Association Perspective
Scott J. Knoer, MS, PharmD, FASHP, APhA EVP and CEO
APhA’s world revolves around members like you—your career, your well-being, your knowledge, and your future. We exist to serve all pharmacists in all practice settings, to help you provide the best care to your patients and make the biggest possible impact on the health of our communities, nation, and world.
I continue to be in awe of how you’ve responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been brutal. For a long year and half, pharmacists and pharmacy teams have placed their patients’ safety ahead of their own and embraced both the challenges and opportunities of the crisis. For your unending bravery, selflessness, resilience, and tenacity, APhA thanks you.
Today, pharmacists have practice authorities that go way beyond dispensing. We’re identifying, preventing, and treating COVID-19; helping Americans stay up to date on all their routine vaccinations; and delivering care in new ways, such as telehealth. The federal government has opened its eyes to what pharmacists can contribute to public health efforts and realized that they can count on us. For stepping up to the plate and expanding patients’ access to life-saving services, APhA thanks you.
Our members are immunizers and educators. Over the past year, APhA has focused on empowering pharmacists in their efforts to build their patients’ vaccine confidence, the impact of which cannot be overstated. Patients can trust their pharmacists to listen to their concerns without judgment and to share unbiased and accurate information. For initiating and sustaining those conversations, APhA thanks you.
Pharmacists and pharmacy teams have taken on the role of advocate by talking to decision-makers about the urgent need for federal provider status recognition and pharmacy payment reform. For spreading the message about our successes and untapped potential, APhA thanks you.
APhA members have engaged with the organization’s work to promote fairness and health equity by dismantling structural racism. For taking time to reflect on your thoughts and behaviors, identify and confront unconscious biases, and learn about social determinants of health, APhA thanks you.
All our members are superheroes and patriots who save the world every day, and that’s why we’ll never stop fighting for you. Our mission is to offer you everything you need. Visit pharmacist.com; come to our conferences; join our platforms to connect with your colleagues; strengthen your advocacy skills; hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or YouTube; listen to our podcast, Locked on Pharmacy; and access our tools to prevent burnout and relieve stress. We hope you’ll keep using us as a resource for education and practice tips.
It is our honor to be your champion and forevermore, we’ve got your back. Thank you, and have a wonderful American Pharmacists Month!