Applicants will be judged on descriptions of their programs and practices currently employed in their health system based on the following criteria:
- Originality and innovative nature of the program,
- Significance of the program to the health system,
- Demonstration of improvements,
- Significance of the program to pharmacy practice advancement, and
- Quality of the descriptive report.
Eligibility
Primary applicant submitting must be an ASHP member practicing in an acute or ambulatory care setting in the U.S., such as an ambulatory care clinic, chronic care, home health care, inpatient care, or outpatient pharmacy. More than one successful program from a health system may be submitted for consideration. Current ASHP Board members, ASHP staff, and persons employed by Endo’s TruDelivery are not eligible to participate.
Instructions for preparing your manuscript
Applications will only be accepted online.
Submit your manuscript and supplemental graphic materials
Please Note: To ensure anonymity during the review process, do not include identifying information (e.g. authors’ names, hospitals, colleges, cities, etc.) within the manuscript. Manuscripts containing identifying information will not be considered by the panel.
Manuscript format
The manuscript should be submitted as one single PDF file. Text should be double-spaced in Calibri font (size 11); include header with title and page number on every page. Manuscripts are limited to a maximum of 10 written content pages (does not include reference page) and no more than 10 supplemental graphics (e.g., figures, graphs, tables, etc.) that are relevant to your program. Each graphic should be included as an appendix to the manuscript and included after the written content in the PDF document. Do not include any identifying information or photos of team members. Quality of the manuscript related to grammar, spelling, syntax, and punctuation are a part of the selection criteria.
Manuscript organization
Manuscripts should be organized as a descriptive report using the following headings:
- Introduction and purpose: Briefly describe events prompting the development of your program and a clear statement of the program’s purpose and goals. Be sure to describe the originality and innovative nature of the program.
- Significance of the program to your health system: Describe the development and implementation of your program, including a step-wise discussion of the decision path and timeline, as well as obstacles addressed and overcome. Include specific information about involvement or collaboration with other departments and other health care professionals. Highlight the nature of the significance to the overall health system such as improvement in patient care, financial benefits, quality improvement, etc.
- Demonstration of improvements: Describe your experience with your current program and its measurable outcomes, such as improved quality of patient care, reduced medication error rates, cost savings, revenue generation, etc. Also include your experience with how the program influenced the pharmacy’s practice model in your health system, such as the utilization of technology, role delineation changes for the pharmacists and non- pharmacists, or improving the patient care opportunities for pharmacists.
- Significance of the program to pharmacy practice advancement: Discuss innovative aspects of your program, attainment of program goals, and implications and importance of the program to the global advancement of pharmacy practice.
- Conclusion: Conclude with a one- or two- paragraph re-statement of the program’s impact with emphasis on why the submission merits an ASHP Best Practices Award.
Review process and announcement of award winners
Manuscripts must be submitted by August 1, 11:59 p.m. PT. Manuscripts are then forwarded to a panel of reviewers. Reviewers will perform a blind review of all properly submitted applications. Award winners will be selected and notified by early October. Should your program be chosen as one of the award winners:
- You will be invited to submit your manuscript to the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy (AJHP) for publishing consideration. Please note this process does not guarantee an acceptance for publication. Procedures for submissions can be found on the AJHP website, and we ask all authors to submit their manuscripts through our online submission/review system.
- You will be invited to attend a special poster session at the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. Award recipients are responsible for travel and lodging expenses to attend this event.
For more information
If you have any questions related to the application and evaluation process of the ASHP Best Practices Award, contact us at [email protected].
