APhA Annual Meeting and Expo focuses on pharmacists as providers, thought leaders

 

WASHINGTON — The American Pharmacists Association concluded its Annual Meeting and Exposition, APhA2016, on Monday, hosting almost 6,000 pharmacists and pharmacy students in Baltimore, Md. 

 

The meeting’s theme this year, “Expanding Opportunities through Patient Care,” looked at how the pharmacist’s role in the healthcare system is changing. Speakers discussed the pharmacist’s role as providers and their potential to help prevent opioid abuse and misuse. 

 

“It’s been an amazing year working with key decision makers,” outgoing APhA President Lawrence “LB” Brown said, noting that pharmacy is being embraced by nurses and other healthcare professionals as a key part of the healthcare team, citing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ expansion of the Medicare Part D medication therapy management as an example of this. 

 

APhA2016 keynote speaker Dr. Rajiv Shah addressed the opening general session, emphasizing that during his time as a physician, he has learned how valuable pharmacists are on a healthcare team. 

 

“Pharmacists’ expertise matters because the biggest fixable problem today in health care, one that amounts to $300 billion, is medication non-adherence,” Shah explained. “No one in the world has as much medication education as pharmacists.”

 

The second general session speakers focused on pharmacists’ potential as thought leaders. Author Abraham Verghese emphasized the value of one-on-one interactions with patients, and APhA president-elect Kelly Goode focused on pharmacists’ impact on their communities. APhA EVP and CEO Thomas Menighan discussed how far pharmacists have come in providing more value to patients and how far they can go. 

 

“Your touch is essential in making the connection between patient and caregiver,” Menighan. “For many years, pharmacists have been knocking down barriers to patient care services. Twenty years ago, no one would have imagined that today, more than 280,000 pharmacists would be trained immunizers. And the opportunities before pharmacists to deliver patient care services are only growing.”

 

Also at APhA2016, more than 300 delegates discussed, reviewed and approved APhA Policy Review Committee recommendations, as well as the APhA Policy Committee’s report focusing on point-of-care testing, medication optimization services and biologic, biosimilars and interchangeable drug products. 

 

APhA2017 is slated for March 24-27, 2017 in San Francisco.