Recognition of Pharmacotherapy as a Pharmacy Practice Specialty: An Historical Account and View of the Future

Abstract

Most change in a profession or organization occurs on an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary basis, and is incremental. The seeds for the recognition of pharmacotherapy as a pharmacy practice specialty were planted by the founding members of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) in 1979. The ACCP was formed to advance excellence in clinical pharmacy practice, education, and research. One initial goal was to obtain recognition of clinical pharmacy as a distinct practice specialty. A 1980 ACCP Task Force on Specialty Recognition recommended that the College pursue this goal through a petition to the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (BPS). It further suggested that the petition be prepared with a broad base of representation from the profession. The ACCP initiated communications in 1981 with other pharmacy organizations, which eventually led to appointment of the Committee on Clinical Pharmacy as a Specialty. The committee began its work in November 1981. Many individuals within clinical pharmacy contributed to the development of the petition that was eventually submitted by the committee with ACCP sponsorship to the BPS in April 1986. The BPS conducted a formal review of the petition and concluded that clinical pharmacy as defined in the petition was too general to be recognized as a specialty. It encouraged ACCP to define the proposed specialty more narrowly and