April 2017
Dear Friends,
Over the years, the APhA Foundation has been a valuable partner of mine. The organization has contributed to many of the key moments in my career. It started over twenty years ago when I was selected to participate in Project IMPACT Hyperlipidemia, which introduced me to many like-minded pharmacists. My participation gave me the confidence to build a patient-centered practice. Looking back, this was the start of becoming a successful community-based pharmacist practitioner.I am grateful for the APhA Foundation’s guidance and dedication to pharmacists. Its support of pharmacists and pharmacy practice is ongoing and continues to grow. The research initiatives supported by the APhA Foundation help redefine and grow our scope of practice, and collaboration with partners inside and outside of the pharmacy industry contributes greatly to our ability to optimize care for our patients. These initiatives are made possible by the generous giving of the APhA pharmacy family. Individuals like you have identified and translated cutting edge standards of care.APhA and the APhA Foundation are your partners in practice, always researching ways to improve and add value to your patient care services. With continued contributions by all pharmacists, our chosen profession will continue to shine in new models of care. The renewed synergy with APhA will continue to provide benefits to all pharmacists.
Steve Simenson BPharm, FAPhA, DPNAP
CEO - Managing Partner
Goodrich Pharmacy, Inc.
DONOR SPOTLIGHT - STUDENT 1953 SOCIETY
Ian Dilley said growing up with a grandfather with health issues inspired him to pursue a career in pharmacy. Ian witnessed his grandfather’s confusion with medications and wanted to be in a profession that works to solve the issues of patients taking excessive or insufficient amounts of their prescriptions.
In Indiana, Ian is pursuing a Doctorate of Pharmacy and is expected to graduate in May 2018 from Purdue University College of Pharmacy.
As a student pharmacy leader, Ian is dedicated to support both APhA and the APhA Foundation. Over the past six years, he has been involved in various leadership positions within the APhA Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP). This year, he served as president of his local chapter of APhA-ASP at Purdue University. Ian was elected chapter president because of his passion for helping fellow student pharmacists and his leadership skills.
For Ian, supporting the APhA Foundation felt like a natural complement to his involvement with APhA-ASP. The APhA Foundation and APhA-ASP missions closely align, as they both strive to improve patient care and support student pharmacists.
As an aspiring pharmacy leader, Ian’s support for the APhA Foundation stems from his desire to support fellow student pharmacists and the profession at large. “I know that we [student pharmacists] are all working for the same purpose,” Ian said. “For a nominal donation to the APhA Foundation, students can help fund groundbreaking disease research that can shape the future of pharmacy.”
In 2017, Ian chose to contribute to the Student 1953 Society as a way to affirm his efforts towards transforming the future of pharmacy. The Student 1953 Society is a group of student pharmacists who show their leadership and commitment to the future of pharmacy through philanthropy.
Student giving is a point of pride for the APhA Foundation.
The APhA Foundation’s ability to conduct our important work is due in large part to our generous donations by students and other individuals. Join Ian and become a proud donor of the Student 1953 Society at the APhA Foundation.
THE 2017 PINNACLE AWARD NOMINATIONS
The 2017 Pinnacle Awards nomination cycle is now open! The APhA Foundation Pinnacle Awards recognize significant contributions to the medication use process in three categories:
1) Individual Award for Career Achievement
2) Group Practices, Health Systems, Health Care Corporations
3) Voluntary Health Agencies, Nonprofit Organizations, Associations, Government Agencies, and Public/Private Partnerships
Please be sure to save the date for the 2017 Pinnacle Awards, which will take place on Monday, September 18, 2017 in Washington, DC!
TTHE APhA ANNUAL MEETING SUMMARY
The APhA Foundation leadership and staff were delighted to meet so many of you last month at the 2017 APhA Annual Meeting. By all indications - positive comments and high attendance - the Foundation’s events were a great success.
The Foundation introduced a new event celebrating women in the pharmacy profession. Eleanor Vogt, APhA Foundation Board of Directors member, engaged a panel of women in the profession and took questions from the audience; this program was supported by Cardinal Health. Following the panel discussion, we had our annual fundraiser – Women in Pharmacy Reception: Mix, Mingle, and Margaritas; this popular event was sponsored by Walgreens.
The Wine Tasting and Silent Auction was a lively gathering, generating helpful funds for the Foundation. Guests tasted a selection of fine wines provided by Andy Osterhaus of Avalon Wine, and bid on a variety of silent auction items. The following evening the Foundation hosted the Bowl of Hygeia Reception, which preceded the Remington Honor Medal Dinner as part of “A Celebration of Excellence.” The Foundation honored the 2016 Bowl of Hygeia Award recipients, along with past recipients of the award. Boehringer Ingelheim sponsored the Celebration of Excellence.
We capped off the APhA Annual Meeting with our Contributors’ Breakfast. The annual Contributors’ Breakfast was a great opportunity for the Foundation to thank and recognize our donors, and to showcase their role in advancing our important mission.
A highlight of the event was the presentation of the Jake Miller Award to Rebecca Snead, Executive Vice President and CEO of the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA). We also recognized the 2017 scholarship and incentive grant recipients – many of whom were in attendance. In addition, Ben Bluml, APhA Foundation Senior Vice President of Research and Innovation, summarized our important research projects. Lastly, we installed the 2017-2018 APhA Foundation Board of Directors (Board). The 2017-2018 Board consists of the following individuals: President, Leonard Edloe; Vice President, Steve Simenson; Treasurer, Tim Canning; Secretary, Tom Menighan; Laura Carpenter; Ed Hamilton; Troy Trygstad; Megan Tucker; and Eleanor Vogt.
We invite all readers to view the Contributors’ Breakfast program.
VALUE-BASED BENEFIT DESIGN
To help address the current fragmented and costly healthcare system, the APhA Foundation Research and Innovation team is engaged in a project to inspire patients, providers and payors to transform the healthcare system.
Over the past fourteen years, the APhA Foundation has worked to develop a new healthcare model in which a multi-disciplinary health team works with a patient to develop a coordinated care plan focused on improving patient self-management, the Patient Self-Management Credential (PSMC).
Patients feel empowered to take an active role in managing their health conditions and advocate for their interests in the healthcare system, thereby improving patient outcomes and lowering cost.
Employers and insurers want the best value for their healthcare dollars. Value-based benefit design serves the interest of providers to deliver high quality healthcare at reduced costs. Based on this and previous success with the PSMC, the APhA Foundation convened a consortium to further explore challenges within the current healthcare system as well as opportunities for potential system changes. The consortium provided insights and principles that could be used to guide institutions in making value-based health benefit decisions.
A thoughtful stakeholder dialogue drew upon collective experiences and best practices to create six “Key Principles for Transforming the Delivery of Patient Care.” If adopted by the healthcare system, these principles could positively impact patient outcomes. Employing the acronym “IMPACT,” these principles are:
Inspire patients, providers and payors to transform the healthcare system;
Make the patient the center of all healthcare decisions;
Promote access to evidence and information that elevates clinical decision-making;
Align the incentives for patients, providers and payors;
Cultivate quality improvement and practice enhancement; and
Take accountability for the financial, clinical and humanistic outcomes of patient medication use.
The adoption of these principles can, in part, be realized through the use of value-based health benefit tools like the PSMC. The PSMC is a psychometrically validated tool that empowers healthcare providers and patients to work together to identify and address areas for knowledge, skills, and performance improvement in the self-management of chronic diseases.