2010 Minority Health Conference and ABHP Annual Meeting

An Interdisciplinary Educational Conference on Minority Health Issues

For Physicians, Pharmacists, Nurses, and Nurse Practitioners

March 16, 2010

What:   Pharmacists, physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, and other health care professionals will convene to discuss conditions that impact minority populations and their associated disparities, cultural differences to consider when developing treatment plans, new and emerging treatments for managing these diseases, and tools and strategies to improve outcomes for those at highest risk for poor health, including racial and ethnic minorities.

Why:   The management of both acute and chronic diseases with medication therapy can be become increasingly challenging for healthcare providers, when patients become noncompliant with therapy.   In the United States, noncompliance to prescription medication therapy is responsible for 10% of all hospital admissions, causes 125,000 deaths, 20 million lost workdays and costs an estimated $75.6 billion annually. Minority patients are particularly susceptible to non adherence due to the socioeconomic and cultural barriers that are unique to this subset of patients.  Some studies have shown that up to 32% of minority patients report low adherence to medication.  This conference will provide all healthcare providers with the tools.

The educational agenda will provide an in-depth look at key issues affecting patient care of minorities including:

• disparities in diagnosis and treatment of diabetes in minorities, with a special emphasis on identifying patients at risk
• prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE)
• optimizing outcomes in African Americans with advanced colorectal cancer
• overcoming barriers to effective depression treatment in minority populations
• using motivational interviewing strategies to enhance patient compliance to therapy
• management of Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) pharmaceutical reimbursement and pharmacy patient assistance programs

When:  May 21-23, 2010

Where: Renaissance Houston Hotel Greenway Plaza, Houston, TX

Who:     More than 250 pharmacists, physicians, nurses and other health professionals will be in attendance.

Conference Details

This conference is designed to educate health care practitioners about conditions to which ethnic groups may be predisposed, cultural differences that should be considered when developing treatment plans, and tools and information that can help ensure adherence. 

The goals of the three-day conference are to:

• Educate health care providers on minority health issues and the associated disparities among minority populations.
• Present new and emerging diagnostic and treatment modalities for managing diseases that impact minority populations.
• Provide opportunities for skill building, information-sharing, and networking.
• Provide a forum for the interdisciplinary exchange of ideas and strategies to address health disparities among minority populations.
• Provide practical tools to improve outcomes for those at highest risk for poor health, including minorities and economically disadvantaged populations.

This conference is planned and conducted by the Association of Black Health-System Pharmacists. Complete conference information is available at http://myabhp.org/ABHP2009.htm

To Register: All press must register to gain access to the conference events. To arrange for a complimentary registration, contact ABHP at 954-296-7466.  After May 14, please contact the staff onsite at the conference.

ABHP strives to represent Black and minority health-system pharmacists and is dedicated to the growth and development of their pharmacy practice in health care facilities. The association provides up-to-date educational programs on minority health issues to help members improve their professional skills and the quality of care that they provide in their area of pharmacy practice.  ABHP serves as a liaison and facilitates communication with other pharmacy associations and organizations concerned with health care. Please visit ABHP’s Website, www.myabhp.org/ 

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