Recruitment and image building are components of APhA meeting

Drug Store News, April 9, 2001 by Diane West

SAN FRANCISCO -- Safety, perception, staffing and privacy were among the topics explored at the American Pharmaceutical Association's 148th Annual Meeting and Exposition held here last month.

About 6,000 attendees and 200 expositors packed the halls of the Moscone Convention Center every day of the four-day conference, which featured sessions on federal changes affecting pharmacy practice, potential implications of pharmacogenomics, disease management strategies and best business practices. Many attendees were recent pharmacy school graduates who were courted with nights out on the town, old-fashioned milkshakes at the Walgreens' booth, soap bubbles at the CVS table and generous sign-on bonuses.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores and APhA announced their joint sponsorship of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices' "Medication Safety Self-Assessment Tool," an anonymous survey pharmacies can use to measure their safety protocols. It is scheduled for a May launch with preliminary aggregate results expected by early 2002.

Perceptions of the pharmacy profession were a recurring topic during the conference. APhA executive vice president John Gans, Pharm.D., said it is time pharmacy professionals confirmed their role in healthcare delivery. One of several efforts spearheaded by the APhA toward this goal is a televised public service announcement showcasing the pharmacist.

"Instead of selling this image to the insurance companies, we're selling it directly to the public," Gans said. "We're letting them know it's not just the drug, it's how you use it." Pharmacists, he explained, help patients get the most out of their medications. Gans said while some insurers have made attempts to cover such pharmacy-based health services, few are willing to pay for them.

"But," he said, "consumers would."

APhA also used the large gathering of members to rally response to a federal rule they feel would cripple daily pharmacy practice. The U.S. Heath and Human Services Department is set to vote April 14 on the "Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information" rule meant to protect health records. APhA said the rule's language is ambiguous, and could be interpreted so that pharmacists would have to obtain written permission from each patient prior to providing service. The rule can be viewed at http://aspe.hhs.gov/admnsimp.