The Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS) has approved a three-component professional development program that can be used by Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialists (BCPSs) as an alternative to recertification by examination. The American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) is the BPS-approved provider for the pharmacotherapy specialty recertification program. On an annual basis, ACCP will record and report directly to BPS the recertification credit earned by BCPSs in each component.

This new professional development program encompasses three different components that provide BCPSs who elect to recertify by continuing education with more than the 120 hours of continuing education credit required over a 7-year period. Until 2010, the Pharmacotherapy Self-Assessment Program (PSAP) was the only BPS-approved professional development program for pharmacotherapy specialty recertification; starting 2011, the two new program components have been designed to complement PSAP and provide an additional dimension to the recertification process.

The three components are as follows:

1. Pharmacotherapy Self-Assessment Program
2. Updates in Therapeutics^®: The Pharmacotherapy Preparatory Review and Recertification Course
3. From Theory to Bedside: Clinical Reasoning Series

Each component covers the domains, tasks, and knowledge statements as delineated by the BPS Specialty Council on Pharmacotherapy and published in the Content Outline for the Pharmacotherapy Specialty Certification Examination. Each component will be available annually. Each component, priced separately, includes a Web-based posttest. A description of each program component follows.

The Pharmacotherapy Self-Assessment Program is a 6-book home study program that provides pharmacotherapy specialists with previously unpublished material on contemporary topics related to pharmacotherapy. PSAP books, available both in print and in an online format as PDFs, are released twice a year. The eighth edition of PSAP began with the release of Cardiology/Endocrinology in January 2013. The final book in the series, Central Nervous System and Health Promotion, will be released in July 2015.

According to subject matter, PSAP books are subdivided into modules, each of which is available for recertification credit. 2013-2015 PSAP provides a minimum of 40.0 hours of recertification credit each year and 120.0 hours of recertification credit over the 3-year life of the edition. BCPSs who wish to earn recertification credit using PSAP modules or books must read the instructional materials and successfully complete the Web-based posttest by the predetermined deadline for each module or book. Only completed tests are eligible for credit; no partial or incomplete tests will be processed.

Note: BCPSs may use PSAP to earn as many recertification hours as they need to attain the required hours during their 7-year recertification cycle.

2013 PSAP Availability
In 2013, ACCP will release two books as part of 2013-2015 PSAP

For the full schedule of books with release dates, tables of contents, learning objectives, sample chapters, faculty, deadlines for submitting online posttests, and recertification credit hours for each module as they become available, click here.

The Pharmacotherapy Preparatory Review and Recertification Course provides a comprehensive review of pharmacotherapeutics topics within the scope of services provided by pharmacotherapy specialists. The Pharmacotherapy Preparatory Review and Recertification Course is offered live every April and will be available for home study in various formats including an online program and a workbook and DVD-ROM package product. Home study materials are released on or around June 1 each year after the live offering.

A minimum of 21.0 hours of recertification credit will be available for participants each year. To earn recertification credit for the Pharmacotherapy Preparatory Review and Recertification Course, BCPSs must attend the live program or complete the instructional materials for home study and successfully complete the Web-based posttest for the program. Only completed tests will be eligible for credit; no partial or incomplete tests will be processed.

Note: The Pharmacotherapy Preparatory Review and Recertification Course may be completed for recertification credit, either in live or home study format, up to two times, in nonconsecutive years, during the 7-year recertification cycle.

2013 Course Availability
ACCP Updates in Therapeutics^® 2013: The Pharmacotherapy Preparatory Review and Recertification Course was held April 19–April 23, 2013, in Reno, Nevada. The home study version of the course is available both as an online/Web-based version and as a DVD-ROM and workbook package. Both the live and home study formats of the course include access to a Web-based posttest. BCPSs who take the course and successfully complete the posttest will earn 24.0 hours of recertification credit. The Web-based posttest must be submitted by September 1, 2013, to be eligible for recertification credit.

For more information on Updates in Therapeutics^®: The Pharmacotherapy Preparatory Review and Recertification Course, click here.

The Clinical Reasoning Series will be a live education series that explores cutting-edge, contemporary therapeutic topics and demonstrates scientifically sound clinical reasoning and decision-making. The program will employ active learning exercises designed to advance the skills and abilities of BCPSs to critically evaluate scientific evidence and clinical trials and effectively incorporate significant findings, leading to effective and safe patient care, into daily practice. The From Theory to Bedside: Clinical Reasoning Series will be presented live each year in conjunction with the ACCP Annual Meeting. The program was first offered for recertification credit in fall 2011.

A minimum of 6.0 hours of recertification credit will be available for participants each year. To earn recertification credit for the Clinical Reasoning Series, BCPSs will be required to attend the live program and successfully complete the Web-based posttest for the program. Only completed tests are eligible for credit; no partial or incomplete tests will be processed.

Note: BCPSs may participate in the Clinical Reasoning Series every year throughout their 7-year recertification cycle to attain the required recertification credit.

2013 Program Availability
The 2013 program of the From Theory to Bedside: Clinical Reasoning Series will be held Saturday October 12, 2013 in conjunction with the 2013 ACCP Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico. To be eligible for recertification credit, BCPSs will be required to attend the live program and successfully complete the Web-based posttest by November 30, 2013.

More information including the program goal, agenda, faculty, and registration details will be available in June, 2013.

The new BPS-approved professional development program has been designed to provide BCPSs with substantially more than the required 120 hours of continuing education credit over a 7-year period. Each of the three program components will provide recertification credit annually. BCPSs may select from among these components to earn the required number of hours during their recertification cycle.

The table below summarizes the minimum recertification credit hours offered, per year, by each program component beginning in January 2010 (which marked the release of the first book in the 11-book PSAP-VII series) and continuing through 2016. In total, the program will offer a minimum of 382 contact hours toward BCPS recertification. Of these 382 hours, a minimum of 298 will be available to individual BCPSs. Factored into the total minimum eligible hours is a limitation on the use of the Pharmacotherapy Preparatory Review and Recertification Course, which may be used no more than twice and not in 2 consecutive years.

Please note that while this program offers additional options to recertify by continuing education, BPS recertification requirements have not changed in that it still requires that BCPSs earn 120 hours of credit and that no more than 60 hours may be earned prior to the end of the 4th year of certification. However all 120 hours may be earned during the 5th–7th years of certification. For more information on BPS requirements, click here.

For more information, please contact ACCP at (913) 492-3311 or send an e-mail inquiry to accp@accp.com.