APhA Member News
APhA Staff
A minute with …
Hong Nguyen, PharmD
Regional Purchasing and Procurement Manager,
Providence Health & Services, Portland, OR
Member since 2008
Being a member of APhA has been valuable to my career because it has allowed me to connect with pharmacists all over the nation. We are able to ask questions, share ideas, and thoughts in our Special Interest Groups (SIGs). The training programs that are offered through APhA have helped me become a better and more confident patient care provider.”
How does APhA help you thrive in your everyday practice?
All of the training programs (e.g., immunization, medication therapy management, and diabetes management) I have attended through APhA, I still use today. I use the knowledge I’ve gained in my everyday practice. I also receive the newsletters which keep me updated with hot topics in pharmacy.
Can you share a meaningful story about a time you interacted with a patient? Perhaps a time you felt like you really made a difference for them?
When I worked at Fred Meyer (a subsidiary of Kroger in the Northwest) as a clinical staff pharmacist (CSP), I saw a lot of different patients through our health coaching programs. There was one patient in the diabetes coaching program who was seeing another CSP before he was transferred to me when I started at this store.
This patient’s diabetes was not in control (blood glucose readings ranged from 150–400). He was on insulin but was always afraid of increasing his dose because he feared becoming hypoglycemic. As we began to build our relationship through monthly meetings, he began to open up and trust me. We were able to increase his insulin slowly to better manage his diabetes.
He even became comfortable receiving vaccines after almost a year of proving to him that the shingles vaccine was highly recommended.
This shows that if you are able to steadily build that relationship with your patient—truly listen and understand them—they will listen to you, as well. He was one of my toughest patients, but also one of the most memorable and thankful.
How has APhA helped you establish meaningful connections?
Again, through different SIGs, I have been able to connect with other pharmacists in all different areas of practice. I have met so many different people such as student pharmacists, nurse practitioners, dieticians, pharmacists, professors, and more, at the APhA Annual Meeting & Expositions. I have benefited from meaningful connections and have learned something from each person I have met.
What excites you about the profession of pharmacy?
Pharmacist roles and responsibilities continue to advance forward. Community pharmacy is my passion and you can see how much more pharmacists can do. Pharmacists are prescribing under state protocols, not just through collaborative practice. From immunizations to prescribing birth control to managing UTIs, more and more patients are coming to their pharmacists first. We are the most accessible health care professional for our patients. ■
Advancing pharmacy practice
The Journal of the American Pharmacists Association (JAPhA), the official journal of the American Pharmacists Association, is pleased to announce a call for papers for its seventh annual special issue showcasing the scholarship of pharmacy residents. The JAPhA Residency Issue is the ideal forum for pharmacy residents or recent residency graduates to publish scholarship conducted during their residency training. Authors are invited to submit manuscripts in the categories of Research, Brief Notes, or Advances in Pharmacy Practice.
A unique aspect of this issue is that authors will be paired with a mentor from the JAPhA Editorial Advisory Board to help develop their writing skills during the peer review process. Submission deadline: Manuscripts must be submitted at www.editorialmanager.com/japha/default1.aspx by September 2, 2022. ■
Did you know?
COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for infants and children aged 6 months and older. Pharmacists and other pharmacy team members have federal authority under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act to provide FDA-authorized or FDA-licensed COVID-19 vaccines according to CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ COVID-19 vaccine recommendations to patients 3 years or older, subject to certain requirements outlined in APhA’s practice resource. Pharmacists and other pharmacy team members may still order or administer vaccines to individuals ages two years or younger to the extent authorized under state law.
APhA has compiled several resources to help you contribute to pediatric vaccination efforts, including the latest guidance and recommendations, and more information about vaccinating adolescents and children. Check out the June 2022 Vaccine Confident Open Forum at apha.us/VCForum that describes practical strategies for expanding immunizations to children under 5 years. Hear from members John Grabenstein, RPh, PhD, FAPhA, and Beverly Schaefer, RPh, as they share insights and recommendations for this special population, facilitated by Michael Hogue, PharmD, FAPhA, FNAP, former APhA president. ■
Get involved in APhA
Immunizations have become an integral service in pharmacy. The Immunizing Pharmacists Special Interest Group (SIG) offers a way to stay up to date regarding changes in immunizations recommendations, as well as a way to connect with others who are involved with immunizations. APhA–APPM Immunizing Pharmacists SIG provides members valuable educational tools including the Immunization Quick Reference Guide, Travel Health Guide, and regular webinars. “It has been very rewarding to be actively involved with many of the committees and task forces within the SIG. I strongly encourage individuals to consider joining the Immunizing Pharmacists SIG, and even more importantly to consider volunteering for a committee or task force!” said Jennifer A. (Waitzman) Wilson, PharmD, BCACP, associate professor of pharmacy at Wingate University and Immunizing Pharmacists SIG coordinator. Visit our volunteer page at www.pharmacist.com/volunteer for more information. ■
Coalition advocates to protect patient access to pharmacist care beyond COVID-19
Pharmacists have played an essential role in protecting communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring millions of Americans have access to testing, vaccines, and initiation of treatment for the virus. More than 376,000 pharmacists and student pharmacists have been trained to administer COVID-19 vaccines to patients, and as of June 2022, pharmacists have provided more than 256 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in the United States through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program. Yet patients are at risk of losing access to essential services provided by pharmacists when health officials lift the public health emergency instituted in response to COVID-19.
Pharmacists have been providing these essential services—including COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and initiation of treatment—under temporary local, state, and federal authorities established in response to the pandemic. When health officials lift the public health emergency, pharmacists will have difficulty providing many of the services upon which Americans have come to rely during the pandemic.
Recognizing this gap in care, APhA joined 11 likeminded professional organizations and American health care companies to launch the Future of Pharmacy Care Coalition. The coalition’s members provide care for hundreds of millions of patients across communities and represent pharmacists and pharmacies of all sizes across the United States. The coalition advocates for federal policy solutions that recognize pharmacists’ critical role in caring for patients and ensure pharmacists can continue to create a more just and sustainable health care system.
In March 2022, Representatives Ron Kind (D-WI), David B. McKinley (R-WV), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), and Buddy Carter (R-GA) introduced H.R. 7213, the Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act. H.R. 7213 ensures Medicare Part B beneficiaries can benefit from pharmacists’ services related to COVID-19 and related diseases, including testing, immunization, and treatment initiation, and establishes a reimbursement pathway for those services. H.R. 7213 also ensures that seniors can access pharmacy- and pharmacist-provided services during future public health emergencies.
To date, 29 members of Congress have cosponsored H.R. 7213, and this number continues to grow.
Over 160 organizations representing patients, rural Americans, seniors, pharmacies, and community pharmacists have raised their voice in support of H.R. 7213. In speaking with one voice, the coalition and these organizations have stood up for patients, creating awareness about the need for H.R. 7213 to ensure access to pharmacist care now and in the future.
The coalition is actively working to educate members of Congress about the importance of H.R. 7213 to ensure pharmacists can continue to provide essential services for COVID-19 and other related conditions. APhA and the Coalition are bringing forward stories of pharmacists on the frontlines to highlight the importance of maintaining patient access to pharmacist care.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear that patients trust and rely on pharmacists to access essential care. Even as COVID-19 becomes endemic, patients will continue to rely on pharmacists to access critical care and manage their health.
APhA will continue to work with its members and the Future of Pharmacy Care Coalition to secure reliable patient access to pharmacist care during COVID-19 and beyond. Visit pharmacycare.org to learn more. ■