Report of the 2020-2021 Strategic Engagement Standing Committee

Abstract

For the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), strategic engagement is critical to the success of colleges and schools of pharmacy in expanding pharmacy and public health practice, meeting programmatic needs, and fulfilling institutional missions. The 2020-2021 Strategic Engagement Standing Committee was charged with identifying effective strategies to leverage the temporary expansion of pharmacist practice capabilities granted during the COVID-19 pandemic for sustained practice. The group was also tasked with looking at ways to partner with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), our medicine counterparts to develop a plan for collaborating with them to advance interprofessional practice. In this unique year, all standing committees were charged with reading all the reports last year to put President Lin's charges into perspective with the hopes of carrying over the overall theme and work of the previous years committee. Overall, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been several expansions on the scope of practice for pharmacists and vary by state. We hope to draw out some of those expansions to see how we can build upon efforts to make those permanent. POLICY AMENDMENT AND RECOMMENDATION:Based upon the work of the 2020-2021 Strategic Engagement Committee, the following policy amendments are provided to AACP and Schools and Colleges of Pharmacy along with one policy recommendation: Policy Amendments:1. AACP supports the establishment of a recognized triad relationship among the schools/colleges of pharmacy, boards of pharmacy, and state pharmacy associations for the successful advancement of pharmacy practice and the role of pharmacists as recognized health care providers within interprofessional and multidisciplinary healthcare practices.(Source: 2019-2020 Professional Affairs Committee) a. AACP supports the establishment of partnerships among the schools/colleges of pharmacy, boards of pharmacy and other health professions, and state health care professional associations, for the successful advancement of the role of pharmacists as recognized health care providers within interprofessional and multidisciplinary healthcare practices. (Source: 2019-2020 Professional Affairs Committee) 2. AACP supports the creation of a national vision emphasizing the value of pharmacy education and colleges and schools of pharmacy to various stakeholders including patients and communities. (Source: Professional Affairs Committee, 2015) a. AACP supports the creation of a national vision emphasizing the value of pharmacists to various stakeholders including patients, government, and other healthcare professions. (Source: Professional Affairs Committee, 2015)New Policy Recommendations: 1. AACP supports the identification of one or more strategic engagement champions at member institutions.

Uptake of community pharmacist prescribing over a three-year period

“…Increased access to healthcare interventions including medications through prescribing services of those who have prescribing privileges is important given continued strain on the healthcare system due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing challenge of access to family physicians and nurse practitioners in many Canadian provinces. 9 , 10 In the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, the number of people over the age of 12 who reported not having a regular healthcare provider has increased from over 47,000 as of March 2020 (the last month of the fiscal year covered in this study) to over 85,000 people as of March 2022 (over 8% of the population of Nova Scotia), and continues to grow. 11 , 12…”