ASHP President Paul Walker says, "We are better together," and the energy and excitement of this year's Midyear meeting shows how much value there is in connecting with colleagues face to face.

Over the course of the past year, ASHP has continued to introduce new products, programs, and services to support you, our members, your practice, and your patients. I am particularly excited about our recent launch of a new membership section, the Section of Digital and Telehealth Practitioners, to address rapidly evolving advances in virtual healthcare delivery, pharmacy practice, and digital health technology. The section provides a new ASHP membership home for pharmacists, student pharmacists, pharmacy residents, pharmacy technicians, and all who practice in telehealth and virtual care settings or plan to do so. Our first step is to appoint an executive committee to lead the work of the section. ASHP members interested in serving on the section's leadership can submit an application by Jan. 20, 2023.

Reflecting on the past year, there have been many challenging moments – natural disasters, the ongoing toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, additional health threats, and more. But there have also been many bright spots for the pharmacy profession.

We have seen tremendous advocacy wins with the federal government's expansion of pharmacists' scope of practice during the pandemic. Pharmacists have truly shown their critical role in patient care as they prescribed medications, administered vaccinations, and worked to test and treat for COVID-19 this year. State governments have also continued to increasingly call on pharmacists to provide patients with access to essential healthcare services – from COVID-19 testing and treatment to expansion of the pharmacist role in primary care. More than 40 state Medicaid programs now recognize pharmacists as providers for at least one billable service, and all 50 states have expanded pharmacists' ability to provide care.

I was also pleased with our continued work on many other top advocacy priorities. Just this month, we launched a new digital campaign with other partner organizations to raise awareness of the 340B Drug Pricing Program's 30-year history of improving patient access to care as we work to protect the program. We continue to urge Congress to pass legislation that maintains Medicare beneficiaries' access to pharmacy care and services, eliminates X-waiver requirements that limit the availability of medications for opioid use disorder, and advances efforts that prevent payer-mandated white bagging.

We also recently launched the ASHP Leadership Center, an exciting new resource that facilitates leadership development for pharmacists at all career levels and positions, from students to seasoned executives. We recognized our first two Centers of Excellence in Safe Medication-Use in Pharmacy Practice, UC San Diego Health and St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, and credentialed our first cohort of Certified Pharmacy Executive Leaders.

Our commitment to advancing the well-being and resilience of the pharmacy workforce has never been stronger. The ASHP Board of Directors voted to continue supporting our engagement in the National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being as we work to implement the recommendations in the National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being. We will also be recruiting new learning cohorts of ASHP Well-Being Ambassadors, including one dedicated to residency program directors and residents. Look for more information in early 2023 to join the over 2,000 Well-Being Ambassadors committed to being champions of well-being in their local institutions.

As we look toward 2023, there are many opportunities to embrace an exciting future for the pharmacy profession. The 2023 ASHP Commission on Goals, scheduled for March 7, will focus on optimizing medication therapy through advanced analytics and data-driven healthcare. I hope to see you at the ASHP Summer Meetings in Baltimore in June.

On behalf of all of us at ASHP, best wishes for a very happy holiday season and a healthy and productive new year. Thank you for your continued support of ASHP and for all that you do each and every day for your patients and the profession of pharmacy.

Sincerely,

Paul

Posted on December 19, 2022