MICHELLE KL CHU, PharmD, APh, BCACP ([email protected]), is an assistant professor of clinical pharmacy at the USC Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the PGY1 residency program director at Los Angeles General Medical Center. Chu earned her PharmD from the University of Illinois at Chicago, completed her PGY1 pharmacy residency in ambulatory care, and recently earned her master's in health administration at USC Mann. Chu has established and expanded ambulatory pharmacy services for high-risk patients with multiple chronic disease states at various safety-net clinics. She is also actively involved in establishing a value-based payment for comprehensive medication management through the California Right Meds Collaborative by connecting pharmacists, health plans, and clinics. Through this work, Chu has designed and provided comprehensive medication management training to equip pharmacists and pharmacy technicians with clinical skills to strengthen the impact of comprehensive medication management. Through her appointment as a member of the ASHP Council on Pharmacy Practice, she has advocated for policies supporting advanced ambulatory care pharmacy practices. Her regional leadership includes the Chair of the subcommittee for the California Society of Health-System Pharmacists seminar planning committee and the Chair of the Ambulatory Care Special Interest Group. While Chu served as Chair of the workgroup for the ASHP Section of Pharmacy Educators Advisory Group on the Development of Post-Graduate Education and Learning Experiences, she led the podcast development on AI utilization for pharmacy residency programs.
As the healthcare landscape embraces value-based care and population health, ambulatory care pharmacy has grown tremendously and improved patients' health outcomes. As a Council on Pharmacy Practice and SAG member, I have witnessed this growth and expansion through payment parity law or the establishment of other billing processes. With this momentum on our side, the Section can mark its position in the healthcare space. There are three principles I would like to share with the Section:
- Advocating ambulatory care services as the standard medical care . Medications are necessary to prevent or treat many conditions, and deciding the right meds at the correct dose for the right reason should be part of standard medical care; ambulatory care practitioners have the perfect skills to facilitate this.
- Pharmacy technicians as support personnel. Their medication knowledge and experience enable them to help with closing health disparities. With additional training in communication, advocacy, and clinical topics, technicians can be valuable resources as patient navigators, advocates, and community health workers, all of which would address social determinants of health. As a team, we can have a more significant impact on improving the population's health.
- Adoption of technology and AI to enhance patient care, patient experience, and, ultimately, patient health outcomes. We can develop targeted interventions to improve population health through technologies.