John K. McGlew
Director of Government Affairs

On April 12, 2018, over 30 ACCP members, including a large contingent of student pharmacists from the Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy - Shenandoah University, joined with ACCP’s Washington, D.C., staff for the 5th Annual Capitol Hill Advocacy Day.

The District of Columbia College of Clinical Pharmacy chapter (DC-CCP) represents members from across the Washington metropolitan area, including the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. This was the largest group ever to have participated in the Advocacy Day, testament to the growing presence of the Washington-area ACCP chapter and its commitment to ACCP’s advocacy efforts. Special thanks go to DC-CCP Former President Lisa Peters, Pharm.D., BCPS (clinical pharmacist, Washington Hospital Center), for her tireless work on behalf of DC-CCP.

For the event, the group met at ACCP’s Washington, D.C., offices for an overview of ACCP’s advocacy platform, the current legislative environment, and the congressional lobbying process. From there, the group made its way up Pennsylvania Avenue NW to the Senate side of Capitol Hill to begin a full schedule of afternoon meetings with elected officials from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Although most of these offices are already familiar with ACCP’s Medicare Initiative, the importance of directly engaging these active ACCP members in the political process cannot be overstated, whether in Washington, D.C., or back home during congressional recesses or “district work periods.”

Consistent with ACCP’s advocacy priorities, the group’s lobbying visits focused on ACCP’s efforts to establish Medicare coverage for comprehensive medication management services delivered by qualified clinical pharmacists as part of the overall evolution of the Medicare Payment Policy. In addition, with Congress focused on developing policy solutions to address the opioid crisis, the group took the opportunity to urge the full integration of clinical pharmacists into patient-centered health care teams to help ensure the safe, rational prescribing and use of opioids.

Overall, DC-CCP’s participation in the 5th Annual Capitol Hill Advocacy Day was successful and enjoyable. ACCP would like to thank the DC-CCP leadership for their hard work and commitment to ACCP’s advocacy agenda. Any ACCP chapter or individual member interested in visiting Washington to lobby on Capitol Hill should contact ACCP’s Washington office, where staff can help facilitate and support their advocacy efforts.

For more information on any of ACCP’s advocacy efforts, please contact John McGlew ([email protected]).