LCDR Kali Autrey, PharmD, PhC, BCPS, NCPS ([email protected]), is an applied public health pharmacist with the CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity in Farmington, NewMexico. She serves as the Division's pharmacotherapy subject matter expert and reimbursement lead, directing the development and implementation of sustainability mechanisms and improving access for pediatric obesity prevention and treatment services. She is a graduate of the University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy and began her career at Indian Health Service facilities on the Navajo Nation. LCDR Autrey served the Diné population for nearly a decade, operating as a pharmacist clinician with medical staff privileges and providing care in multiple pharmacist-run clinics for management of chronic diseases including diabetes, pain, substance use disorder, and thromboembolic disease. She brought her unique perspective serving vulnerable populations with limited resources to ASHP while serving as the US Public Health Service (USPHS) primary delegate to the ASHP House of Delegates in 2023 (and alternate delegate from 2021-2022). LCDR Autrey has served on the ASHP Section of Community Pharmacy Practitioners (SCPP) Advisory Group on Education, Communication and Training since its inception, helping to build the Section’s strategic plan, and leading the development and dissemination of a number of resources including webinars, podcasts and written materials. She has served as an ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting CE proposal reviewer, contributed to the development and delivery of the Section’s roundtable events, and continues to work in the provider status space on the USPHS Expanding Patient Access to Medical Services by Pharmacists Workgroup alongside ASHP.
My philosophy of community pharmacy practice may be summarized by three values: 1) equitable access to services 2) patient safety 3) clear, appropriate and timely compensation for services. My goal first and foremost as a pharmacist and leader is to provide culturally-competent, patient-centered care. I believe community pharmacy practitioners are optimally positioned to achieve equitable access to medical services by advocating for and operating within a broader scope of practice. By recognizing our role in overcoming common barriers and actualizing capabilities for pharmacists and technicians, we strive to improve outcomes while promoting sustainability of the profession and healthcare system as a whole. Another critical component of improved patient outcomes is patient safety which requires a team-based approach with multi-level support in training and education, implementing viable solutions to issues such as drug shortages and costs, and expediently responding to unsafe working conditions. In placing value and effort into these strategies, we aim to increase job satisfaction, promote work/life balance, and empower practitioners. As we continue to confront our workforce challenges, increasing awareness of the substantial impact of our pharmacy teams is vital. This includes advocating for appropriate and timely payment for service claims and seeking pharmacy benefits manager transparency. Finally, to be successful in each of these approaches, I believe the workforce must be supported in evaluating appropriate and optimal use of novel technologies so that such tools may augment but not replace critical thinking; ASHP has a role in equipping our current and future professionals to do so.