, reached 1,923 patients, and distributed and donated 3,254 resources.

 

Media Outreach Award Winner: Western University School of Health Sciences, College of Pharmacy – CA

This year’s winner of the Media Outreach Award is Western University College of Pharmacy! This team implemented creative uses of traditional and social media to spread messaging related to medication adherence, vaccine confidence, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, interprofessional collaboration, antimicrobial resistance, and safe drug storage & disposal. They created a brand-new podcast series that aimed to provide information on these topics, and made them available on multiple media platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and their website. The podcast series can be found here. Across all of these platforms, Western University’s team was able to get 1,203 views.

 

Creative Interprofessional Team Event Award Winner: University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy – PA

University of Pittsburgh’s pharmacy students demonstrated great interprofessional collaborations with other health professional students at their university. Their team included students from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Dental Medicine, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and School of Social Work. Their multi-disciplinary intervention with different health professional students helped to bring multiple perspectives and skills sets together to bridge gaps in expertise when counseling patients. Their interprofessional team documented over 1,800 unique patient encounters at community pharmacy sites, including patients with disease states like hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia to transplant and neurologic disorders.

 

Technology Innovation Focused Award: Touro University California, College of Pharmacy – CA

Touro University’s pharmacy students implemented creative uses of technology to increase messaging for medication adherence. They created a digital medication adherence wallet card, to help patients keep track of their medications in a more convenient way. Given that technology is so widely used today, this was a great effort by the students. They did mention an important issue, that there are people who do not have internet access, so these digital cards were given in complement with the physical wallet cards.

2022 School

Congratulations to the winners of the 2022 Script Your Future Medication Adherence Team Challenge!

 

A word from NCL and one of our generous Script Your Future sponsors

“The Script Your Future program has been a great way to engage future health professionals and spread messages about the importance of medication adherence, vaccine confidence, and now, safe drug disposal. As we are still combatting the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to keep patients on top of their health care needs, and participants of this program have been a part of these efforts. This year, we had over 1,000 participants conduct community outreach activities, and NCL continues to be impressed by the impact these students have on their respective communities across the country.”

  • NCL Executive Director, Sally Greenberg

 

“Student pharmacists have been important contributors to the outreach to communities, especially throughout the pandemic. Medication adherence, vaccine access, and substance use prevention are critically important priorities and AACP appreciates NCL’s commitment to this recognition program.”

  • American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Executive Vice President and CEO, Lucinda L. Maine, PhD, RPh

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

 

NCL issues recommendations to avoid another baby formula shortage

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May 19, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, D.C. – The National Consumers League shares the very real concerns of new parents regarding the recent shortage of infant formula. Our hearts also go out to parents who have lost babies due to contaminated powdered formula and those whose infants suffered devastating health consequences from the contaminated product.

We appreciate the FDA’s multifaceted approach to increase infant formula supply, including allowing foreign manufacturers of baby formula to sell their products in the U.S. Additionally, the Biden Administration has implemented the Defense Production Act, which will be important in increasing production by requiring suppliers to prioritize getting needed inputs to the infant formula manufacturers. Initiating the DPA also allows the Administration to use Department of Defense contracts with commercial cargo lines to speed the transport of foreign products into the U.S. and onto store shelves across the country. These actions are critical steps in combatting this formula shortage issue.  We applaud Congress for supporting emergency legislation to address the formula shortage.

However, while addressing the shortage is the most pressing issue, first and foremost, the responsibility lies with the Abbott facility in Michigan whose reckless actions set events into motion. Abbott failed to follow safety protocols, falsified documents to the FDA and then shipped contaminated formula exposing our most vulnerable little consumers to foodborne illnesses. Those actions triggered an FDA investigation and subsequent recall, leading to the current shortage.

We are also troubled that the FDA, for its part, took almost two months to act on the whistleblower complaint sent to the agency in October 2021. That report cited unsanitary conditions, contamination of formula, and serious allegations against company officials at the Abbott Facility in Michigan. This complaint should have received immediate attention given the vulnerability of infants, whose immune systems are just developing. This plant is also responsible for producing a great deal of the formula sold to federal WIC program. (The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children). We think both civil and criminal charges are in order. The shortage demands that the FDA source infant formula from countries already approved for importing formula. It’s also time to create a single food safety agency and create an office to oversee the safety and supply of infant formula.

A summary of NCL’s recommendations include:

  1. Immediate sourcing of infant formula from countries that are already approved to import the product
  2. Opening the Abbott plant once the FDA can reach an agreement with the company to ensure production of infant formula will be under strictest safety and quality control.
  3. A full investigation of the Abbott facility, and criminal and civil charges brought against those who falsified data or knowingly allowed the shipment of contaminated formula
  4. Expansion of the number of companies making infant formula
  5. Creation of a single food safety agency and appointment of a baby formula safety and supply chain expert

Infants are our most vulnerable and precious consumers and they rely on us to protect them. We have let them down and safety provisions must be put in place to ensure that this never happens again. NCL stands ready to work with Congress, consumers, businesses, and the FDA to ensure the safety of infant formula is never compromised again.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

 

National Consumers League urges Congress not to allow credit bureaus’ credit scoring company to dominate the credit scoring system

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May 13, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, D.C. –

The National Consumers League has sent a letter to the Chairs of the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees asking these leaders to conduct adequate oversight on the nation’s credit bureaus, TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. “The three bureaus keep financial records and establish credit scores for hundreds of millions of Americans. For years, consumer organizations like ours have been raising questions about the behavior and actions of these entities, who in recent years have together created their own credit scoring company called VantageScore.”

The letter noted that “On April 12th of this year, the Consumer Finance Protection Board (CFPB) filed a lawsuit against credit bureau TransUnion and their long-time CEO for willfully violating the law and defrauding consumers, with CFPB’s director saying that ‘TransUnion is an out-of-control repeat offender that believes it is above the law.’  The letter also noted that “In September of 2017, the nation learned that another of the big three, Equifax, had been breached and the financial records of close to 150 million Americans had been compromised. “Investigations …found that Equifax had failed to protect the data that they had been entrusted with and a global settlement was reached.”  The letter goes on to say “… the three credit bureaus own a credit scoring company called VantageScore. Vantage Score is vigorously lobbying the FHFA to spend millions of dollars to change the credit scoring system for the GSEs in order to win market share.”

The letter urges these members of Congress to “ask tough questions and share your concerns directly with the FHFA, especially before that agency takes any action that could send millions of dollars into the pockets of VantageScore.”

Read the letter here.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

 

National Consumers League statement on the confirmation of Alvaro Bedoya as FTC Commissioner

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May 11, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, D.C. – The National Consumers League (“NCL”), America’s pioneering consumer advocacy organization, today applauded the U.S. Senate for confirming Alvaro Bedoya to be the next Federal Trade Commissioner. The following statement is attributable to NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg:

“American consumers are better off today because Alvaro Bedoya will be fighting for their interests at the Federal Trade Commission. As a champion of privacy rights, particularly the rights of consumers from historically marginalized communities, Bedoya has been at the forefront of efforts to protect consumers from intrusive surveillance by businesses and governments. We look forward to working with him as the FTC continues its important mission of protection consumers and promoting competition.”

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

 

NCL speaks out against the decision to overturn abortion rights

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May 4, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, D.C. — The National Consumers League (NCL) is gravely disappointed to learn, through a prematurely leaked Supreme Court decision, that the Supreme Court is likely to overturn the right to abortion in the United States. The leaked opinion will overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which made access to abortions a federally protected right, and is a radical departure from current law, not even protecting women in the case of rape or incest.

As an organization founded by women, NCL has a strong history of advocating for women’s health rights and equal access to reproductive health services for all. Whether to have an abortion is a deeply personal decision that must be left up to a woman and her doctor. The state should have to interest in regulating this fundamental right.

The Supreme Court’s decision to leave abortion rights up to the states will greatly exacerbate the already problematic health inequities in access to reproductive services. Numerous states around the country have already begun their legislative attacks, with an estimated 13 states set to ban abortion at just six weeks, a time when many women don’t even know they are pregnant. In fact, the frequency of abortion is on the decline and tracks closely with access to effective and affordable, and best of all, free, contraception.

Without access to services, women seeking abortion will once again be forced to consider unsafe measures. We sincerely hope that the decision that was leaked is not the final word from the Supreme Court. That decision will put women at great risk, and will add to the already high rates of maternal morbidity and mortality in the U.S.

NCL believes that abortion rights are an essential health care right, and every woman should have the ability to access abortion services. The right to abortion should remain a constitutionally protected right, and access to abortion should not be left to the state legislatures. Ensuring that all women have equal access to safe abortion services is crucial in making sure that all women have autonomy over their health and wellbeing.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL applauds FDA proposal to ban menthol cigarettes

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May 4, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, D.C. – The National Consumers League (NCL) applauds the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposed rule to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. This long overdue ban is a critical public health measure that is expected to save the hundreds of thousands of lives lost to lung cancer, and other smoking-related morbidities. The tobacco industry has had a long history of aggressive marketing of menthol cigarettes to Black smokers. Today, 85% of Black smokers use menthol cigarettes compared to 29% of all white smokers.

While consumers know that tobacco use is the number one cause of cancer and a preventable death in the U.S, it is a very addictive product and the industry knows that and capitalizes on it. The tobacco industry continues to prey on children with the lure of flavored tobacco products to ensure that young people become addicted. Flavored cigars are especially popular with Black and Latino teenagers.

The FDA’s proposed rule to ban flavored cigars and menthol cigarettes is not just important for preventing our young people from using tobacco; it will help to address a wide range of health disparities within the Black community.

The public will have the opportunity to comment on the proposed rule from now until July 5, 2022. We urge consumers to share their views with the FDA during this open comment period. Smokers interested in quitting should also visit smokefree.gov or call 1-800-QUIT-NOW to learn about cessation services available in their state.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL: Musk must protect privacy of Twitter’s users, not allow platform to become a “cesspool”

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May 3, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, D.C. – The National Consumers League (“NCL”), America’s oldest consumer advocacy organization, today urged Elon Musk to protect user privacy while continuing to regulate dangerous and misleading content when he acquires Twitter.

The following statement is attributable to NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg:

“Regardless of who owns the company, Twitter has a responsibility to police its platform for dangerous misinformation and disinformation, particularly as it relates to public health issues like the COVID-19 pandemic. Twitter, like other social media companies, has content moderation policies in place but routinely struggles to stop aggressive and pervasive misinformation and disinformation campaigns on the platform. This has wide-ranging and negative consequences for public health and the health of our democracy.

Further weakening or failing to enforce Twitter’s content moderation policies will not promote free speech. Doing so would simply make it easier for the most noxious voices on the Internet – racists, anti-Semites, anti-vaxxers, and many others – to drown out legitimate and important dialogue. Instead of allowing an unfettered free-for-all, Mr. Musk should use the opportunity of acquiring Twitter to increase privacy protections, such as by implementing end-to-end encryption for all direct messages. He should also maintain Twitter’s ban on the most egregious violators of the platform’s content moderation policies; particularly those who have used the platform to promote hate, public health misinformation, and attacks on democracy. The Internet’s town square must not become a cesspool, regardless of how much money the world’s richest man has at his disposal.”

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

 

National Consumers League calls for equity in crash testing at DOT

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April 25, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, D.C. – The National Consumers League (“NCL”), America’s oldest consumer advocacy organization, today joined a bipartisan coalition of voices calling on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to update automotive crash testing standards to require the use of advanced female crash test dummies.

The following statement is attributable to NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg:

“Consumers count on the 5-Star Safety Ratings System to provide essential information about vehicle safety and crashworthiness. Sadly, even in 2022, these safety ratings are more protective of men than women. The mobile billboard on display outside the Department of Transportation this week provides a stark reminder that crash tests based on a 1970s stereotype that women don’t drive should have been fixed long before 2022. Consumers believe and expect that crashworthiness standards will be as strong for females as for males, with the same quality and quantity of crash testing. Disappointingly, that is not the case. Secretary Buttigieg has the opportunity to reduce the risk to women of injury and death by finally requiring the use of advanced female crash dummies. For the first time in the history of the 5-Star Safety Ratings System, DOT should put women crash dummies in the driver’s seat.”

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

 

National Consumers League Statement in Support of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson

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April 7, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, D.C. – The National Consumers League, America’s pioneering consumer advocacy organization, today called on all members of the United States Senate to vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the next associate justice of the Supreme Court. The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League:

“Consumers and workers across America look to the courts to protect their interests against the virtually limitless resources of big corporations. Judge Jackson’s experience as a federal public defender and her rulings in several important cases makes her uniquely qualified to understand the concerns of those who are underrepresented in our legal system. In her years on the bench as a federal district court and appellate court judge, Judge Jackson has proven to be one of the brightest legal minds in the country. Her character and qualifications have earned her bipartisan support in all of her past confirmations. On behalf of America’s consumers, we urge all Senators – regardless of party affiliation – to support this uniquely qualified jurist to be the next associate justice of the Supreme Court.”

Earlier this month, Greenberg and NCL Board Chair Joan Bray wrote to the Senate Judiciary Committee urging swift confirmation of Judge Jackson. That letter is available here.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

 

National Consumers League Calls for Stronger Genetic Privacy Protections

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April 7, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League –  Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, D.C. – The National Consumers League (“NCL”) today called on policymakers in Congress and the Biden Administration as well as industry leaders to adopt the organization’s new “Genetic Privacy Rights,” as guideposts for future actions to protect consumers’ genetic data. The group called for legislation, executive actions, and industry practices that protect the “complete confidentiality” of genetic data. The organization further called for the adoption of an “ethical use” standard prohibiting the use of consumers genetic data for military, surveillance, and similar purposes. Finally, given the emerging misuse of genetic data to violate human rights, the group called for protections against Americans’ genetic data being shared with countries deemed “foreign adversaries” of the United States.

“Unlike a password or credit card number, consumers’ DNA cannot be changed even if it has been compromised,” said John Breyault, NCL’s Vice President for Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud. “While personal data of all types can be misused to harm consumers, the unique and inalterable nature of genetic data makes special privacy and security protections necessary. As access to genetic data becomes increasingly widespread in both private and governmental contexts, the threats of misuse have only grown.”

The potential for misuse of genetic data has been highlighted by the activities of foreign adversaries of the United States. For example, entities associated with the Chinese government have made it a priority to collect genetic data of American citizens to help build more effective surveillance technologies. The Russian government has also sought to collect genetic data to build “genetic passports” that experts believe could be used to build lists of individuals’ genetic traits and health risks.

“Clear rules of the road that give consumers’ genetic data the utmost legal protection is urgently needed,” said Breyault. “Consumers should be confident that when they share their genetic data with health care providers or private entities, that data will not be shared for purposes beyond which it was provided or with entities that are not committed to the ethical use of that data.”

The full list of NCL’s proposed genetic privacy rights is available here. A roadmap of potential legislative, executive, and industry actions is available here.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.