July 2019
Dear Friends,
It’s an honor to serve as your Chair this year. Thank you to the members of the 2018-19 Executive Committee, Section Advisory Group Chairs, Vice-chairs, and work group leads for your selfless leadership over the last year. A special thanks to our Immediate Past Chair, Maritza Lew for your caring guidance and thoughtful mentorship.
As we enter a new year of service, healthcare is in the middle of a massive transformation and technology is the catalyst for change. Innovations common to other industries are entering our world. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain are topics of conversation at our national conferences, in our board rooms, and within our Section. We have 2 choices:
- Watch-and-wait while change happens around us
- Embrace technology head-on and lead change
My vote is for the latter. It’s our duty to create, influence, and lead our profession through this revolution. We must work together with our colleagues and help them understand the benefits and risks of emerging technologies and the impact they will have on patients.
Whether you’re a pharmacist or technician, resident or student, informaticist or analyst, automation wizard, 340B extraordinaire, smart pump guru, data scientist or an outcast looking for an outlet, you have a home in SOPIT.
The road ahead is going to be chaotic and full of organizational turmoil. Together, we must embrace our inner creativity and explore new ways of doing things. The outcome will be a beautiful new world with connected devices, faster automation, smarter algorithms, and better care for our patients. I’m excited to lead change with you.
Please look for an email dated July 1st with information on voting in the ASHP elections. Your vote matters and voting will close on at 12:00 midnight ET on Tuesday, July 30, 2019.
If you will be participating in a SOPIT Section Advisory Group, watch for an orientation webinar announcement. Orientation will be sometime in August, and the SAG year begins in September.
Best regards,
Samm Anderegg, Pharm.D., M.S., BCBS
Chair, Section of Pharmacy Informatics and Technology
[email protected]