PHARMACY LEARNING NETWORK EXPLORES EVOLUTION OF HEALTH-SYSTEM PHARMACISTS

PHARMACY LEARNING NETWORK^® EXPLORES EVOLUTION OF HEALTH-SYSTEM PHARMACISTS

Industry Experts Highlight Necessity of Health-System Pharmacy-Focused Education

Millstone Township, NJ (January 24, 2012) – More than 92% of attendees of a recent Pharmacy Learning Network® (PLN) industry webinar indicated that the responsibilities of health-system pharmacists will increase dramatically by 2016, continuing their expansion beyond their outdated role as solely dispensers and monitors of medication use.

Accredited providers, commercial supporters, and medical education companies joined PLN for its first live CME industry webinar on Tuesday, December 13.       

“Continuing Education and Hospital Quality Improvement: The Role of Health-System Pharmacists” provided the opportunity for host Stephen Chavez, Senior Director, NACCME, together with an expert panel of CME and pharmacy professionals, to explore the evolving role of health-system pharmacists “from dispenser to practitioner” in today’s healthcare system and the resulting pharmacy education needs.

Julie Goslee Owens, PharmD, Senior Director of Independent Medical Education, Sanofi, US, began the interactive discussion by noting the changing position of health-system pharmacists within today’s healthcare paradigm. “The role of pharmacists is being recreated and, in some cases, redefined, Dr. Goslee Owens said. No longer are pharmacists strictly behind the counter or relegated to the hospital basement. Pharmacists influence their peer group—including other healthcare providers—but they also have this tremendous influence over the patients they serve and the patients they see.”

“We need education,” added panelist and PLN chairperson Randy Fugit, PharmD, BCPS, Internal Medicine Clinical Specialist for the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Clinical Assistant Professor at University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. “Numerous pharmaceutical entities are being developed every year, as are new FDA approvals. Evidence-based guidelines and recommendations are changing more rapidly…the bottom line is that the health-system pharmacist will have to remain on the forefront of education because of the complexity of acute care and the significant new responsibilities for meeting core quality measurements.”

Ro Brual, RPh, Associate Consultant of Medical Education with Eli Lilly and Company, delineated the considerations for educational grant approval from the commercial supporter perspective, particularly with regard to pharmacy education, noting that new guidelines, current educational gaps and treatment barriers associated with a current disease state, as well as internal budgets and timing, are keys to receiving approval for new educational programs.

The intricacies of pharmacy education was addressed by Thomas Lombardi, PharmD, FASHP, Supervisor of Clinical Pharmacy Services at St. Peter’s Hospital and Senior Adjunct Faculty at Albany College of Pharmacy, who educated the audience on the varied requirements and directives given to pharmacists with regard to professional education. Dr. Lombardi noted that health-system pharmacists generally are unable to meet their educational licensure requirements or their personal professional development goals within their facility, and are often directed elsewhere to satisfy the needed educational experiences, providing a final spotlight on the necessity of readily and widely available education for pharmacists working within US health-systems.

Following the program, Mr. Chavez explained the impetus behind the webinar, “As leaders in the needs of health system pharmacy learners, we thought it important to share with our colleagues how the landscape is changing rapidly and what to do in response. The panelists we brought together really did a great job of sharing their insight.”

To view a full-length on-demand web archive of this important industry webinar, CLICK HERE.

For more information on PLN, visit www.pharmacylearningnetwork.com.

About Pharmacy Learning Network®: PLN® is the only national continuing education platform dedicated to live, local learning for hospital pharmacists. In addition to web-based activities, our regional meetings provide pharmacists with curriculum specific to their needs and interests. Attendees may obtain up to 11 live contact hours of continuing education credit on topics that include diabetes, cardiology, pain management, oncology, and antibiotic stewardship.

About NACCME: North American Center for Continuing Medical Education (www.naccme.com), an HMP Communications Holdings Company, provides the highest quality CME/CE across medical disciplines and therapeutic areas. In conjunction with top medical faculty, NACCME develops evidence-based initiatives that target specific educational needs, assisting healthcare professionals in improving patient outcomes by bridging the gap between current and best healthcare practices.

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