ACCP is pleased to announce the learning session titled “Advancing the Profession by Influencing Policy: ACCP’s Advocacy Efforts Beyond Capitol Hill,” to be held at the 2021 Virtual ACCP Member Meeting, with the following details:
Saturday, October 16, 2021, 1:30–3:00 p.m. (CDT)
Available for 1.50 hours of CPE credit
Activity No.: 0217-0000-21-224-L03-P
Activity Type: Knowledge-Based Activity
The global COVID-19 pandemic has produced a prolonged period of uncertainty and heavy demand across all health care professions, exposing gaps in the health care system and workforce shortages. This learning session will provide an overview of key legislative opportunities to advance clinical practice and expand opportunities for pharmacists to provide patient care (e.g., the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness [PREP] Act and 1135 waivers) during this ongoing public health emergency.
In addition to addressing the demands on emergency and acute care resources, efforts to improve chronic and complex care management are of particular importance during this phase of the pandemic to reduce hospitalizations and lessen the risk of underlying conditions.
Through active discussion with expert panelists, attendees will evaluate the potential impact of comprehensive medication management (CMM) on chronic care management and acquire advocacy resources for advancing clinical pharmacist integration into team-based care models consistent with implementing MACRA and the Quality Payment Program.
These resources will include the Implementing High-Quality Primary Care Report from the National Academies (NASEM) as well as resources from the Get the Medications Right (GTMRx) Institute. Speakers will summarize the resources, and panelists will discuss how they can be applied to advocate for payment and policy reform and engage key stakeholders.
Attendees will hear firsthand from ACCP members about the potential impact of CMM on patient outcomes and the advancement of clinical pharmacist integration into team-based care models employing value-based care consistent with the ACA and MACRA. Further discussion will highlight reporting mechanisms that can be used to demonstrate the return on investment and prove the value achieved by integrating CMM into Medicare-qualified primary care practices and will outline how clinicians can generate similar success in scaling up these services using related processes.
In 2020, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) announced five new value-based payment models through demonstration projects designed to test whether payment changes could improve patient outcomes. Attendees of the learning session will learn why ACCP believes CMMI can provide future pathways to coverage and payment to advance clinical pharmacy practice.
The CARES Act afforded flexibilities for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to expand patient access to telehealth services. Attendees will learn how the rapid shift toward telehealth is already providing new opportunities to accelerate pharmacist integration into care teams and how HIT efficiencies can help make the economic case needed to drive this change forward.
An early draft of the “Cures 2.0” legislation that would create a new agency to develop new treatments for cancer, Alzheimer disease, and other high-profile diseases also proposes Medicare coverage for “genomic precision medicine consultations” – including payment for consults provided by a “qualified clinical pharmacist.” ACCP has held meetings with legislative staff from the lead congressional offices to learn more about this important development and how the College can work with Congress and other key stakeholders to help advance this concept through the legislative and regulatory process.
This potential legislative proposal, together with growing interest in CMM at the Innovation Center, is further evidence of the growing success of ACCP’s strategy to align the profession with high-profile, broadly endorsed multi-stakeholder legislative efforts on Capitol Hill.
Attendees will have opportunities to learn more about ACCP’s efforts to position clinical pharmacists to participate in these evolving models and how the College is supporting its members as they develop new and innovative practices.
Program Faculty
Moderator: Katherine D. Pham, Pharm.D., BCPPS, Director, Policy and Professional Affairs, American College of Clinical Pharmacy, Washington, D.C.
Speaker: Paul T. Kelly, President, Capitol Advocacy and Government Affairs, LLC, Washington, D.C.
Speaker: Mary T. Roth McClurg, Pharm.D., MHS, FCCP, Professor and Executive Vice Dean-Chief Academic Officer, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Speaker: C. Edwin Webb, Pharm.D., MPH, FCCP, Senior Policy Advisor, American College of Clinical Pharmacy, Washington, D.C.
Speaker: M. Shawn McFarland, Pharm.D., BCPS, BCACP, BC-ADM, Associate Chief of Pharmacy, Clinical and Educational Programs, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Primary Care; Residency Program Director-PGY-2 Ambulatory Care Residency, VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Alvin C. York Campus; Associate Professor, University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy, Murfreesboro, Tennessee.