By Valerie Bandy, Senior Director, Pharmacy Specialists, Amerinet
The American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear Clinical Meeting, being held Dec. 8-12, is the largest gathering of pharmacists in the world with more than 20,000 pharmacy professionals from about 100 countries attending. As we prepare for this meeting, I am reminded of the growth, development and recognition of pharmacists as practitioners and leaders in healthcare.
Events like this are energizing and encouraging in demonstrating how dedicated we are to the advancement of the field of pharmacy and our mission to improve patient care and medication safety. Legislation and regulation, migrations in the drug market and advancements in technology are ever-changing and staying current with what is occurring is crucial in maintaining our drive towards continued improvement.
Rising medication costs due to drug shortages is a major obstacle we face today as healthcare providers, and unfortunately, its financial impact in our daily operations is somewhat out of our control. Regulatory and manufacturing issues are causing market departures or process changes forcing those left standing unable to supply in some cases, placing a burden on the healthcare provider. Directors of Pharmacy, CEOs, CFOs, and COOs are burdened every day in their struggle to maintain operations without loss. It is like sprinkling water on a raging fire as they cannot obtain the medications needed to provide sufficient patient care and the medications they can find are rising in costs every day along with technology requirements. Some are canceling specific procedures, adhering to a strict formulary and educating their medical staff on alternatives, standardizing across the board, reviewing contract compliance, and developing protocols and policies to support such structure. The costs continue to rise with some relief as big budget medications come off patent and generic companies are able to take over production. We must continue to stand strong in our planning, resources and communication in order to remain afloat.
The IT advancements facilities need to implement due to changing legislation or regulatory requirements are hitting their bottom line hard. Bar-coding, electronic health records, automation, robotics and smart pumps, just to name a few, are common topics of discussion across the nation whether in the infantile approval stage or the full blown implementation stage. Not only are costs exorbitant, but the manpower to implement these projects are demanding so much so that many facilities have created positions specific to managing the information technology portions of the pharmacy operations.
Pharmacy teams and clinical staff banding together to create solutions together in the areas of shortages, drug costs and IT enhancements will be crucial to the success in all these areas. The connections provided through events such as the ASHP Midyear are essential for pharmacists to update their knowledge, network with colleagues, enhance their skills and learn about the latest trends, products and innovations. I look forward to continued collaboration with my colleagues in advancing the field of pharmacy and embracing our role in the future of healthcare.
Visit Valerie and Amerinet’s Pharmacy Team at Booth #651 at ASHP and learn about our field-based pharmacy experts and comprehensive pharmacy solutions that can help you reduce costs and improve quality.
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