ACCP and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) have partnered to submit a petition to the Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS) seeking recognition of Solid Organ Transplantation (SOT) Pharmacy as a specialty. BPS seeks comments on this petition until May 15, 2018.

In the petition, ACCP and ASHP have provided a detailed case for specialty recognition according to the criteria established by BPS. The petition describes the complex and unique needs of SOT patients, citing their substantial unmet needs in the areas of medication adherence, managing and preventing adverse drug events, and patient education and support. The petition also addresses the impact of transplant pharmacists on clinical and economic outcomes. ACCP and ASHP have urged board recognition of SOT as a specialty because of the specialized training and knowledge needed to manage transplant patients' complex medication regimens, as well as the expertise required to meet clinical and regulatory needs not encountered in other pharmacy specialties. An estimated 1000-1200 practitioners currently devote most of their time to SOT pharmacy practice.

Care for SOT patients in all phases of transplantation is provided in a variety of settings, including adult and pediatric medical intensive care units (ICUs), surgical ICUs, inpatient acute care, and outpatient ambulatory care clinics. Therefore, all who provide care for SOT patients within intra- and interprofessional teams are encouraged to read the petition and consider submitting a comment.

The petition and access to comment submission may be viewed on the BPS website. Public comments must be submitted by May 15, 2018. BPS will consider the comments in its deliberations, together with the evidence presented by ACCP and ASHP, to determine whether the criteria for recognizing a new pharmacy specialty have been met. To learn more about ACCP's efforts to increase pharmacy specialty recognition, visit https://www.accp.com/careers/specRecog.aspx.