The University of Houston College of Pharmacy is joining the RAPID Alliance Medications 360 Study with a goal of transforming how medications and vaccines are delivered in the U.S. from 2022 – 2031. The RAPID Alliance is a multi-stakeholder research consortium founded in the University of Louisville Center for Health Organization Transformation (CHOT), a National Science Foundation-funded research center.
The college will help lead an all-hands-on-deck effort to co-create the “RAPID Alliance Medications 360 Framework 2022-2031,” a set of transformational strategies and a nationally prioritized research agenda for optimizing the use of medications, vaccinations and other therapies from 2022-2031.
This project is building on a 2020 research study, conducted by UofL researchers during the COVID-19 pandemic, that identified strategic opportunities to improve health and wellbeing for tens of millions of people while reducing U.S. spending on likely avoidable hospitalizations and emergency department and doctor visits by as much as $528 billion dollars.
The University of Houston College of Pharmacy will contribute to this effort by supporting research and action in areas, including state-level strategies for Texas. In addition, UHCOP will help support special study sections on such topics as medication adherence, real-world evidence, prescription drug misuse, geriatric care, and chronic disease state management.
“Technological advancements and the rise of pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine are leading to a new golden age in the discovery, development and delivery of safe, effective pharmacotherapies, but we continue to wrestle with long-standing challenges in areas like health disparities, medication adherence and misuse, and more recently, vaccine hesitancy and misinformation,” said College of Pharmacy Dean F. Lamar Pritchard, professor and Humana Endowed Dean’s Chair in Pharmacy. “Our college is proud to join this broad-based initiative working toward evidence-based solutions to help create healthier communities nationwide.”
Universities participating in the RAPID Alliance and its Medications 360 Study include American University of Health Sciences, Belmont University, Binghamton University, California Northstate University, Chapman University, Ferris State University, Howard University, Lipscomb University, Loma Linda University, Long Island University, Marshall University, Medical College of Wisconsin, Mercer University, North Dakota State University, Oregon Heath & Science University, Oregon State University, South Dakota State University, Sullivan University, Temple University, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, University of Cincinnati, University of Colorado, University of Georgia, University of Hawaii Hilo, University of Houston, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, University of Michigan, University of Mississippi, University of Nebraska Medical Center, University of Nevada Reno, University of Pittsburgh, University of Rhode Island, University of South Carolina, University of Tennessee, Washington State University, Wayne State University, and Western University of Health Sciences.
“We are delighted to see this multi-university research consortium developing,” said Lucinda Maine, chief executive officer of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), a founding member of the RAPID Alliance Practice Council. “We believe national and state strategies driven by research are key to optimizing medication use for U.S. populations in the next decade.”
The consortium plans to add up to 30 additional universities in the coming months to support the effort.
Want to join the strategic planning effort? Leading health care companies, associations, government agencies, foundations, technology providers and other stakeholders at national and state levels are invited and encouraged to have one or more strategic leaders participate in the strategic planning process.