Celebrating Pharmacists

October once again marks American Pharmacists Month, and given the significant impact that pharmacists make on their patients’ health, there is certainly much to celebrate. As health care and medicine continue to evolve, pharmacists have stepped up to deliver patient care in a myriad of ways, serving as medication experts, educators, immunizers, advocates, and pillars of their communities. The value of the pharmacist cannot be overstated, and as the profession continue to seek provider status, it is important to use this occasion to acknowledge the essential role that pharmacists play on the health care team.

Notably, pharmacists can prove particularly crucial in combating the United States’ growing diabetes epidemic. There are currently more than 30 million US patients with diabetes, according to the CDC,¹ and multiple studies have indicated that enabling pharmacists to take on diabetes management roles can improve outcomes among this population.^2,3 To help pharmacists in this endeavor, this issue of Pharmacy Times^® contains practical information on insulin, blood glucose monitoring, obesity, and more, as well as a free continuing-education activity on chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. For further resources on diabetes, be sure to check out our Diabetes Resource Center at pharmacytimes.com/resource-centers/diabetes and our Peer Exchange on the community pharmacist’s role in diabetes care at pharmacytimes.com/peer-exchange/cardio-diabetes/role-of-the-community-pharmacist-in-diabetes-care.

Also in this issue, we’re commemorating American Pharmacists Month by honoring our 2018 Next-Generation Pharmacist® Awards winners, a group of exceptional pharmacists, pharmacy students, and pharmacy technicians who have gone above and beyond in caring for their patients and advancing their profession. For example, our 2018 Rising Star and overall winner, Lindsay A. Morris, PharmD, helped to establish the Behavioral Health Clinical Pharmacy Program at the Department of the Army Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. “My vision is for the pharmacists to be each patient’s most trusted health care professional while inspiring healthier communities and integrating seamlessly into multidisciplinary teams at all levels of care,” Dr. Morris told Pharmacy Times^®. Please join me in congratulating all of our winners for their extraordinary efforts to improve patient care.

For those looking for others ways to recognize American Pharmacists Month should consider expressing their gratitude on social media using #ThankAPharmacist. Additionally, we encourage all pharmacists to reflect on what being a pharmacist means to them with #APharmacistIs. As the future of the profession, pharmacy students also have an important perspective to share, and we hope that they’ll do so using #PharmacyStudentVoices. Finally, with National Pharmacy Technician around the corner on October 16, remember to thank technicians for the incredible work that they do to support their pharmacists and promote patient safety.

Here at Pharmacy Times^®, we renew our commitment to educate and empower the entire pharmacy team, and we thank all pharmacists, pharmacy students, and pharmacy technicians for everything that they do to improve patient health.

Thank you for reading, and remember, collaboration saves lives!

References

• National Diabetes Statistics Report. CDC website. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/data/statistics/statistics-report.html. Updated February 24, 2018. Accessed August 20, 2018.
• Ip EJ, Shah BM, Yu J, et al. Enhancing diabetes care by adding a pharmacist to the primary care team. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2013;70(10):877-886. doi: 10.2146/ajhp120238.
• Edwards HD, Webb RD, Scheid DC, et al. A pharmacist visit improves diabetes standards in a patient-centered medical home (PCMH). Am J Med Qual. 2012;27(6):529-534. doi: 10.1177/1062860612444304.