ASHP and APhA Approve New Accreditation Standards for PGY1 Community-based Pharmacy Residency Programs

Press Release

ASHP (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) and the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) today approved the new standard for PGY1 Community-based Pharmacy Residency Programs. The standard was prepared jointly by ASHP and APhA, as has been the process since the partnership between the organizations was formed in 1999 to accredit community-based residency training programs.

“The new standard keeps pace with current trends in pharmacy practice and the need for additional training opportunities in diverse outpatient and community settings,” said James Owen, APhA’s vice president of practice and science affairs. “Additionally, the standard provides enhanced flexibility to organizations with the desire to engage in residency training. This will potentially lead to an increase in the number of residency programs and positions within this sector of pharmacy practice.”

“It is our hope that community-based residency programs will help develop practice leaders who improve the health of patients in the communities they serve,” said Janet Silvester, ASHP’s vice president of accreditation services. “These pharmacist practitioners can serve as an access point to care in those communities.”

Owen and Silvester noted the foundation of the education and training in the new standard is focused on developing the knowledge and skills needed for individual pharmacists rather than the practice settings where care is provided.

The Community-based Pharmacy Residency Accreditation Taskforce that developed the standard continues to work on the associated Competencies, Goals, and Objectives as well as the guidance document. These documents are expected to be released later this year. Mandatory implementation of the new standard is expected by July 2017.

About ASHP

ASHP represents pharmacists who serve as patient care providers in acute and ambulatory settings. The organization’s more than 43,000 members include pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians. For over 70 years, ASHP has been at the forefront of efforts to improve medication use and enhance patient safety. For more information about the wide array of ASHP activities and the many ways in which pharmacists advance healthcare, visit ASHP’s website, www.ashp.org, or its consumer website, www.SafeMedication.com.

About APhA

The American Pharmacists Association, founded in 1852 as the American Pharmaceutical Association, is a 501 (c)(6) organization, representing more than 62,000 practicing pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, student pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and others interested in advancing the profession. APhA, dedicated to helping all pharmacists improve medication use and advance patient care, is the first-established and largest association of pharmacists in the United States. For more information, please visit www.pharmacist.com.