Tennessee Voices, Episode 326: Anthony Pudlo, exec. director, TN Pharmacists Association
Health care heroes, including physicians and nurses, have been lauded for their efforts to treat and care for patients as COVID emerged and led to nearly 98 million cases and more than 1 million deaths nationwide.
Among others who made a difference were pharmacists who ensured daily that professionals received personal protective equipment (PPE) and that patients received their medications.
On this episode of the Tennessee Voices video podcast, Anthony Pudlo, a pharmacist by training and executive director of the Tennessee Pharmacists Association, spoke about the work of his colleagues and their advocacy for policy changes at the state level.
There are three pharmacists in the Tennessee General Assembly: Sen. Shane Reeves, R-Murfreesboro; Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin; and Sen. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, who is also the Speaker of the Senate and state Lieutenant Governor.
Pudlo spoke about his recent guest column about seeking to reform the law to provide patients a choice in the local pharmacy they use for their medications.
He also talked about the efforts to improve the relationship between medical providers and pharmacists.
COVID elevated several issues from the delivery of care via telemedicine and alternative treatments to COVID not recommended by medical experts. For example, the legislature approved a law in 2022 allowing physicians to prescribe the drug Ivermectin, traditionally used to treat parasites, as a medication to treat COVID. We discussed these issues too.
Op-Ed by Anthony Pudlo:Enforceable reform on pharmacy benefit managers cannot wait | Opinion
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About Tennessee Voices
The Tennessee Voices videocast is a 20-minute program, which started in March 2020 and invites leaders, thinkers and innovators who have written guest columns for a USA TODAY Network Tennessee publication to share their insights and wisdom with me and our viewers.
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David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee and an editorial board member of The Tennessean. Tweet to him at @davidplazas.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Voices: Anthony Pudlo, TN Pharmacists Association
