Academic Pharmacy Now: 2019 Issue 4

Academic Pharmacy

The News Magazine of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy

NOW

Volume 12 2019 Issue 4

Giving Vaccines a Boost

Pharmacists are well positioned to offer a variety of immunizations and help achieve higher vaccination rates across the country. 18

Also in this issue: Connecting With Digital Natives 7 An Innovative Transitions of Care Model 12

Pharmacists Help People Live Healthier, Better Lives.

who we are @AACPharmacy

Academic Pharmacy The News Magazine of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy

Pharmacists Help People Live Healthier, Better Lives.

1400 Crystal Drive, Suite 300 P Arlington, VA 22202 703-739-2330 P www.aacp.org Founded in 1900, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy is the national organization representing the interests of pharmacy education. AACP comprises all accredited colleges and schools of pharmacy, including more than 6,600 faculty, approximately 63,800 students enrolled in professional programs and 4,800 individuals pursuing graduate study.

NOW

CEO & Publisher

Lucinda L. Maine Editorial Advisor

Lynette R. Bradley-Baker

Editorial Director

Maureen Thielemans Managing Editor

Letters to the Editor

Jane E. Rooney

We welcome your comments. Please submit all letters to the editor to communications@aacp.org.

About Academic Pharmacy Now

Academic Pharmacy Now highlights the work of AACP member pharmacy schools and faculty. The magazine is published as a membership service.

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For address changes, contact LaToya Casteel, Member Services Coordinator, at lcasteel@aacp.org.

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©2019 by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

All rights reserved. Content may not be reprinted without prior written permission.

Freelance Writer

AACP’s Professional Supporter Program Achievement Supporter

Joseph Cantlupe

Promotion Supporter

Freelance Writer

Emily Jacobs

Freelance Writer

Athena Ponushis

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Academic Pharmacy NOW  2019 Issue 4

Volume 12 2019 Issue 4

@AACPharmacy a look inside

campus connection

5 Tamoxifen’s Surprising Second Act

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Shiga toxin research at The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy illustrates the benefits of repurposing existing treatments.

Let’s Get Digital Engage prospective students with online strategies that speak to millennials and Gen Z.

community impact

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Comfort Call Student pharmacists offering outreach to patients in the transitions of care stage can provide reassurance and help drastically reduce hospital readmissions.

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Promising New Drugs for Old Pathogen TB Research by a University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy professor shows promise in thwarting the drug-resistant pathogen.

Giving Vaccines a Boost Pharmacists are well positioned to offer a variety of immunizations and help achieve higher vaccination rates across the country.

@AACPharmacy

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Learning from (and Making) History Shattering attendance records for a third year in a row, Chicago was the perfect destination for the hallmark event of the year for pharmacy educators to learn, to be inspired and to collaborate.

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Save the Date

February 8–11, 2020 Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Puerto Rico Golf & Beach Resort

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community note publisher’s impact

Dear Colleagues: AACP President-Elect Todd Sorensen began his address to the first session of the House of Delegates in July with the following lines: It is the best of times, it is the worst of times. It is a day of tremendous opportunity, yet every day there is frustration or despair. It is a season where recognition of the good—and the harm—of medications for many stakeholders is as great as it has ever been. And, it is a season where pharmacists frequently feel undervalued, and they question the future of the profession.

Sorensen, now president, went on to outline an exciting and ambitious plan of activities for the year ahead that aims to propel academic pharmacy and AACP forward in the creation of new practice opportunities for pharmacists and especially our current learners. His bold aim is that by 2025, 50 percent of primary care medical practices will have integrated comprehensive medication management (CMM) services into their care model, and those services will be delivered by pharmacists.

Is this simply a pipedream? Can pharmacy practice change rapidly enough to not only help create, but also fill, these many new practice opportunities? Some say the profession hasn’t changed despite years of proclamations that pharmacists are ready to provide direct patient care as part of highly functional teams. After all, that is the basis for expanding pharmacists’ education to the clinical doctoral level of preparation.

This issue of Academic Pharmacy Now tells a different story—actually several of them. In the article on the expansion of pharmacists’ immunization practices, faculty from the University of Washington rightly point out that approximately 20 years ago virtually no pharmacists were administering immunizations. The state of Washington began a wave that ultimately swept the country such that today it is an expectation that graduates have the training and credentials to administer an expanding number of vaccines. I personally am amazed by the statistic that the majority of states now have no age limitations on immunization administration. The evidence is quite compelling. When pharmacists are empowered to provide this significant public health service, the net result is that more immunizations are provided and more people are protected from unnecessary disease and harm.

The University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty designed a transitions of care practice for some of the patients with the highest acuity—those being discharged from the cardiac care unit of the area hospital. P-4 students worked on approximately 1,200 cases, calling these patients within a few days of discharge to make sure they knew what medications to take, that they had them in their homes and that they understood how to recognize side effects and their management. The analysis of impact was dramatic. Not only did the students make a difference but they saved many patients the disruption of a readmission. That, in turn, saved the health system significant dollars.

It is services like these, plus additional CMM services that are not yet available for all patients, that are priorities for expansion. It will take action and collaboration with key contributors both in and out of pharmacy to make it happen faster than practice change has historically occurred.

AACP believes that you, our members, can be difference makers.

Sincerely,

Lucinda L. Maine, Ph.D., R.Ph. CEO and Publisher

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campus connection

Tamoxifen’s Surprising Second Act Shiga toxin research at The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy illustrates the benefits of repurposing existing treatments.

By Emily Jacobs Although many cases of foodborne illness last a few days with no long-term effects, a small percentage can cause serious and even fatal complications.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is responsible for many foodborne illnesses in the United States and other developed countries. Of those people diagnosed with STEC, up to 10 percent can develop life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure.

Infections involving Shiga toxinproducing bacteria cause more than 1 million deaths around the world annually, with no current effective treatment. Complicating the issue is the fact that some antibiotics trigger STEC to release more toxin. However, new research suggests that the breast

cancer drug tamoxifen may block Shiga toxins from invading human cells and causing disease.

Dr. Somshuvra Mukhopadhyay, assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology at The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy, has been leading research to better understand how Shiga toxins enter human cells. Research had already indicated that the toxin could be prevented from invading and destroying cells. The surprise for Mukhopadhyay’s team was tamoxifen’s efficacy at doing so.

Tamoxifen works against breast cancer by hindering the effects of estrogen and preventing cancerous cells from growing and replicating abnormally in the breast. Its actions on Shiga toxin, however, are entirely independent of anything related to estrogen. Instead, tamoxifen appears to work against Shiga toxin by changing the acidity of parts of the cell. “It’s a totally different chemical activity,” said Mukhopadhyay.

“It seems like tamoxifen is acting essentially as a base, [making] certain parts of the cells become more alkaline. So it’s a very unexpected mechanism of action.”

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campus connection

“It’s a totally different chemical activity. It seems like tamoxifen is acting essentially as a base, [making] certain parts of the cells become more alkaline. So it’s a very unexpected mechanism of action.”

— Dr. Somshuvra Mukhopadhyay

Previous studies had suggested that changing the pH of compartments within human cells can affect the Shiga toxin’s ability to enter those cells. As part of their research, Mukhopadhyay’s team screened for drugs with this alkaline effect. Tamoxifen was included in their research due to a few lesser-known studies that had indicated its alkaline effects. Though not widely known for changing cell acidity, tamoxifen had the strongest alkaline effects among the drugs tested.

So far, tamoxifen has been effective against purified Shiga toxin that has been injected directly into mice.

Researchers have not yet tested its effectiveness against Shiga toxin that has been produced by STEC in the body.

This will require further animal testing, after which Mukhopadhyay hopes to see human trials relatively quickly. “If we can just show that tamoxifen is working against bacteria in the mice, essentially anybody could start prescribing tamoxifen off-label,” he said.

Benefits for Patients, Researchers and Students These findings build on Mukhopadhyay’s previous research on Shiga toxin

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and its ability to destroy cells. This latest research also could point the way to new or improved treatments for other infectious diseases that resemble Shiga toxin in the way they interact with human cells. Similar diseases include cholera and pertussis, which cause up to 143,000 and 160,700 deaths per year, respectively.

Tamoxifen’s potential for treating STEC is also part of a broader effort to use existing drugs for different treatments. “It’s really difficult to get a new small molecule or a new drug into the market because the FDA approval process is extremely difficult,” Mukhopadhyay pointed out. “So for academic labs, it’s impossible. You have to have a collaboration within the industry.”

Additionally, many clinical trials for new treatments fail before completion.

As a result, researchers are looking to shorten the process by repurposing known treatments for neurological diseases, infectious diseases or cancer.

A previously approved medication that has already been found to be safe in humans removes the need for a phase I safety trial. This reduces costs for researchers and pharmaceutical com-

panies and gets a repurposed, approved treatment to patients sooner.

Even before patients can take advantage of research like Mukhopadhyay’s, there are more immediate benefits.

Whether it involves studying existing drugs or seeking novel treatments, laboratory work has an enormous impact on the student pharmacists who participate. They see real research in action, which may help them decide to continue their education to receive a Ph.D. No matter which career path they choose, student pharmacists can continue to apply the knowledge they learn in the laboratory. Whether they practice as a community-based pharmacist, work for a pharmaceutical company or participate in university or government research, early lab experience helps them look at data, sources and conclusions with a careful, critical eye. “They learn how to think,” Mukhopadhyay noted. “That’s probably the biggest thing that they get out of lab experience.” P Emily Jacobs is a freelance writer based in Toledo, Ohio.

campus connection

Let’s Get Digital

“Start small. Pick one platform or one tactic, dive into it, be consistent with it and grow from there.”

— Emily Burns

Youth Marketing Connection

Engage prospective students with online strategies that speak to millennials and Gen Z.

By Athena Ponushis Millennials and Gen Z have grown up with gadgets, surfing a high-speed Web and clicking on constant stimuli. They crave bite-size content and creative storytelling told through evolving technology. They want to feel a connection—fast— and they want to connect with organizations they feel are making a difference in the world, because they too want to leave an imprint.

These digital natives want high-paying jobs and careers with clear paths to success. Instant gratification seekers, they want to know how to get to the promised land and what awaits them there. They want to be innovators and creators who can use their proficient technological skills.

Pharmacy can give them that life, but there are other career paths that will be vying for students’ attention. “Other

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campus connection

industries are wooing prospective pharmacists away because To tell that story and court prospective students, schools of they sound attractive and forward-thinking. Tech is a great pharmacy must meet them where they live: the digital world. example of that,” said Emily Burns, digital marketing direcBy developing a social media strategy and an appealing digitor at Youth Marketing Connection. “The way to counter that tal presence, schools will attract students. As a school’s visthreat is to make pharmacy more attractive. There are some ibility grows, its reputation grows and enrollment increases. really cool research elements related to pharmacy, there are “Digital is where everything’s happening for millennial and technology elements related to pharmacy. Share those stoGen Z audiences. It’s very important and it shouldn’t be overries. Shine a light on the positive attributes. Yes, pharmacy looked. That said, it can be overwhelming,” Burns acknowlschool takes time, but at the end of the road there is promise edged. “Start small. Pick one platform or one tactic, dive into and success, there is compensation and the fulfillment of it, be consistent with it and grow from there. Don’t let the helping your community.” vast nature of the digital marketing world overwhelm you to the point where you’re not dipping your toe in the water, because it’s worth it.”

Where to Begin: Blogging Burns knows the prospective student target audience. She knows their social media consumption habits and what influences them the most. “There are a few main strategies that I recommend when it comes to reaching millennials and Gen Z, specifically related to pharmacy,” Burns said. “The first one is blogging. Simply put, content is so important for marketing, it’s the hub where all the different tactics branch off. So start with blogging. It gives you a lot of content to work with and to share on a bunch of other powerful platforms.”

Blogging also helps boost website traffic, establishes a school as a knowledgeable resource and improves SEO (search engine optimization) rankings.

Recycle your blog content on social media. The main platforms Burns would focus on are Twitter, Instagram and maybe Facebook, though that tends to be preferred by a slightly older audience. If you have a student write a blog post about a day in the life of a student pharmacist at your school, repurpose a pulled quote on Facebook and share the link back to the blog, suddenly that’s a social post. Add an image to another pulled quote and post it on Instagram or Twitter. “There are many ways you can repurpose content, just remember the concept of using what you already have,” Burns said. “Maybe you have a guide to applying to pharmacy school on the school’s website. Try turning that into a blog. You don’t have to interview anyone, you simply turn it into five tips for applying to pharmacy school and all of a sudden it becomes a blog post.” Use relevant hashtags to join conversations that are already taking place.

It’s imperative that schools have strong websites that resonate with millennials and Gen Z. “Essentially, when it comes to digital marketing, you’re driving everyone back to your website. No matter what platform you’re on, when you’re posting on social media you are directing people to learn more on your website.

That’s where you want to them to take action, so you have to have a site that speaks to millennials and Gen Z,” Burns said. She also encourages schools to try social media advertising because of the targeting capabilities it offers.

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campus connection

Where to Be: Instagram If a school had to pick one platform to focus on, Burns recommends Instagram because it’s growing quickly and hosts the largest concentration of millennials and Gen Z. Through Youth Marketing Connection’s work with the Pharmacy Is Right for Me (https://pharmacyforme.org) campaign, she’s seen a lot of action there.

Millennials and Gen Z love authentic stories. Schools can capture their attention by using the new feature Instagram Stories, which lets users post photos or short videos that disappear in 24 hours, unless you pin them to your profile page. Doing a student takeover as an Instagram Story (showing the student’s introductory pharmacy practice experience at a practice site or participation in a co-curricular activity, for example), would be appealing to prospective students.

Burns advocates featuring students on Instagram Stories because you can pre-record content and post later, which gives you the opportunity to edit. “Have a plan in place and review it closely with the students. Give them some guidance, don’t just give them free reign,” she said. “Put some structure behind the story, think through what topics you want them to cover, what talking points you want them to speak to. Then put together something like a script, not word for word because you want it to be in their own voices, but create a list of specific types of content you want the students to pull together. That’s a great way to get rolling.” Depending on the success of the Story, you can pin it to your Instagram profile permanently so people can revisit it. F

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Where to Be: Instagram (cont’d) F Dr. Margarita DiVall, clinical professor, assistant dean of assessment and associate dean for faculty affairs at Northeastern University School of Pharmacy, has been a strong advocate for using social media to enrich the pipeline. “I do really believe, for prospective students, the more of the student life they see, the more excited they get about being there,” she said.

That may be why the vicarious experience of student takeovers have become so popular, and that’s why schools might want to share the community outreach efforts of their student groups, such as flu and immunization clinics or drug take-back events. Each student pharmacy organization has its own social media account. DiVall suggests that schools connect with those accounts to share student pharmacists’ work, or have the students who run those accounts add their school of pharmacy social media account to their posts, making it easy to share.

“Those are really exciting things for prospective students to see, so sharing what the students are sharing is an easy post.”

“I do really believe, for prospective students, the more of the student life they see, the more excited they get about being there.”

— Dr. Margarita DiVall

A Social Media Crash Course About 10 years ago, DiVall noticed that her students were spending lots of time on Facebook, so as an experiment, she put some course content on Facebook as an optional resource. It resonated.

She started a school Facebook page and did some studies revolving around education and social media. Years later, she and her colleagues were having a meeting with the central administrative group that was managing social media for Northeastern University, when they were asked to describe the pharmacy school’s social media strategy.

“What social media strategy?” DiVall recalled saying. “We’re not experts in this.

We’re pharmacy faculty and administrators…we’re pretty strategic people but we never really thought about it from that perspective.” DiVall decided to do some research.

The literature showed that social media was advantageous and gave some Web resources for good practices but there really wasn’t a comprehensive guide. So after helping to establish a social media strategy with her school’s external affairs committee, DiVall co-wrote a paper with a student, “Social Media as an Engagement Tool for Schools and Colleges of Pharmacy,” in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. It summarized in a consumable fashion how to use social media for various means, particularly the recruitment and engagement of students or alumni.

In developing their strategy, DiVall and colleagues set goals and identified their target audiences—communicating with faculty and current students, engaging alumni and attracting prospective students. They developed a content strategy to determine what to post for

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what audience and how often to post it. They performed competitive and channel analysis. Burns sees this step as critical. “Look at schools that you are in competition with…seeing what stands out is a great way to figure out what’s unique about you,” Burns said.

“Talk to students. Do some research.

Talk to people who chose your pharmacy school and find out why they chose it. I think you will be surprised because you might see some commonalities, and that will help you figure out what draws people to your school.”

Northeastern’s School of Pharmacy hired a student to manage its social media. She has since graduated and left the school struggling to replace her, but while she was there, the school set up an email account where faculty and students would forward interesting information. She would pull from that account and post. She set up a calendar, got into a rhythm and was consistent.

Progress and Persuasion Evaluating your social media activity will help you improve your tactics. When it comes to blogging, Burns suggests looking at page visits, unique visitors, source and medium. When it comes to social media, look at post likes, comments, shares, impressions and reach. With your website, look at visits, sessions, unique users, new users, source and medium, top pages.

DiVall does not think the role of social DiVall admits it’s hard to break down engagement by groups, so you don’t know media manager must be a full-time whether it was prospective students or alumni who liked or shared your post. position. Schools can assign the re“It’s difficult to assess whether or not social media influences prospective stusponsibility to a staff member, somedents.

It’s an interesting question and it potentially can be answered by surveying one in marketing, communications students who are applying to pharmacy schools and asking them what influenced or admissions, to devote three to four their decisions,” DiVall said. “I’m not sure that project has been conducted or hours a week to social media. Schools if anyone is working on it, but that’s one thing I think could be helpful for us to short on content and resources could answer and possibly use as another argument in trying to convince deans to put partner with reputable associations resources toward social media efforts by schools of pharmacy.” that have valuable information to share, like Pharmacy Is Right for Me. “Any To any digital advocates trying to appeal to deans who may not be enthusiastic content that we’re producing we enabout allocating resources to social media, DiVall offered a reminder about the courage pharmacy schools to share on persuasive power of rankings. “Deans always talk about rankings…and the way their platforms, too,” Burns said. “We U.S. News & World Report ranks schools is based on somewhat subjective opininterview a lot of pharmacists, we talk ions of a program’s reputation,” DiVall said. “As more and more deans are on about their career paths and experisocial media, the more likely they are to see what your school of pharmacy keeps ences…so if you’re a school that doesn’t putting out there, the great research you’re doing, the grants you’re receiving, have the manpower to spend a lot of and that is going to influence public opinion about your program among the time on this, a content partnership is deans who answer the U.S. News & World Report surveys, ultimately influencing a great way for you to reach audiences your program’s ranking. I think that sometimes speaks to deans who question, and gain credibility.”

‘How important is social media, really?’” P

Athena Ponushis is a freelance writer based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

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community impact

Comfort Call Student pharmacists offering outreach to patients in the transitions of care stage can provide reassurance and help drastically reduce hospital readmissions.

By Joseph A. Cantlupe The more than 1,200 recently hospitalized patients had been discharged and sent home. For many, it was a time of confusion and uncertainty: patients missed taking their medications or were uncertain about their dosage, had been reluctant to make follow-up appointments and also may have wondered if a return trip to the hospital was in their near future.

One by one, these patients were getting phone calls from about two dozen University of Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences fourthyear advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) students who worked vigorously to prevent lapses in care.

The calls lasted only a few minutes, but the discussions were focused and powerful for the patients who had complex medical histories. The student pharmacists asked questions before the calls ended: Did they understand what their medications were for? Did they know the kind of diet they were on? The callers counseled patients and urged follow-up care with their doctors.

After many months of working with the patients, there were huge successes, including a significant reduction in the number of patients returning to the hospital as readmissions within 30 days.

Of 1,200 patient encounters examined, 67 percent had decreased odds of all-cause 30-day readmissions and decreased odds of related readmissions.

The program included patients contacted from June through November 2017.

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The outreach by these student pharmacists working in tandem with community pharmacists made a “significant impact on reducing hospital readmission rates,” according to a study of the program published earlier this year by the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association.

amounting to a cost of $41.3 billion, according to figures reported in 2011.

The result also could be huge penalties against hospitals.

That period between the time when patients are discharged from hospitals and the time they are recovering is sensitive, wrought with potential problems.

The transitions of care (TOC) stage is a continued target in a burdened healthcare system in the effort to reduce costs and improve quality.

Dr. Amy Shaver, now a post-doctoral research fellow, was in rotation at the High Street Prescription Center as an APPE student and became curious about the TOC program at the pharmacy located in the lobby of the hospital. She thought it was terrific but wondered what kind of data was behind it. It was then she began working on the study along with other officials.

“Transitions of care is something we’ve been developing the past four or five years, how pharmacists are impacting transitions of care,” said Rebecca “Post-discharge follow-up by commuBrierley, assistant dean of external nity pharmacists has the potential to affairs, director of communications and dramatically affect the rate of 30-day alumni relations for the University at hospital readmissions,” the study noted. Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Phar“Integration of student pharmacists or maceutical Sciences. “We are doing residents can provide a low-cost stratsome creative things within the TOC egy to facilitate implementation and model and are excited to share with the expansion.” academic community.”

Student Pharmacists Smoothing Transitions Transitions of care are well documented as one of the most vulnerable times for patients, whether they experience a medication error, adverse event or other complications, the researchers said. And high readmission rates have imposed a significant clinical and economic burden on the U.S. healthcare system. About 20 percent of Medicare patients are unexpectedly readmitted within 30 days of hospital discharge,

“They had this wonderful program that on its face looked like it was helping people, but they had no proof and I didn’t know it was statistically significant,” Shaver said. “You could tell they were doing good but you couldn’t prove it unless you studied it. I already completed my MPH and had a feel for study design and thought we should publish this.”

community impact

Dr. Erin Slazak, second from left, worked with student pharmacists to counsel patients after hospital discharge.

The Buffalo study demonstrates the role that student pharmacists can play in multifaceted transitions of care plans, university officials said. “To our knowledge, this is the first published study to evaluate the impact of a TOC program that is driven primarily by APPE-level student pharmacists. The use of student pharmacists is a lowcost and effective strategy for staffing a TOC program,” according to the study.

Using one to three APPE-level student pharmacists working full time on the calls, at an average of less than five minutes each, “allowed for a furtherreaching intervention than would have been possible” with a TOC pharmacist alone, which contributed to a significant reduction in readmission rates, researchers added.

The students’ phone calls were made to patients within two to seven days after discharge and focused on medica-

tion counseling as well as promoting physician follow-up visits. Although the length of calls ranged from one to 40 minutes, the average counseling session required less than five minutes.

The pharmacists worked with outpatient providers to resolve any medication-related problems such as inappropriate therapy, duplicative therapy and potential drug interactions. Patients were also advised to schedule post-hospitalization follow-up appointments as recommended in their discharge paperwork. A TOC pharmacist was available to answer questions or concerns raised by the student pharmacists.

“It’s a newer area that pharmacists are involved in,” said Dr. Erin M. Slazak, clinical assistant professor at the Department of Pharmacy Practice, of the TOC model. The Buffalo student pharmacists were deeply involved in designing and implementing the research, she said. “Most of the research out there

has focused on in-patients and involved discharge counseling and medication reconciliation. I’m passionate about what pharmacists can do outside the hospital after a patient is discharged.

This study gave the students the skills to implement the program from the ground up, see the impact of the data and show how they can make a difference.”

When the pharmacy school created its strategic plan, “one of the things we wanted to implement in our clinical practice models was a focus on transitions of care and partnering with our affiliate sites,” recalled Dr. William A. Prescott Jr., interim department chair.

That occurred after a clinical practice committee determined that a transitions of care program was needed, based “on metrics and reimbursement penalties. We were looking for ‘winwins’ between our school and affiliate sites,” Prescott said.

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community impact As an APPE student, Dr. Amy Shaver became curious about the transitions of care program at the High Street Prescription Center, managed by Dr. Melissa Morano.

Focusing on Cardiac Patients

“I’m passionate about what pharmacists can do outside the hospital after a patient is discharged. This study gave the students the skills to implement the program from the ground up, see the impact of the data and show how they can make a difference.” ­— Dr. Erin M. Slazak

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Cardiovascular conditions were chosen as main priorities for the study. Not only was there a major cardio patient population but Buffalo General Medical Center and the Gates Vascular Institute are well known for their cardiovascular services, officials said. The reasons were personal as well: Patients are often unaware of the importance of medication adherence, especially if there are silent symptoms involving the heart.

While the study focused on cardiology patients, student involvement in a TOC program “can easily be expanded to other high-risk groups,” said Dr. David M. Jacobs, assistant professor. “I don’t think the function of what they did is specific to heart patients. I think there is a tremendous opportunity for pharmacists, faculty and student pharma-

cists to impact care transitions not only in cardiology but also in respiratory disease and complex regimens. We are looking at this not only for in-patient but outpatient settings, community and primary care.”

The study began with then-student Shaver and other students working with an outpatient pharmacy—the High Street Prescription Center—located at the Buffalo General Medical Center, a 457-bed academic medical center. The pharmacy is part of Kaleida Health, which had a TOC program for several years.

The TOC program developed from a “meds to beds” initiative known as Prescriptions Plus. Interaction with patients allowed pharmacists to consider myriad issues, such as discharge paperwork, medication questions and

community impact Slazak noted that student pharmacists were heavily involved in designing and implementing the TOC program.

other potential obstacles to a smooth transition, the study said. Under the Prescriptions Plus program, patients also are provided with a 30-day medication supply and counseling at the hospital bedside before discharge from the Buffalo General Medical Center.

“This program has been initiated, conducted, tweaked and perfected all by our students,” said Dr. Melissa Morano, a University at Buffalo graduate and manager of the High Street Prescription Center, in a statement.

Shaver credited preceptor Morano for initiating the TOC program at the pharmacy. “The TOC program itself was Melissa’s idea and was in existence long before I came around,” she said.

“It is definitely her baby.” Besides Shaver, Morano and Slazak, others involved in the study were UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences alumni

including Dr. David Essi, Dr. Stacy Frederick and Jill Pogodzinski, who also works at the High Street Prescription Center.

Connecting With Patients As students talked to patients, both groups learned some things. During the calls, the students stressed the importance of adhering to physician instructions about taking medications.

Yet students often found patients were uncertain about taking their medications or having physician visits. They also found flaws in the healthcare process, particularly related to patient communication with physicians.

“You would see students on rotation, you can tell at the beginning they weren’t as comfortable as they felt at the end.

They were coming into their own as pharmacists.” ­— Dr. Amy Shaver

Too often, patients experience adverse events when they don’t properly take their medicine, a major culprit in leading to hospital readmissions. As the student pharmacists said, medication

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management is essential to a good discharge plan.

“We found quite a few patients were confused when they went home,” Morano noted, forgetting their medication or feeling uncertain about discharge paperwork or the necessity of their appointments. There were other instances where patients didn’t comprehend the side effects of drugs, “situations where we as pharmacists can guide the patient through that,” she added.

“There were some people who didn’t know what their medication was for,” Morano said. “In some cases, patients asked if they should call a doctor or an ambulance if they felt sick.” She recalled that one student’s action might have averted not only an immediate re-hospitalization but also more dangerous problems for the patient. “I had one student call a patient who was not acting normally. A family member had expressed concern,” Morano said.

“The student was able to pick it up right away: it was low blood sugar masked

by a beta-blocker. It was a serious drug interaction. But just by talking to the patient, that made a serious impact.”

By reviewing records with patients, the students also found some discrepancies in medical care linked to incomplete or inaccurate prescriptions, according to Morano. “It was eye-opening to see the scripts coming down and comparing the chart.” Sometimes prescriptions were supposed to be made but the correct orders were not directed to the pharmacy, Morano said, noting technology failures along the way. The pharmacists were able to intervene on potential errors, she said. “If it doesn’t get routed to the pharmacy it can be a pretty big deal depending on the medication.”

Over time as the students made the phone calls, Shaver said she could see the differences in the patients as well as the future pharmacists. Often, elderly patients were grateful. “There was a comfort level. Many times there was a simple ’thank you’ for the calls. Those little extra words were important to

them,” she said. In one instance, Shaver noted that a patient was supposed to be on the DASH diet. The patient didn’t know what she was talking about. “It was on the chart. I said ‘you should be on the diet.’ I mailed it to him.”

Shaver said she reacted differently as the study progressed in working with student pharmacists. “I was much more comfortable speaking to different groups, with various demographics and backgrounds in all this complexity. It was amazing,” she said. “You would see students on rotation, you can tell at the beginning they weren’t as comfortable as they felt at the end. They were coming into their own as pharmacists.”

When she reflects on the study, Shaver said she didn’t think anybody was surprised by the ”tremendous impact.”

Each call didn’t take that much time but the words had so much influence.

That’s what stunned her. “I think we were surprised by how simple it was.” P Joseph A. Cantlupe is a freelance writer based in Washington, D.C.

Promising New Drugs for Old Pathogen TB Research by a University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy professor shows promise in thwarting the drug-resistant pathogen.

By Elaina Hancock Tuberculosis (TB), an ancient and notoriously difficult disease to treat, has killed millions through the course of human history, and the antibiotics that have been used to fight the disease in recent history are becoming less and less effective. In the face of this reality, Dr. Dennis Wright, professor of medicinal chemistry in the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy’s Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, has improved upon a new way to thwart the tricky pathogen, mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb).

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Though it may not be apparent in the United States, TB is the leading deadly infectious disease in the world, now surpassing HIV, said Wright. And the areas worst affected by TB are those that are becoming increasingly industrialized, including China, Russia and India. Current treatment protocols require the use of multiple drugs, due to the bacteria’s uncanny ability to develop resistance to individual drugs.

Drug-resistant strains may be on the rise due to poor adherence to treatment protocols, said Wright. “First-line therapy

community impact

for drug-susceptible TB is by using three to four drugs in combination,” he said. “The mixture is necessary because the pathogen is a master at developing drug resistance.”

highly conserved, there are a lot of differences in TB and human throughout the pathway, and those differences are what we are trying to target.”

The treatment time is also at least six months for drug-susceptible strains; for drug-resistant tuberculosis, it can be 18 months and often longer. Unfortunately, that means adherence to the full treatment, especially in less industrialized areas, is unlikely or impossible for many, he said.

The promise for antifolate medications as a new class of drugs for the treatment of TB and many other diseases is great. However, there is currently only one antifolate used to treat TB, called para-aminosalicylic acid (PAS). Wright and his team compared PAS with 60 antifolates they designed to target a very specific component of the folate pathway called dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). A collaborator screened the compounds in cultures of Mtb, including drug-resistant strains. “The TB and human DHFR enzymes differ very slightly, but in fact, that single amino acid change in the drug binding site is enough to give us selectivity,” he said.

Not only did the compounds have selectivity in inhibiting the pathogenic DHFR, but they also impacted the ease with which the drug enters the bacterium.

A Different Way to Target the Bacteria Wright is taking a new approach, developing drugs that target the bacteria in different ways from previous classes of drugs. He said this approach is intended to help circumvent the pathogen’s resistance to existing drugs. In recent years, research into the disruption of the folate pathway in Mtb has been explored as a means of treating the infection. The folate pathway is essential for the production of nucleic acids, or the building blocks of DNA and RNA—the information needed for organisms to reproduce or replicate.

Since it is so important for survival, the folate pathway is also highly conserved, meaning that antifolate drugs could target bacteria, fungi, parasites but also humans. Therefore, just the right compound is needed to ensure that the pathogen, and not the host, is impacted. “It is easy to make very potent antifolate compounds, but the challenge is in not impacting the human folate pathway,” Wright explained. “TB is very interesting because even though the folate pathway is

Wright said getting the drugs in is challenging because TB is one of the hardest microorganisms to penetrate. “It is so drug-resistant due to the waxy outer coating, and because it can hide from the immune system.” Classical antifolates, like methotrexate, require active transport into cells; however, the compounds developed by Wright and his team enter the cell passively. Wright said the folate cycle may also play a role in the bacterium’s ability to produce its protective waxy coat, meaning that it could make it easier for other drugs to get in and help clear a TB infection.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Wright noted that these two findings were validation that the compounds were targeting what they had hoped to target. Overall, the researchers found their compounds to be more effective than PAS. He is hopeful that funding agencies will be interested in this promising class of drugs. More work is needed to bring them to the market for the treatment of TB. “As people are traveling more,” he noted, “I’m not sure how long TB will stay isolated.” P Elaina Hancock is a science writer at the University of Connecticut, writing for UConn Today and UConn Magazine.

Reprinted with permission.

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Giving Vaccines

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oost B a

Pharmacists are well positioned to offer a variety of immunizations and help achieve higher vaccination rates across the country.

By Jane E. Rooney

The recent measles outbreak across the United States prompted a nearly unanimous plea from providers including doctors, nurses and pharmacists, as they urged the public to get up to date on the MMR vaccine. Despite skepticism from some portions of the population, healthcare professionals remained firm in delivering the message that immunizations are safe and, most importantly, save lives.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, vaccines are among the most cost-effective clinical preventive services.

Not only does following a routine immunization schedule reduce healthcare costs, it also helps prevent transmission of communicable diseases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that in 2018, an estimated 80,000 Americans died from flu and its complications. For the 2017–18 flu season, only 37 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older received the vaccine. Despite all the known benefits about how immunizations can protect health, adult vaccination rates fail to meet public health goals. Approximately 42,000 adults and 300 children in the United States die each year from vaccine-preventable diseases (not taking into account the aforementioned measles resurgence).

The CDC conducts a National Health Interview Survey for information on vaccination coverage for U.S. adults 19 years and older. Data from the 2016 survey indicate that many adults did not receive recommended vaccinations but that recommendation from a healthcare provider as well as incorporating assessment into routine clinical care can improve immunization rates.

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“Pharmacists are on the front lines, especially in community pharmacies where they are able to look through patients’ profiles to identify what vaccines they need.

It’s also a great opportunity to get students involved when we talk about screening for what vaccines patients need.”

— Dr. Lauren Angelo

A study authored by Dr. William Prescott Jr., clinical professor at the University of Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, examining immunization education in U.S. pharmacy schools revealed that the vast majority offer some type of immunization certificate training program. He concluded that “the number of colleges and schools that integrate immunization-based content into their required curriculum has increased considerably during the past decade, coinciding with a notable increase in pharmacist involvement in vaccination services nationwide.”

In Prescott’s paper, he asserted that the pharmacy profession is well positioned to help the medical community achieve higher vaccination rates. Pharmacists are authorized to administer vaccines to adults in all 50 states. Student pharmacists or interns are also permitted to administer immunizations in all 50 states, with most requiring completion of a certificate training program and/or pharmacist oversight. Only 27 states can offer vaccines to patients of any age; the remaining states have age restrictions in place, according to American Pharmacists Association (APhA) data. Immunizations by pharmacists are expanding beyond the influenza vaccine to include shingles and vaccines needed for international travel, among others, making these services more accessible.

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“Screening for vaccines that patients need is a critical piece that can happen in the pharmacies,” said Dr. Lauren Angelo, associate dean, academic affairs, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, and author of Immunization Handbook for Pharmacists. “Pharmacists are on the front lines, especially in community pharmacies where they are able to look through patients’ profiles to identify what vaccines they need. It’s also a great opportunity to get students involved when we talk about screening for what vaccines patients need.”

Increased Involvement The types of vaccines pharmacists can administer and to what age groups is state-specific, said Angelo, but immunization by pharmacists is expanding. “I think what we’re going to see when the new recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) are published in the MMWR is language added around shared clinical decision-making for several vaccines,” she predicted. “Pharmacists specifically [will be relied upon] to work with patients and other providers to determine if a patient needs a vaccine that is part of shared clinical decision-making. That’s a big change we’ll see. When we talk about advocacy and education, that’s something that will need to be enhanced because pharmacists will be relied on to provide answers.”

She added that publications over the years have demonstrated that as pharmacists are involved in administering immunizations, rates have increased. “There are still gaps so we have our work to do to help close those gaps.” At the ACIP meeting in June, the group recommended shifting to a shared clinical decision-making model for several vaccines, which may open the door to pharmacists administering a broader range of immunizations to wider populations.

As such, it will become more crucial that pharmacy graduates are prepared with the required training. Part of AACP’s Core Entrustable Professional Activities for new pharmacy graduates includes ensuring that patients have been immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases.

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Pharmacists have to be ready to jump in and help, particularly when the country is dealing with outbreaks such as measles or Hepatitis A, Angelo said.

She noted that it’s becoming an expectation that immunization is part of students’ pharmacy training. “A lot of employers are expecting new graduates to have already been trained.

We are not seeing as many employers providing that training to their employees. Many want them to already have their certificate of completion. It’s becoming a new expectation of the market.”

“Being able to be reimbursed for your services is important in communitybased pharmacies. We can’t sustain that business model if we can’t be reimbursed for our services.”

— Dr. Suzanne Higginbotham

Community Collaboration Some schools of pharmacy are involved in collaborative efforts to expand immunizations in their communities. The Center for Pharmacy Care at the Duquesne University School of Pharmacy won APhA’s national award for community outreach in 2017 for its efforts to expand vaccine coverage. “The university is surrounded by an area that’s pretty underserved; residents don’t have a lot of access to healthcare,” said Dr. Suzanne Higginbotham, director of the school’s Center for Pharmacy Care, Residency Programs and Continuing Pharmacy Education. “We were teaching pharmacy students point-of-care testing and had a few pharmacy faculty who were interested in ambulatory care services and thought we could serve employees in the surrounding area and hone in on a need we had,” she explained, describing how the center got its start 12 years ago. “We started out with basic services like blood pressure screening and flu vaccines, and then focused on preventive care services and expanded to all vaccinations to adults.”

The center has some partner organizations, including YMCAs, churches and shelters, but often screenings and vaccines are provided at community events. The center administered more than 3,000 vaccines last year, which included 18 types of vaccines in the adult population. While students are not permitted to administer vaccines in Pennsylvania,

Higginbotham said they are involved at every turn. “They do assessments, paperwork and documentation afterwards,” she continued.

“We have them advocating on behalf of patients.

It’s not about just giving a flu shot but going beyond to see what the full needs assessment is for our patients.”

Training is also woven into the curriculum, with a full semester in the second year devoted to immunization delivery and the science behind immunobiology. A certificate program is embedded in the course, which was expanded to give students more time on skills assessment to broaden that content.

Higginbotham reflected on the hurdles to getting immunization rates up, noting, “Doing a full immunization needs assessment is important out in the community, not stopping with just the top immunizations we tend to give.

Access and bringing patients up to date with all immunizations is key. That’s one of the barriers in preventive care. We have lower numbers in adults in vaccination rates.” She added, “Another barrier is reimbursements for pharmacists. There are only certain ones we can bill for.

Being able to be reimbursed for your services is important in community-based pharmacies.

We can’t sustain that business model if we can’t be reimbursed for our services.”

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Dr. Suzanne Higginbotham (above), director of the Center for Pharmacy Care at the Duquesne University School of Pharmacy, prepares to administer a vaccine at a community event. The center administered more than 3,000 vaccines last year.

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Her advice for pharmacy schools that want to explore opportunities to increase vaccinations is to develop a concept of networking and have pharmacists willing to go out into the community and rely on each other. “It’s not a oneperson job,” she emphasized. “Develop good partnerships with your community organizations. That was key. We went into our community and asked what their need was instead of assuming we knew what they needed. It was a great collaboration with our surrounding community, and the university was very helpful. We were able to find out more ways we can work with each other on healthcare needs. It really is a collaboration.”

Being Proactive With Patients Another success story comes from the University of Washington School of Pharmacy, where a team submitted a proposal in 2016 for a oneyear demonstration project to improve pharmacists’ use of vaccination systems. Project VACCINATE, one of three projects selected, received national funding from the CDC and National Association of Chain Drug Stores. The project specifically targeted four adult immunizations: flu, pneumococcal, pertussis and shingles.

“When the RFP came out, we started putting out feelers to our community partners,” said Dr. Jennifer Bacci, assistant professor. “We have such a collaborative environment here in the state and we had two community pharmacy partners interested in being involved: Bartell Pharmacy and QFC, which is a local Kroger banner.” The team worked with 40 Bartell locations and 30 QFC locations in western Washington.

The project’s main goals, Bacci noted, were “to increase adult immunizations for the four targeted vaccinations, to increase the use of immunizations information systems within these 70 pharmacies and to design and pilot a value-based payment model. We implemented an immunization platform that enabled proactive vaccine forecasting. When you search a patient in the system, it will bring up their history and will forecast upcoming vaccine needs.

“Our curriculum includes immunization certification in the first year. Students in years 1–4 are involved in administering vaccines and in school outreach activities when those are available to help support the community…We are aware that employers in Washington in many cases require immunization certification on hire for all their pharmacists.”

— Dr. Peggy Odegard Pharmacists can use that information along with information about medications to make recommendations for vaccines that the person may need. When a patient got vaccinated in the pharmacy, it was documented back into the state registry via the platform.”

Compared with the previous one-year time period, the team saw a 15 percent increase in target vaccines administered, and 83 percent of vaccines were documented into the state registry. “We were able to optimize reporting through the platform,” she added. Individual sites determined how to engage staff, which sometimes included student pharmacists working as interns. Dr. Peggy Odegard, associate dean for professional pharmacy education and professor, said immunization training is a key part of Washington’s School of Pharmacy curriculum.

“Our curriculum includes immunization certification in the first year,” Odegard said. “Students in years 1-4 are involved in administering vaccines and in school outreach activities when those are available to help support the community. Students receive the same certification that pharmacists in Washington are able to take, so it’s a consistent program built into the curriculum.” She noted that the University of Washington School of Pharmacy took the lead on exploring the pharmacist’s role in immuni-

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The University of Washington School of Pharmacy partnered with Bartell Pharmacy to offer immunizations at its 40 locations in western Washington. Project VACCINATE targeted four adult immunizations: flu, pneumococcal, pertussis and shingles.

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zation care more than 20 years ago through a grant-funded demonstration project.

“That training was then spread throughout the country. It acted as the basis for a lot of pharmacy immunizations across country,” she continued. “We felt that was a critical skill for graduating pharmacists to have. We are aware that employers in Washington in many cases require immunization certification on hire for all their pharmacists. It’s a necessary curricular piece so graduates are eligible for hire.”

Bacci and Odegard said the next steps for pharmacists in the state are to think about quality improvement and using their accessibility to increase public health. “The number of stakeholders we had was absolutely critical,” Bacci emphasized. “We embraced the concept of an immunization neighborhood. We had representation from independent pharmacies to make sure what we were doing could be generalizable.

State Medicaid was there for the payer perspective. The state and local health jurisdictions and state pharmacy association also participated.”

Odegard said input from physician stakeholders was vital as well. “We had a focus group and we brainstormed ways to enhance immunizations. They were very impressed with what pharmacists are doing and felt it was added value to patient care. As a group, we identified an opportunity to improve electronic medical records so all health providers can be connected and easily communicate vaccination status.

Currently, various providers need to go into the registry to see the vaccine status for their patient. In between states there are limitations on or no connectivity.” She and Bacci agreed that optimizing information systems, which is critical in achieving population health, is the next issue to tackle.

They also point to training as the key to improved immunization rates at the participating pharmacies. “Helping the pharmacist feel comfortable in using the system, how to navigate it, how to make a personalized recommendation within the setting of a busy pharmacy was

“One key lesson is that it’s still about communication between the patient and the pharmacist and the language we use to help address vaccine hesitancy and provide a strong, explicit recommendation. Community pharmacists have such an intrinsic motivation to provide immunizations for the health of their community.”

— Dr. Jennifer Bacci

quite helpful,” Odegard explained. “Training to strengthen recommendations and creating systems to reach out to patients proactively was important. A patient gets information from various medical professionals and the pharmacist can help frame the individual benefits of the vaccine for each person. We focused the training on making a patient-centered, proactive recommendation.”

Both advised reaching out to patients rather than waiting and reacting to a request for assistance. “We have a critical opportunity in this age of the media and information that’s not correct about vaccines that patients access on the Internet,” Odegard said. “With the number of people not trusting vaccination information… it’s really critical that we don’t wait for them to come to us. We want to provide accurate, individualized information so the patient understands what’s needed.” While technology has certainly helped their efforts, Bacci noted, “one key lesson is that it’s still about communication between the patient and the pharmacist and the language we use to help address vaccine hesitancy and provide a strong, explicit recommendation. Community pharmacists have such an intrinsic motivation to provide immunizations for the health of their community.” P Jane E. Rooney is managing editor of Academic Pharmacy Now.

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Learning from (and Making) History Shattering attendance records for a third year in a row, Chicago was the perfect destination for the hallmark event of the year for pharmacy educators to learn, to be inspired and to collaborate.

By Maureen Thielemans

More than 2,900 educators, students and staff descended on the Windy City, July 13–17, to help shape the future of the profession. Across 102 special and mini sessions, experts in education, science and leadership explored the growing role of the pharmacist and meaningful discussions amongst colleagues focused on ways they can be fully utilized in the expanding healthcare system. By the numbers alone, Pharmacy Education 2019 was an unprecedented success, and judging by attendees’ enthusiasm on social media, in session rooms and during beverage breaks, this meeting was definitely one for the record books.

Big Names and Bold Ideas During the Opening General Session, keynote speaker and world-renowned presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin used storytelling to put into context our most recent unprecedented presidency and provided insight for today’s leaders on how to lead during turbulent times.

Goodwin illustrated how key leadership qualities exhibited by historical presidents helped them overcome some very modern issues, including fights for civil rights, concerns over foreign intervention and inequality.

Left: “I value so much what you do as a profession.” Doris Kearns Goodwin opened her remarks at the Opening General Session with a personal story about her interaction with pharmacists.

Above: Goodwin signed copies of her newest book, Leadership in Turbulent Times, and met with members following her session.

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Monday’s Science Plenary addressed a topic that is becoming more and more critical to patient care. Pharmacists are increasingly being called upon to implement precision medicine in practice, but how can schools and colleges of pharmacy provide the necessary educational and training resources? At the Science Plenary, Drs. Julie Johnson (above) and Kristin Wiisanen identified strategies and tools needed to prepare the future pharmacy workforce for a leadership role in precision medicine implementation.

“Precision Medicine is now, we have to be willing to embrace that, and the concepts aren’t necessarily new to pharmacists,” said Johnson, dean and distinguished professor at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy. “Pharmacokinetics, drug-drug interactions are all precision medicine,” she added.

Wiisanen, clinical professor and associate director of the UF Precision Medicine Program, outlined the steps needed for the Academy to keep pace: Accelerate integration into curricula, ask the right questions to evaluate programs, enhance faculty preparedness to include genomics into patient care courses, and more.

Tuesday’s General Session delivered on its promise to inspire attendees with stories of the importance of the physicianpharmacist partnership to improve care delivery, and how pharmacists can lead efforts that create broader integration of their peers on the frontlines of primary care.

“Unfortunately, our healthcare system is broken,” Dr. Kari Mader (above) said. “It should work for patients, it should also work for providers, and too often, it doesn’t work for one, or the other, or both.” Dr. Andrew Morris-Singer, community organizer and founder of the national non-profit Primary Care Progress, joined Dr. Mader via teleconference to showcase a variety of leadership and advocacy practices for the next generation of pharmacy practitioners and academic centers.

“Plan the coffee date now, and have those conversations: That’s the difference between keeping the status quo and a revolutionary change,” said Mader, a practicing family physician in Denver, Colo., and an advocate for achieving health equity, who challenged attendees to recruit two allies from their institution before their calendars fill up after the conference.

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“When someone cares about the mission they are doing, they are already leading in their own way. ” Immediate Past President David D. Allen reflected on the theme of his term during the Tuesday General Session.

Social Academy Pharmacy Education 2019 represents a community coming together, and that’s no more apparent than on social media. Members from around the Academy shared resources, live-tweeted sessions, took selfies and more across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with #PharmEd19. Relive some of the highlights: @jordan_ballou: “The ability to transform an ambition for self into an ambition for the greater good” @DorisKGoodwin on leadership qualities of her favorite U.S. Presidents. Really amazing keynote address #PharmEd19 @SC_Pharmacist: “Surrounding yourself with those who disagree with you” as a tenet of leadership #PharmEd19 @David_Steeb: Incoming @AACPharmacy President @tsorensenrx: we need to do more as a profession to catalyze practice transformation and innovation in collaboration with other healthcare providers, especially physicians. #PharmEd19

The Best and Worst of Times AACP President Todd D. Sorensen, Pharm.D., (below) outlined the priorities for his presidential year during the First House of Delegates. To read to the full speech and learn more about his focus on practice transformation, visit the AJPE website at: http://bit.ly/PracticeTransformation.

@VCUPharmacy: Former @VCU point guard Chadarryl Clay, a #VCUPharmacy student, is at #PharmEd19 presenting research showing that former athletes in pharmacy school have lower burnout rates and significantly higher well-being scores than non-athletes. @HillPharmD: My Uber driver’s brother died of an opioid overdose 5 years ago, & she had still never heard of #naloxone until I gave her a dose out of my bag last night. I’m proud to see tons of great programming about training student #pharmacists on this topic at #PharmEd19! @AACPharmacy: Creating a New Portrait of #Pharmacists: “To date, the campaign has reached more than 5.5 million consumers, and generated 15.7 million video plays,” says @DavidDAllen at #PharmEd19. Have you seen the campaign yet? https://pharmacistsforhealthierlives.org/ @kfblock: Using social media professionally can expand your network and give you a community—both online and IRL. Always fun to meet the people I’ve followed for a while. #RxScienceChat #PharmEd19 @miaPharmD: How do we advance pharmacy in primary care?

Speak to the mind (destination) and to the heart (revelation).

Ask, “What is your story?” Stories bring about connections and shared emotions. #PharmEd19 @kfblock: The typical approach to change-making often focuses on the destination (the endpoint) without also considering the journey (the strategy) - @karimader closes #PharmEd19

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Innovation Exposition The latest technology and cutting-edge information came together in the Exhibition Hall and during Research/Education Poster Sessions spanning two days. Attendees browsed innovative tools to advance their work, while networking with peers about their posters. P Maureen Thielemans is Director of Communications at AACP.

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AACP greatly appreciates the support from our meeting sponsors, whose contributions make this event possible: Platinum Sponsors

Educational Day Sponsor

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors Pharmacy

Bronze Sponsors Community Pharmacy Foundation TM

Community Pharmacy Foundation

Community Pharmacy Foundation

TM

TM

l

Interested in exhibit and sponsorship opportunities for the 2020 Annual Meeting in Long Beach? Contact Samantha Roesler, AACP Media & Event Sales, at 410-316-9856 or samantha.roesler@mci-group.com.

See You Next Year!

July 18–22 Long Beach, Calif.

Join us in Long Beach, Calif., July 18–22, for Pharmacy Education 2020.

Registration opens in Spring 2020: http://bit.ly/LongBeach20

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Save the Date February 8–11, 2020

Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Puerto Rico Golf & Beach Resort Microsessions at INsight 2020 Packing information and insight into 10-minute segments, microsessions are an innovative way for meeting attendees to engage on different strategies and tactics that address important issues.

This shorter format provides an opportunity for participants to hear multiple approaches and success stories.

Presenters will provide a brief, 5–7 minute overview of their programs related to a specific topic, followed by a 3–5 minute Q&A. We are seeking proposals for microsessions for the INsight 2020 meeting. The topics are: 1. Learning experiences to promote professional identity formation in student pharmacists 2. Academic-practice partnerships designed to accelerate the transformation of a workforce prepared to assume responsibility for society’s medication use needs in 2030 3. Advancing interprofessional practice with physicians and other healthcare providers

2020 AACP Research Symposium: Visualizing Research Potential in the Local Environment

February 8, 2020 | Rio Grande, Puerto Rico Every institution offers strengths, challenges and opportunities for research unique to the local environment. Join researchers and research leaders from colleges and schools of pharmacy at the AACP 2020 Research Symposium for a one-day meeting focused on maximizing your institution’s potential to support and sustain high-impact research. The Symposium will be held prior to INsight 2020.

Symposium participants will share success stories and good practices in research stewardship and mentoring, fostering faculty researcher development, and building local and distant collaborations and networks. Deans, department chairs and faculty currently involved in research planning and oversight are encouraged to attend.

Attend the Research Symposium as a stand-alone workshop or add it to your Interim Meeting registration. Registration for the Research Symposium is $150 and includes a https://www.aacp.org/article/insight-2020-microsessions networking reception the evening of February 7.

Proposals in the form of a 250-word abstract will be accepted until October 16, 2019 (midnight Pacific Time).

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Pharmacists Help People Live Healthier, Better Lives.

1400 Crystal Drive, Suite 300 P Arlington, VA 22202 703-739-2330 P www.aacp.org

Tell Us How You’re Fighting the Opioid Crisis Last year, AACP launched a search for opioid-related activities being conducted by colleges and schools of pharmacy. Earlier this year, AACP released the Executive Summary from this search (available at http://bit.ly/AACPOpioidSummary) and developed a public online database with information regarding the submitted activities.

To stay current on all the activities being conducted in this area, the call for submissions is still open here: http://bit.ly/AACPOpioidSurvey. Any new data submitted will be collected on the 15th of each month and the database will be updated by the 1st of each month. An activity is broadly defined—it can be a collaboration, initiative, lecture, partnership, or program. It can be in advocacy, education, teaching, practice, research and/or service. It is our hope that all colleges and schools of pharmacy are represented in our 2020 report.

You can find more information about the survey by visiting the AACP website at www.aacp.org/opioid.

Any questions can be directed to opioid@aacp.org.