It is another busy year for ACCP as we as an organization pursue our objectives addressing the three critical issues defined in our strategic plan—to develop, advance, and position clinical pharmacists in practice, research, and education. In my opinion, the PRNs remain the lifeblood of the organization, serving as the vehicles that permit and encourage our members to remain connected and interactive throughout the year. The PRNs represent the single greatest member benefit for many ACCP members. I would like to share many important issues with the PRNs in this column to hopefully generate both awareness and discussion among the many members who interact regularly with their PRN colleagues, but space limits restrict me to the three topics below.

Medicare Coverage Initiative for Direct Patient Care Services of Qualified Clinical Pharmacists

This is the “official” title for the ACCP pharmacist—“provider initiative.” The two-page document at http://www.accp.com/MedicareBrief should be considered required reading for all ACCP members—it will require only a few minutes of your time…. This document summarizes in clear, brief language the purpose, background, and rationale—the “what” and the “who” of this initiative. The title is very important because it emphasizes that this is about benefits provided to a patient by qualified clinical pharmacists (i.e., it is focused on improving patient care and outcomes, not on creating opportunities for pharmacists). It also embraces the reality that the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. and relevant sections, primarily section 1861) defines the coverage of health care services, not “provider status”; nor does it offer a list of recognized providers. This is the single largest and most important legislative and advocacy agenda item for ACCP, and this initiative will need the awareness and support of every member as we move forward on it. The staff leadership is currently engaged in active outreach and advocacy within and outside the profession to generate support, identify partners, and engage them in this initiative. At the right time, grassroots advocacy by our members will also be an important need—so stay tuned!

A related and very important commentary endorsed by the Board of Regents (BOR) has also been released this month and should be another important piece of recommended reading … requiring another 5- to 10-minute investment of your time. The paper, titled “Qualifications of Pharmacists Who Provide Direct Patient Care: Perspectives on the Need for Residency Training and Board Certification,” is available as a prepublication draft at http://www.accp.com/docs/positions/commentaries/ACCP_Brd_Commntry_Final_030513.pdf. My column in the March ACCP Report (www.accp.com/report/index.aspx?iss=0313&art=7) provides some more detailed thoughts on this paper and its central importance to the Medicare coverage initiative.

Most members will agree that this is a very important initiative and realize that it will take a great deal of work, effective strategy, and probably a bit of good luck to be successful. I encourage every PRN member to seriously consider contributing to the ACCP Political Action Committee—there has never been a more important time for us to generate resources to support the legislative agenda. To save you time (to read the papers recommended earlier!), here is the link that will take you directly to the ACCP-PAC site, where it is very easy to make a donation: http://www.accpaction.org/signin/index.aspx. Thank you in advance for considering a generous contribution.

Board Certification Update

Through concerted action with our partner sponsoring organizations, the well-stated ACCP objective of increasing opportunities for board certification is continuing to move forward. The Board of Pharmacy Specialists has just announced the approval of critical care pharmacy and pediatric pharmacy as specialties. See the article for more information on the BPS announcement.

In addition, BPS has established Practice Analysis Task Forces for cardiology and infectious diseases in response to preliminary requests for specialty recognition submitted by ACCP and partner organizations. The task forces were created as part of the process for conducting role delineation studies for the proposed specialties. We stand prepared to serve as a sponsoring organization for these specialties once a call for petitions is issued pursuant to an analysis of the role delineation studies by BPS.

BPS has also announced the movement to computer-based testing, with an expansion of both testing dates and testing locations to increase access to board certification examinations.

Another important development under the heading of board certification is the publication of a white paper by BPS that defines its 5-year vision for pharmacy specialties (http://www.bpsweb.org/pdfs/BPS_Whitepaper_Jan2013.pdf). This vision is in some ways aligned with the ACCP Medicare coverage initiative and qualifications of clinical pharmacists commentary referenced earlier. In fact, the vision paper states that there will be “a future model where board certification will be the expectation for pharmacists engaged in direct patient care.” The vision also commits to the continued expansion of specialty recognition that is consistent with, but not limited to, the growth of PGY2 residency training programs, and that BPS will be considering modifications to the specialty recognition structure. These statements are not inconsistent with a white paper published by ACCP in 2009 evaluating the need to consider a restructuring of the specialty framework (http://www.accp.com/docs/positions/whitePapers/Pharm2902_ACCP-Blair-Specialists.pdf). This white paper from the BPS Board represents potentially positive developments for ACCP and its members who are heavily invested in the importance of BPS board certification.

Student Chapters

The last topic I wanted to touch on is the development toward the recognition and establishment of ACCP student chapters on the campuses of our schools and colleges. Students have been the fastest-growing membership category for the past several years, and they represent the future of the College. I believe this is a clear indication that more and more student pharmacists recognize that the future of the profession will be progressively dependent on the growth of clinical pharmacy and direct patient care, and they realize that ACCP is the professional home most aligned with that recognition. Our student members have also been very vocal about the importance to them of student chapters in order to have an organized local presence. In November, the Board of Regents authorized the establishment of student chapters and requested that staff begin the process of defining the policies and processes that will be necessary to make this a reality. The ACCP staff have been very busy working on that charge and, later this year, will announce the process and requirements for establishing student chapters. The PRNs have always been strong advocates for, and staunch supporters of, our student members and have served as a great introductory pathway for students to realize the value of ACCP membership and to serve the organization. I am certain the PRNs are going to fully embrace the increased presence and roles of our students in the organization, and with time, there may be some interesting ways for the PRNs to interact with student chapters. The creation and growth of student chapters will represent another important milestone in the sustained growth and success of ACCP as an organization dedicated to the development, advancement, and positioning of clinical pharmacists.