Pride and pain coexist during American Pharmacists Month

Abstract

It's October again, which makes this my 11th American Pharmacists Month as CEO of APhA. We can all be proud of how far we've come over these past 11 years, although each victory has a shadow. I'm incredibly proud of pharmacists’ now-established role as immunizers, but I know that for some, administering immunizations can be just another metric to hit in a challenging workflow. Across the country, pharmacists are demonstrating the value of pharmacist-delivered patient care services; in some states private and public payers recognize pharmacists as providers. But on the federal level, we're still fighting to show Congress that covering pharmacists’ patient care services for certain underserved patients is worth what the Congressional Budget Office says it could cost. It's no secret that this is a challenging moment for pharmacy. Intense education and specialized skills are supposed to inoculate against the insecurity that many of you feel. Yet, new opportunities continue to present themselves or are invented every day. At the risk of sounding Pollyanna-ish, I hope you all will take time this month to celebrate being a pharmacist and the good you do for your patients and community. Your pride in what you do is key to our eventual success in becoming fully recognized and utilized as health care providers. APhA's American Pharmacists Month campaign focuses on public outreach by spreading the message that pharmacists are easy to reach and ready to help. We still want pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to feel honored and appreciated, but we also need to recruit patients to demand that our services remain readily—not freely—available. That's why we're emphasizing pharmacists’ accessibility and working to change the public perception of what pharmacists can do and publicize the services we have to offer. Meanwhile, we continue to advocate for pharmacists and their patients with our state association partners and on Capitol Hill to tell the stories of the impact you are having on patient lives. Visit pharmacistsmonth.com to access promotional materials for your pharmacy, including downloadable graphics, a media kit you can use to further spread the message on social media, and more. Encourage your patients to use the hashtags #APhM2019, #PharmacistsCare, and #PharmacistMonth to share images and stories of times a pharmacist helped them make a medication-related decision, gave them advice, or made a difference in their health and well-being. Pharmacists, you do the same with your own stories of the many times you went above and beyond for your patients and communities. I extend my deepest gratitude and my endless support on behalf of YOUR profession and the patients you serve. Take pride in your ever-changing, essential roles as pharmacists during this American Pharmacists Month. Thank you!