On September 30, the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) released the organization’s 2020 strategic plan. The ACCP Board of Regents (hereafter, the Board) guides the College’s ongoing strategic planning process, which is based on a shared vision of organizational direction and integration of the individual missions and initiatives of the College’s three interrelated corporate entities – ACCP, the ACCP Foundation, and Pharmacotherapy Publications, Inc.
The plan development process, initiated in the spring of 2019, began with the all-member ACCP “issues survey,” which formed the foundation for the Board’s comprehensive environmental scan and analysis of organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. During the fall of 2019, the Board reaffirmed the College’s mission and visions for the profession and organization. Core values were reexamined and reaffirmed with formal articulation of a long-held but not previously explicitly stated value – the College’s commitment to embrace diversity and inclusion. The Board subsequently reaffirmed an ongoing commitment to and focus on the plan’s three critical issues – develop, advance, and position clinical pharmacists to fully contribute their unique expertise to benefit patients and society. In December 2019 and March 2020, member input was solicited to identify, prioritize, and describe new strategic initiatives. Collectively, almost 2000 members responded to the two surveys. The Board developed and refined the plan’s strategic directions and objectives in the spring and summer of 2020, culminating in a final plan release in September. The 2020 plan not only extends many areas of focus from the 2017 strategic plan, but also includes many new initiatives.
To achieve the first critical issue – developing clinical pharmacists – the College will continue to provide professional development opportunities in practice- and education-based research and scholarship as well as precision medicine. Among the new initiatives, the plan includes a commitment to ensuring the use of practices that embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion. Specific objectives include developing a strategic diversity, equity, and inclusion plan that includes steps to promote respect and address instances of bias or inappropriate behavior. Another new strategic direction includes exploring professional development opportunities for non–residency-trained pharmacists and those entering career transitions.
To achieve the second critical issue – advancing clinical pharmacists – the new plan will continue to focus on leading the implementation of comprehensive medication management, fostering the development of leaders, and enhancing the growth and evolution of clinical pharmacy worldwide. Supporting clinical pharmacy in the community pharmacy setting is a new strategic direction whose objectives include creating enhanced opportunities within the College for clinical pharmacists practicing in community pharmacy settings, expanding collaborations between community pharmacy–based and office-based pharmacists, and supporting research focused on the impact of these collaborations.
The third critical issue – positioning clinical pharmacists to optimally contribute their expertise to patient care – will include continued work toward developing evidence-based guidelines that influence practice and affect patient care, communicating and disseminating the value of clinical pharmacists in achieving medication optimization, and establishing strategic collaborations that increase opportunities for clinical pharmacists to influence research, payment policy, and clinical practice. Although these strategic directions represent ongoing work, new initiatives include implementing a standardized process for identifying member experts to serve on guideline panels and formalizing a partnership with a medical society to jointly publish a pharmacotherapy guideline or consensus statement.
The 2020 plan will drive much of ACCP’s agenda over the next 3–4 years. Successful implementation will involve the combined efforts of ACCP members through holding office, volunteering for committees and other service opportunities, and contributing their expertise to the College’s programs, publications, and services.