WASHINGTON — National Association of Chain Drug Stores board members met with House and Senate leaders last month to highlight pharmacy’s role in affordable, accessible and quality health care for all Americans.

Board members flew to Washington to discuss with lawmakers pharmacy priorities, including provider status legislation, health care reform, transparency in Medicare Part D, Tricare, responses to the opioid epidemic, opposition to the Border Adjustment Tax and regulatory reform.

They also had a chance to visit the headquarters of the nonpartisan digital media and survey research company Morning Consult, to get a hands-on tutorial on using opinion research data for more effective advocacy. NACDS recently launched videos on navigating the AccessAgenda.NACDS.org microsite, which has resources based on Morning Consult’s research, to create a report filled with relevant information about congressional districts to quantitatively make a case to lawmakers — and to share on social media — about registered voters’ perceptions of pharmacy’s accessibility, innovation and trust.

To frame the significance of pharmacy’s contribution to health care delivery during the two-day fly-in, NACDS launched an advertising initiative in the Capitol Hill publications The Hill, Politico, Morning Consult and Roll Call. The print and digital ads convey the timeliness and relevance of pharmacy’s Access Agenda — its importance to Americans and to elected officials alike as they search for opportunities to improve access to quality and affordable care. Politico Influence, a newsletter, also reported on the fly-in.

NACDS board members were able to tell pharmacy’s story to lawmakers at a pivotal time in the health care policy making and political process.