January 2023
Dear Colleagues,
As we enter 2023, here's to a bright New Year and a fond farewell to the old. We wish you continued health, happiness, and success. Reflecting on 2022, we have a lot to celebrate as a Section. This past year we embarked on a journey to implement our strategic priorities, and the ASHP Section of Community Pharmacy Practitioners (SCPP) had a very productive year in 2022.
First, SCPP kicked off the inaugural year of Section Advisory Groups (SAG), with 40 volunteers being appointed. The four SAGs, centered on Patient Care, Business Development and Practice Excellence, Education, Communication, and Training and Community Pharmacy Workforce. The engagement of all our advisory group leaders and members facilitated SCCP to produce several webinars, podcasts, and toolkits targeting topics related to the advancement of community pharmacy practice. I would like to share some SAG highlights from this past year:
- The SCPP produced a webinar on Quality Measurement for Community Pharmacy Practice. This webinar was part of a two-part webinar series collaboration between the Pharmacy Quality Alliance, the Section of Specialty Pharmacy Practitioners, and SCPP.
- The SCPP produced the following podcasts that discussed legislative changes and, innovative care models, and clinical updates:
o Community Pharmacy: New CMS DIR Rules Explained
o Taking Your Daily Vitamins - Helpful, Harmful, or Somewhere in Between?
o Monkeypox and What You Need to Know
o Community Pharmacy: Explore SafeMedication for Your Patients
o Community Pharmacy: Innovative Partnerships for Health Systems
Outside of educational content, the SCPP focused on member engagement. The Section hosted a roundtable session during the ASHP Summer Meetings and three roundtables during the Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition. Roundtables covered topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion in pharmacy practice, workflow intersections between community and ambulatory pharmacy practitioners, care transitions, and implementation of value-based care models. These discussions will be summarized to recognize best practices and provide future tools and resources.
The SCPP also held focus groups to better understand the educational needs of community-based pharmacy practitioners and leaders. These findings will be utilized to develop educational programming during ASHP conferences and online educational offerings. For example, the Section continues to provide a number clinical resource centers including the ASHP Vaccine Confidence Toolkit and a Paxlovid resource page for pharmacists. To learn more about our resources, check out the SCPP member video introducing ASHP’s pertinent resources and engagement opportunities for community pharmacists.
Another focus area for the SCPP this past year was resident support. The SCPP held the first two of bi-monthly meetings for the ASHP Community-Based Pharmacy Resident Network. The first meeting included an introduction to ASHP’s engagement opportunities for community-based pharmacy residents, and the second meetings involved a facilitated discussion on clinical resources and onboarding for community-based pharmacy residents. The SCPP also produced an intersections article on the value of community-based pharmacy residencies, titled “Community Pharmacy Residencies Offer Bounty of Opportunities”.
While we have had a wonderful year, I wanted to share some on how you can continue to engage with SCCP:
- A great way to become or stay involved in the Section of Pharmacy Educators is to participate in one of our Section Advisory Groups. I encourage you to apply here. Applications will open February 1 and close May 1 for this one-year appointment.
- If you are interested in contributing to ASHP’s programming during our conferences, I encourage you to submit proposals for educational sessions for the 2023 ASHP Summer Meeting. The deadline for submitting a proposal is 11:59 p.m. (Pacific), February 1, 2023.
Lastly, the New Year brings a renewed sense of prosperity, and we look forward to continuing to support you in 2023. In the meantime, if you have any questions, would like to share information, or would like to learn more about how to contribute, please contact me.
Kind regards,
Melissa Ortega, PharmD, MS, FASHP
Chair, Section of Community Pharmacy Practitioners
[email protected]