APhA Policy Manual

APhA supports the establishment and enforcement of laws, regulations, and policies through Boards of Pharmacy that restrict the use of the words “pharmacy”, “drug store”, “apothecary” or any other words or symbols of similar meaning or signage and business names to entities in which the practice of pharmacy is conducted.

APhA advocates the elimination of coupons, rebates, discounts, and other incentives provided to patients that promote the transfer of prescriptions between competitors.

APhA encourages the listing of all pharmacies in telephone, Internet and other directories under “Pharmacies.”

APhA supports the development of guidelines or standards to enhance the depiction of the pharmacy profession in all public media.

APhA encourages the Federal Trade Commission, the US attorney general or other appropriate agency to investigate misleading and deceptive marketing practices of issuers of discount cards.

APhA supports use of the phrase “community pharmacy” rather than “retail pharmacy.”

1. APhA opposes the sale of e-cigarettes and other vaporized nicotine products in pharmacies until such time that scientific data support the health and environmental safety of these products.
2. APhA opposes the use of e-cigarettes and other vaporized nicotine products in areas subject to current clean air laws, regulations, and policies for combustible tobacco products until such time that scientific data support the health and environmental safety of these products.
3. APhA urges pharmacists to become more knowledgeable about e-cigarettes and other vaporized nicotine products.

APhA supports standardizing patient records and clinical decision support tools (including pharmacy dispensing systems) to collect, document, and utilize information regarding the patient’s tobacco and nicotine use.

1. APhA urges pharmacies and facilities that include pharmacies to discontinue the sale of tobacco products.
2. APhA urges the federal government and state governments to limit participation in government-funded prescription programs to pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products.
3. APhA urges state boards of pharmacy to discontinue issuing and renewing licenses to pharmacies that sell tobacco products and to pharmacies that are in facilities that sell tobacco products.
4. APhA urges colleges of pharmacy to only use pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products as experience sites for their students.
5. APhA urges the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) to adopt the position that college-administered pharmacy experience programs should only use pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products.
6. APhA urges pharmacists and student pharmacists who are seeking employment opportunities to first consider positions in pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products.

1. APhA recommends that tobacco products not be sold in pharmacies.
2. APhA recommends that state and local pharmacist associations develop similar policy statements for their membership and increase their involvement in public educational programs regarding the health hazards of smoking.
3. APhA recommends that individual pharmacists give particular attention to educating young people on the health hazards of smoking.
4. APhA recommends that APhA-ASP develop projects aimed at educating young people on the health hazards of smoking, such as visiting schools and conducting health education programs.

APhA opposes the sale of tobacco products and non-medicinal alcoholic beverages in pharmacies.

APhA supports state substitution laws, regulations, and policies that emphasize pharmacists’ professional responsibility for determining, on the basis of available evidence, including professional literature, clinical studies, drug recalls, manufacturer reputation and other pertinent factors, that the drug products they dispense are therapeutically effective.

1. APhA recognizes the unique role and accessibility of pharmacy personnel in public health.
2. APhA encourages pharmacy personnel to provide services, education, and information on public health issues.
3. APhA encourages the development of public health programs for use by pharmacy personnel.
4. APhA should provide necessary information and materials for pharmacy personnel to carry out their role in disseminating public health information.
5. APhA encourages organizations to include pharmacy personnel in the development of public health programs.

1. APhA encourages the use of social media in ways that advance patient care and uphold pharmacists as trusted and accessible health care providers.
2. APhA supports the use of social media as a mechanism for the delivery of patient-specific care in a platform that allows for appropriate patient and provider protections and access to necessary health care information.
3. APhA supports the inclusion of social media education, including but not limited to appropriate use and professionalism, as a component of pharmacy education and continuing professional development.
4. APhA affirms that the patient’s right to privacy and confidentiality shall not be compromised through the use of social media.
5. APhA urges pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and student pharmacists to self-monitor their social media presence for professionalism and that posted clinical information is accurate and appropriate.
6. APhA advocates for continued development and utilization of social media by pharmacists and other health care professionals during public health emergencies.

APhA recognizes the role of pharmacists in improving the use of medications in schools and supports pharmacist activities to work with teachers, school nurses, parents, school administrators and other personnel to improve medication use in this environment. APhA recommends that pharmacists be involved in the development of guidelines for medication use in schools.

APhA supports use of the phrase “community pharmacy” rather than “retail pharmacy.”

1. APhA should continue to assist in the unification of the profession and the development of a national strategy by its continued support of the Council on Credentialing in Pharmacy as the body responsible for the leadership, standards, public information and coordination of the professions voluntary credentialing programs.
2. APhA, in conjunction and cooperation with the Council on Credentialing and other national associations, should provide competence-based material and testing via technology, such as the APhA web-site and state association websites, to further the profession’s self-assessment.
3. APhA, in conjunction and cooperation with the Council on Credentialing and other national associations, should develop the necessary products and programs to educate the public, insurers, and health professionals on credentialing and make them available to state associations at cost.
4. APhA supports the development of programs and initiatives that demonstrate the value of pharmacists in improving clinical, economic, and humanistic patient outcomes.

1. APhA calls upon all employers of pharmacy personnel to promote and support participation in professional development activities.
2. APhA urges all employers of pharmacy personnel to include conference attendance as part of an employee’s compensation package, including allocated professional development days.
3. APhA encourages employers to offer comprehensive benefits packages that promote positive workplace environments and cultures.
4. APhA supports efforts to empower pharmacy personnel to advocate for compensated time for professional and leadership development, as well as benefits that align with their career goals.
5. APhA encourages pharmacy personnel to seek guidance in self-advocating for employment benefits that align with their career goals.

APhA shall support pharmacy educational programs on issues regarding generic medications, therapeutic equivalence substitution (generic substitution), and biosimilars and interchangeability.

1. APhA affirms pharmacy personnel must have knowledge and understanding of laws, regulations, and policies that affect their roles in the practice of pharmacy.
2. In the interest of protecting public health and safety, APhA supports the assessment of knowledge regarding pharmacy laws, regulations, and policies as a component of pharmacist licensure or registration.
3. To mitigate barriers to licensure, APhA advocates for state boards of pharmacy to work with relevant parties to design and implement optimal methods for assessing minimum pharmacy jurisprudence competency.
4. APhA encourages National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) to collaborate with pharmacy educators to formulate measurable competency statements for use in developing pharmacy jurisprudence assessments.
5. APhA advocates for ongoing, timely, and transparent quality assurance and control for jurisprudence assessments.
6. APhA encourages state boards of pharmacy to publicly communicate when changes in laws, regulations, and policies will be reflected in jurisprudence assessments.
7. APhA encourages boards of pharmacy to provide free, timely, and readily accessible educational updates regarding changes in pharmacy laws, regulations, and policies.

1. APhA opposes the replacement of a pharmacist’s professional judgment or patient’s access to their pharmacist with artificial intelligence.
2. APhA calls on the profession of pharmacy and all related organizations to proactively assess and respond to the evolving role of artificial intelligence in pharmacy practice and workforce dynamics.
3. APhA encourages judicious use of artificial intelligence by pharmacists and pharmacy personnel as a tool to elevate pharmacy practice and enhance patient care.
4. APhA advocates for the integration of pharmacists into the development, design, validation, implementation, and maintenance of artificial intelligence solutions.
5. APhA calls on regulatory bodies, employers, and other relevant parties to develop laws, regulations, and policies as applicable for artificial intelligence to ensure patient safety, privacy, public awareness, and public protection.
6. APhA calls on those providing artificial intelligence solutions to implement processes that identify and mitigate bias and misinformation in artificial intelligence.
7. APhA advocates for education providers to facilitate, and pharmacy personnel to seek out, education and training on the lawful, ethical, and clinical use of artificial intelligence.

1. APhA supports changes in laws, regulations, and policies to permit DEA-registered and trained opioid treatment program clinicians and other providers the ability to prescribe methadone for opioid use disorder and refer patients for additional services as needed.
2. APhA supports changes in laws, regulations, and policies to permit community pharmacy dispensing of methadone for opioid use disorder and appropriate compensation for these services.
3. APhA supports partnerships and collaborations to increase patient access to opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and clinicians.
4. APhA advocates for interprofessional education on laws, regulations, and policies regarding office-based prescribing and community pharmacy dispensing of methadone in curricula, postgraduate training, and continuing professional development programs of all health professions.

1. APhA advocates for the identification of medical conditions that may be safely and effectively treated by community-based pharmacists.
2. APhA encourages the training and education of pharmacists and student pharmacists regarding identification, treatment, monitoring, documentation, follow-up, and referral for medical conditions treated by community-based pharmacists
3. APhA advocates for laws, regulations, and policies that allow pharmacists to identify and manage medical conditions treated by community-based pharmacists.
4. APhA advocates for appropriate remuneration for the assessment and treatment of medical conditions treated by community-based pharmacists from government and private payers to ensure sustainability and access for patients.
5. APhA supports research to examine the outcomes of services that focus on medical conditions treated by community-based pharmacists.

1. APhA asserts that pharmacists should have the authority and support to practice to the full extent of their education, training, and experience in delivering patient care.
2. APhA opposes burdensome legal and regulatory requirements beyond continuing professional development for the provision of patient care services.
3. APhA supports continuing efforts toward establishing a consistent and accurate perception of the contemporary role and practice of pharmacists by the general public, patients, and all persons and institutions engaged in health care policy, administration, payment, and delivery.
4. APhA supports continued collaboration with stakeholders to facilitate adoption of standardized practice acts, appropriate related laws, regulations, and policies that reflect contemporary pharmacy practice.
5. APhA supports the establishment of multistate pharmacist licensure agreements to address the evolving needs of the pharmacy profession and pharmacist-provided patient care.
6. APhA urges the continued development of consensus documents, in collaboration with medical associations and other stakeholders, that recognize and support pharmacists’ roles in patient care as health care providers.
7. APhA urges universal recognition of pharmacists as health care providers and compensation based on the level of patient care provided using standardized and future health care payment models.

1. APhA strongly believes that all pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians should be safe in their work and learning environments and be free from firearm-related violence.
2. APhA strongly recommends that technician training programs, schools and colleges of pharmacy, postgraduate training programs, and employers should develop programs to increase readiness in the event of an active shooter.
3. APhA strongly believes pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians should be trained to recognize and refer patients at high risk of violence to themselves or others.
4. APhA encourages pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians who are survivors of firearm-related violence to seek the help of counselors and other trained mental health professionals.

1. APhA advocates for implementation and maintenance of cybersecurity systems, safeguards, and response mechanisms to mitigate risk and minimize harm or disruption for all pharmacies and related parties who manage or access electronic health and business information.
2. APhA advocates for all pharmacies and related business entities responsible for electronic health and business information to have cyber liability insurance or an equivalent self-funded plan to protect all relevant parties in the event of a cyberattack and data breach.
3. APhA advocates for education providers to facilitate, and pharmacy personnel to seek out, education and training on cybersecurity laws, regulations, and best practices.

1. APhA encourages all stakeholders to develop and adopt evidence-based approaches to educate the public and all health care professionals to reduce the stigma associated with mental health diagnoses.
2. APhA supports the increased utilization of pharmacists and student pharmacists with appropriate training to actively participate in the care of patients with mental health conditions as members of interprofessional health care teams in all practice settings.
3. APhA supports the expansion of mental health education and training in the curriculum of all schools and colleges of pharmacy, postgraduate training, and within continuing professional development programs.
4. APhA supports the development of education and resources to address health care professional resiliency and burnout.

1. APhA calls for employers to adopt and implement just culture principles to improve patient safety and support pharmacy personnel.
2. APhA encourages transparency between employers and employees by sharing deidentified medication error and near-miss data and trends as well as actions taken to promote continuous quality improvement.
3. APhA urges the integration of non-disciplinary and non-punitive mechanisms for use by boards of pharmacy to promote just culture principles when addressing people, systems, and processes involved in medication errors.
4. APhA encourages national and state associations to advocate for laws, regulations, and policies to provide protections to individuals utilizing error reporting systems to promote just culture.
5. APhA encourages the creation of a mechanism for an industrywide effort to engage in confidential and transparent sharing of learnings and root cause findings helpful in reducing the risk of medication errors.
6. APhA supports the integration of just culture principles in PharmD and pharmacy technician education, postgraduate training, and continuing professional development programs.

1. APhA calls for education and collaboration among health professional organizations, federal agencies, and other stakeholders to ensure that all manufacturer, distributor, and repackaged marketed prescription drugs used in patient care have been FDA-approved as safe and effective.
2. APhA supports initiatives aimed at closing legislative, regulatory, policy and distribution-system loopholes that facilitate market entry of new prescription drugs products without FDA approval.
3. APhA encourages health professionals to consider FDA approval status of prescription drug products when making decisions about prescribing, dispensing, substitution, purchasing, formulary development, and in the development of pharmacy/medical education programs and drug information compendia.

1. APhA calls for employers to develop policies and procedures to support pharmacy personnel’s ability to retreat or withdraw, without retaliation, from interactions that threaten their safety and well-being.
2. APhA encourages the development or utilization of educational programs and resources by the Association, employers, and other institutions to prepare pharmacy personnel to respond to situations that threaten their safety and well-being.

1. APhA affirms that pharmacists play a vital role in improving outcomes in patients with or at risk of sexually transmitted infections.
2. APhA supports the pharmacist's role in the development of education and resources for individuals with Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT), Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) in order to increase awareness and access.
3. APhA advocates for revision of state practice acts to permit pharmacists to independently prescribe for individuals with Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT), Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) therapy.

1. APhA supports the enactment of laws, regulations, and policies to end discriminatory practices that limit access to care for persons who are transgender or gender-diverse.
2. APhA encourages equity in care for persons who are transgender or gender-diverse through: (a) Continuing education on the pharmacist’s role in transgender care, gender-affirming therapy, and health disparities in patients who are transgender or gender-diverse. (b) Systematic integration and utilization of affirmed name and pronouns, gender identity, and anatomical inventory. (c) Availability and implementation of education and resources related to gender-diverse care for all persons employed in health care settings.

1. APhA encourages schools and colleges of pharmacy and pharmacy technician training programs to facilitate educational opportunities for student pharmacists, and student pharmacy technicians in the principles of veterinary pharmacotherapy.
2. APhA encourages the availability of professional development opportunities in the principles of veterinary pharmacotherapy for pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians.

1. APhA denounces all forms of racism.
2. APhA affirms that racism is a social determinant of health that contributes to persistent health inequities.
3. APhA urges the entire pharmacy community to actively work to dismantle racism.
4. APhA urges the integration of anti-racism education within pharmacy curricula, postgraduate training, and continuing education requirements.
5. APhA urges pharmacy leaders, decisionmakers, and employers to create sustainable opportunities, incentives, and initiatives in education, research, and practice to address racism.
6. APhA urges pharmacy leaders, decisionmakers, and employers to routinely and systematically evaluate organizational policies and programs for their impact on racial inequities.

1. APhA calls on all national and state pharmacy organizations, colleges/schools of pharmacy, and other stakeholders to support the development of a profession-wide effort to address harassment, intimidation, and abuse of power or position.
2. APhA supports the development of a profession-wide guideline on reporting harassment, intimidation, or abuse of power or position in their pharmacy education and training, professional practice, or volunteer service to pharmacy organizations.
3. APhA recommends all pharmacy organizations incorporate harassment, intimidation, and abuse training in their member professional development and education activities.

1. APhA supports the integration of social determinants of health screening as a vital component of pharmacy services.
2. APhA urges the integration of social determinants of health education within pharmacy curricula, postgraduate training, and continuing education requirements.
3. APhA supports incentivizing community engaged research, driven by meaningful partnerships and shared decisionmaking with community members.
4. APhA urges pharmacists to create opportunities for community engagement to best meet the needs of the patients they serve.
5. APhA encourages the integration of community health workers in pharmacy practice to provide culturally sensitive care, address health disparities, and promote health equity.

1. APhA supports education about digital health technologies and integration in pharmacy practice, in pharmacy school curricula, and for the pharmacy workforce.
2. APhA supports inclusion of pharmacists in the design and development of digital health technologies.
3. APhA supports that digital health technologies be interoperable with and integrated into pharmacy management systems and electronic health records.
4. APhA supports pharmacists applying digital health technologies to optimize patient care outcomes.

1. APhA supports labeling of all prescription and nonprescription products, as well as dietary supplement products, to indicate the presence of gluten.
2. APhA encourages manufacturers to formulate drug products without use of wheat, barley, rye, or their derivatives whenever possible.
3. APhA supports additional research on the effects of gluten intolerance and celiac malabsorption, particularly as it relates to medication absorption.
4. APhA supports pharmacist education regarding celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
5. APhA encourages the development of analytical methods that can accurately detect lower levels of gluten than the current standard (20 ppm) and for the establishment of evidence-based gluten-free standards for the labeling of foods, excipients, dietary supplements, and prescription and nonprescription products.

1. APhA encourages all health care personnel to receive training and provide services to identify, assist, and refer people at risk for, or currently experiencing, a mental health crisis.
2. APhA encourages employers and policy makers to provide the support, resources, culture, and authority necessary for all pharmacy personnel to engage and assist individuals regarding mental health and emotional well-being.
3. APhA supports integration of a mental health assessment as a vital component of pharmacist-provided patient care services.

1. APhA emphasizes genomics as an essential aspect of pharmacy practice.
2. APhA recognizes pharmacists as the health care professional best suited to provide medication-related consults and services based on a patient’s genomic information. All pharmacists involved in the care of the patient should have access to relevant genomic information.
3. APhA supports processes to protect patient data confidentiality and opposes unethical utilization of genomic data.
4. APhA demands payers include pharmacists as eligible providers for covered genomic interpretation and related services to support sustainable models that optimize patient care and outcomes.
5. APhA urges pharmacy management system vendors to include functionality that uses established and adopted electronic health record standards for the exchange, storage, utilization, and documentation of clinically actionable genetic variations and actions taken by the pharmacist in the provision of patient care.
6. APhA recommends pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists lead the collaborative development of evidence-based practice guidelines for pharmacogenomics and related services.
7. APhA recommends the inclusion of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists in the collaborative development of pharmacogenomics clinical support tools and resources.
8. APhA encourages pharmacists to use their professional judgment and published guidelines and resources when providing access to testing or utilizing direct-to-consumer genomic test results in their patient care services.
9. APhA urges schools and colleges of pharmacy to include clinical application of genomics as a required element of the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum.
10. APhA encourages the creation of continuing professional development and post-graduate education and training programs for pharmacists in genomics and its clinical application to meet varying practice needs.
11. APhA encourages the funding of pharmacist-led research examining the cost effectiveness of care models that utilize pharmacists providing genomic services.

1. APhA advocates that all pharmacists become knowledgeable about the subject of nutrition.
2. APhA encourages schools and colleges of pharmacy as well as providers of continuing pharmacy education to offer education and training on the subject of nutrition.

APhA supports education and training by schools and colleges of pharmacy, as well as providers of continuing pharmacy education, to prepare pharmacists to perform physical assessments of patients.

1. APhA supports pharmacists using professional judgment to make informed decisions regarding the appropriateness of use or the sale of complementary and alternative medicines.
2. APhA shall assist pharmacists and student pharmacists in becoming knowledgeable about complementary and alternative medications to facilitate the counseling of patients regarding effectiveness, proper use, indications, safety, and possible interactions.

APhA recognizes the urgent need for education and training of pharmacists and student pharmacists relative to the therapeutic and diagnostic use of pharmaceutical biotechnology products. APhA, therefore, supports the continuing development and implementation of such education and training.

1. APhA supports the education and training of pharmacists in the ordering and interpretation of laboratory tests as they may relate to the usage, dosing, and administration of drugs.
2. APhA opposes requiring certification of pharmacists as medical technologists for the practice of pharmacy.

APhA encourages state pharmaceutical associations to actively seek appointment of public members to their respective boards of pharmacy and other health profession licensing and regulatory agencies.

APhA, as well as state and local pharmacy organizations, shall continue to establish liaisons with the growing number of consumer groups, attend their meetings, and seek to be included on their programs.

1. APhA supports the establishment of secure, portable, and interoperable electronic patient health care records.
2. APhA supports the engagement of pharmacists with other relevant communities in the development and implementation of multidirectional electronic communication systems to improve patient safety, enhance quality care, facilitate care transitions, increase efficiency, and reduce waste.
3. APhA advocates for the inclusion of pharmacists in the establishment and enhancement of electronic health care information technologies and systems that must be interoperable, HIPAA compliant, integrated with claims processing, updated in a timely fashion, allow for data analysis, and do not place disproportionate financial burden on any one health care provider or relevant party.
4. APhA advocates for pharmacists and other health care providers to have access to view, download and transmit electronic health records. Information shared among providers using a health information exchange should utilize a standardized secure interface based on recognized international health record standards for the transmission of health information.
5. APhA supports the integration of federal, state, and territory health information exchanges into an accessible, standardized, nationwide system.
6. APhA opposes business practices and policies that obstruct the electronic access and exchange of patient health information because these practices compromise patient safety and the provision of optimal patient care.
7. APhA advocates for the development of systems that facilitate and support electronic communication between pharmacists and prescribers concerning patient adherence, medication discontinuation, and other clinical factors that support quality care transitions.
8. APhA supports the development of education and training programs for pharmacists, student pharmacists, and other health care professionals on the appropriate use of electronic health records to reduce errors and improve the quality and safety of patient care.
9. APhA supports the creation and non-punitive application of a standardized, interoperable system for voluntary reporting of errors associated with the use of electronic health care information technologies and systems to enable aggregation of protected data and develop recommendations for improved quality.

1. APhA opposes the replacement of a pharmacist’s professional judgment or patient’s access to their pharmacist with artificial intelligence.
2. APhA calls on the profession of pharmacy and all related organizations to proactively assess and respond to the evolving role of artificial intelligence in pharmacy practice and workforce dynamics.
3. APhA encourages judicious use of artificial intelligence by pharmacists and pharmacy personnel as a tool to elevate pharmacy practice and enhance patient care.
4. APhA advocates for the integration of pharmacists into the development, design, validation, implementation, and maintenance of artificial intelligence solutions.
5. APhA calls on regulatory bodies, employers, and other relevant parties to develop laws, regulations, and policies as applicable for artificial intelligence to ensure patient safety, privacy, public awareness, and public protection.
6. APhA calls on those providing artificial intelligence solutions to implement processes that identify and mitigate bias and misinformation in artificial intelligence.
7. APhA advocates for education providers to facilitate, and pharmacy personnel to seek out, education and training on the lawful, ethical, and clinical use of artificial intelligence.

1. APhA supports changes in laws, regulations, and policies to permit DEA-registered and trained opioid treatment program clinicians and other providers the ability to prescribe methadone for opioid use disorder and refer patients for additional services as needed.
2. APhA supports changes in laws, regulations, and policies to permit community pharmacy dispensing of methadone for opioid use disorder and appropriate compensation for these services.
3. APhA supports partnerships and collaborations to increase patient access to opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and clinicians.
4. APhA advocates for interprofessional education on laws, regulations, and policies regarding office-based prescribing and community pharmacy dispensing of methadone in curricula, postgraduate training, and continuing professional development programs of all health professions.

1. APhA advocates for implementation and maintenance of cybersecurity systems, safeguards, and response mechanisms to mitigate risk and minimize harm or disruption for all pharmacies and related parties who manage or access electronic health and business information.
2. APhA advocates for all pharmacies and related business entities responsible for electronic health and business information to have cyber liability insurance or an equivalent self-funded plan to protect all relevant parties in the event of a cyberattack and data breach.
3. APhA advocates for education providers to facilitate, and pharmacy personnel to seek out, education and training on cybersecurity laws, regulations, and best practices.

1. APhA advocates for nationwide integration and uniformity of prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMP) that incorporate federal, state, and territory databases for the purpose of providing health care professionals with accurate and real-time information to assist in clinical decision making when providing patient care services related to controlled substances.
2. APhA supports pharmacist involvement in the development of uniform standards for an integrated nationwide prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) that includes the definition of authorized registered users, documentation, reporting requirements, system response time, security of information, minimum reporting data sets, and standard transaction format.
3. APhA supports mandatory prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) enrollment by all health care providers, mandatory reporting by all those who dispense controlled substances, and appropriate system query by registrants during the patient care process related to controlled substances.
4. APhA advocates for the development of seamless workflow integration systems that would enable consistent use of a nationwide prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) by registrants to facilitate prospective drug review as part of the patient care process related to controlled substances.
5. APhA advocates for continuous, sustainable federal funding sources for practitioners and system operators to utilize and maintain a standardized integrated and real-time nationwide prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP).
6. APhA supports the use of interprofessional advisory boards that include pharmacists to coordinate collaborative efforts for (a) compiling, analyzing, and using prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) data trends to identify misuse of controlled substances and/or fraud; (b) providing focused provider education and patient referral to treatment programs; and (c) supporting research activities on the impact of PDMPs.
7. APhA supports education and training for registrants about a nationwide prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) to ensure proper data integrity, use, and confidentiality.

1. APhA opposes the sale of e-cigarettes and other vaporized nicotine products in pharmacies until such time that scientific data support the health and environmental safety of these products.
2. APhA opposes the use of e-cigarettes and other vaporized nicotine products in areas subject to current clean air laws, regulations, and policies for combustible tobacco products until such time that scientific data support the health and environmental safety of these products.
3. APhA urges pharmacists to become more knowledgeable about e-cigarettes and other vaporized nicotine products.

1. APhA supports the delivery of informatics education within pharmacy schools and continuing education programs to improve patient care, understand interoperability among systems, understand where to find information, increase productivity, and improve the ability to measure and report the value of pharmacists in the health care system.
2. APhA urges that pharmacists have read/write access to electronic health record data for the purposes of improving patient care and medication use outcomes.
3. APhA encourages inclusion of pharmacists in the definition, development, and implementation of health information technologies for the purpose of improving the quality of patient-centric health care.
4. APhA urges public and private entities to include pharmacist representatives in the creation of standards, the certification of systems, and the integration of medication use systems with health information technology.

1. It is APhA’s position that patient safety initiatives must include pharmacists in leadership roles.
2. APhA encourages dissemination of best practices derived from nationally aggregated reporting data systems to pharmacists for the purpose of improving the medication use process and making informed decisions that directly impact patient safety and quality.
3. APhA encourages the profession of pharmacy to continually review and evaluate ways to enhance training, curricula, continuing education and accountability of pharmacists to improve patient safety.
4. APhA encourages risk management and post-marketing surveillance programs to be standardized and include infrastructures and compensation necessary to allow pharmacists to support these patient safety programs.
5. APhA supports the creation of voluntary, standardized and interoperable reporting systems for patient safety events to minimize barriers to pharmacist participation and to enable aggregation of data and improve quality of medication use systems. The system should be free, voluntary, non-punitive, easily accessible, and user friendly for all providers within the healthcare system.
6. APhA supports the elimination of hand-written prescriptions or medication orders.

1. APhA supports continuing professional development, a self-directed, individualized, systematic approach to life-long learning, to support pharmacist’s efforts to maintain professional competence in their practice.
2. APhA should work with appropriate organizations to provide self-assessment and plan development tools. APhA shall help identify and facilitate access to quality educational programs.
3. Employers should foster and support pharmacist participation in continuing professional development.
4. Continuing professional development is a learning process that requires full participation to achieve desired individual outcomes. To facilitate that participation, each pharmacist controls disclosure of their individual assessments and outcomes.

1. APhA supports the acceptance, for pharmacy continuing education credit of relevant, quality programs offered by other health-related continuing education providers.
2. APhA supports the acceptance of relevant programs offered by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)-accredited providers to meet continuing education requirements in other health disciplines.

1. APhA should develop, in cooperation with other state and national associations, a voluntary process for self-assessing pharmaceutical care competence.
2. APhA opposes regulatory bodies utilizing continuing competence examinations as a requirement for renewal of a pharmacist’s license.
3. APhA supports programs that measure and evaluate pharmacist competence based on established valid standards.

APhA strongly endorses continuing education for pharmacists.

1. APhA supports the award of continuing education credit for the successful completion of academic credit courses within the scope of pharmacy practice under circumstances that preserve the integrity of both the academic and the continuing education credit.
2. APhA endorses the development and implementation by colleges of pharmacy and other appropriate organizations, of standards and mechanisms by which academic credit can be awarded for successful completion of continuing education courses under circumstances that preserve the integrity of the academic credit.

APhA advocates that pharmacists maintain their professional competence throughout their professional careers.

1. Distance education components of first professional pharmacy degree programs must be constructed in a way to ensure socialization into the profession and understanding the ethos and essence of the profession, as such development is primarily derived through practical experience and interaction with faculty, colleagues, and patients.
2. APhA expects the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education to develop, maintain, and enforce applicable standards to ensure students trained in distance education programs achieve the same educational and professional competencies as students in on-site programs.

1. APhA encourages schools and colleges of pharmacy to consider, in their strategic planning process, offering non-traditional, post-baccalaureate Doctor of Pharmacy degree programs. Issues to be considered in such planning should include at least the following: (a) entry requirements, (b) educational and financial resources, and (c) competency evaluation for course credit.
2. APhA recommends that non-traditional Doctor of Pharmacy degree programs have competency outcomes for graduates equal to those in traditional programs.

APhA opposes the use of the same brand name (or minor modifications of the same name) for prescription and nonprescription drug products containing different active ingredients.

1. APhA asserts that the quality and safety of pharmaceutical and other medical products and the global pharmaceutical and medical product supply chain are essential to the United States national security and public health.
2. APhA advocates for pharmacist engagement in the development and implementation of national and global strategies to ensure the availability, quality, and safety of pharmaceutical and other medical products.
3. APhA calls for the development, implementation, and oversight of enhanced and transparent processes, standards, and information that ensure quality and safety of all pharmaceutical ingredients and manufacturing processes.
4. APhA calls on the federal government to penalize entities who create barriers that threaten the availability, quality, and safety of United States pharmaceutical and other medical product supplies.
5. APhA calls for the development of redundancy and risk mitigation strategies in the manufacturing process to ensure reliable and consistent availability of safe and high-quality pharmaceutical and other medical products.
6. APhA advocates for legal regulatory, policy, and market incentives that bolster the availability, quality, and safety of pharmaceutical and other medical products.
7. APhA calls for greater transparency, accuracy, and timeliness of information and notification to health care professionals regarding drug shortages, product quality and manufacturing issues, supply disruption, and recalls.
8. APhA encourages pharmacy providers, health systems, and payers to develop coordinated response plans, including the use of therapeutic alternatives, to mitigate the impact of drug shortages and supply disruptions.
9. APhA supports federal legislation and regulations that engages pharmacists, other health professionals, and manufacturers in developing a United States-specific essential medicines list and provides funding mechanisms to ensure consistent availability of these products.
10. APhA recommends the use of pharmacists in the delivery of public messages, through media and other communication channels, regarding pharmaceutical supply and quality issues.

1. APhA supports the immediate reporting by manufacturers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of disruptions that may impact the market supply of medically necessary drug products to prevent, mitigate, or resolve drug shortage issues and supports the authority for FDA to impose penalties for failing to report.
2. APhA supports revising current laws, regulations, and policies that restrict the FDA’s ability to provide timely communication to pharmacists, other health care providers, health systems, and professional associations regarding potential or real drug shortages.
3. APhA encourages the FDA, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and other stakeholders to collaborate in order to minimize barriers (e.g., aggregate production quotas, annual assessment of needs, unapproved drug initiatives) that contribute to or exacerbate drug shortages.
4. APhA should actively support legislation to hasten the development of an efficient regulatory process to approve therapeutically equivalent generic versions of biologic drug products.
5. APhA encourages pharmacists and other health care providers to assist in maintaining continuity of care during drug shortage situations by (a) creating a practice site drug shortage plan as well as policies and procedures; (b) using reputable drug shortage management and information resources in decision making; (c) communicating with patients and coordinating with other health care providers; (d) avoiding excessive ordering and stockpiling of drugs; (e) acquiring drugs from reputable distributors; and (f) heightening their awareness of the potential for counterfeit or adulterated drugs entering the drug distribution system.
6. APhA encourages accrediting and regulatory agencies and the pharmaceutical science and manufacturing communities to evaluate policies/procedures related to the establishment and use of drug expiration dates and any impact those policies/procedures may have on drug shortages.
7. APhA encourages the active investigation and appropriate prosecution of entities that engage in price gouging and profiteering of medically necessary drug products in response to drug shortages.

APhA recommends that all pharmacists place a “beyond-use date” on the labeling of all medications dispensed to patients as recommended by the United States Pharmacopeia National Formulary or manufacturer.

APhA supports manufacturers of prescription and non-prescription drugs including on the package label adequate information regarding storage requirements and a date after which the product should not be used.

APhA encourages those responsible for practice environments without direct patient/pharmacist contact to use methods to enhance communication, face-to-face interaction, and patient care.

APhA encourages the development and use of responsible and effective design of pharmacy facilities to allow for convenient, comfortable, and private pharmacist-patient communications.

1. APhA encourages the creation by Congress of a Critical Access Pharmacy designation for the Medicare program to ensure financial viability and high-quality care to beneficiaries in low access areas.
2. APhA supports the implementation of a Critical Access Pharmacy designation by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that incorporates both financial incentives and quality measures that improve business sustainability while maintaining quality of care.
3. APhA supports the expansion of state and federal scholarships and student loan repayment programs to include pharmacists and technicians employed by Critical Access Pharmacies.

1. APhA believes that Health care, including the essential component of patient care services, should be made available to as many people as possible in our society through the most economical system compatible with an acceptable standard of quality.
2. APhA should support the Part B mechanism which is the voluntary supplementary medical insurance program financed equally by beneficiaries and the government.
3. APhA should oppose laws, regulations, and policies that would restrict the Medicare drug benefit to specific, chronic diseases.
4. APhA should support the inclusion of patient care services under Medicare or any other federal financing mechanism, providing the program is designed to help persons who need it most and is administratively efficient and economical.

APhA supports changes to the Social Security Act to allow pharmacists to be recognized and paid as providers of patient care services.

1. APhA affirms that pharmacists are the medication experts whose accessibility uniquely positions them to increase access to and improve quality of health care while decreasing overall costs.
2. APhA asserts that pharmacists must be recognized as the essential and accountable patient care provider on the health care team responsible for optimizing outcomes through medication therapy management (MTM).
3. APhA asserts the following: (a) Medication Therapy Management Services: Definition and Program Criteria is the standard definition of MTM that must be recognized by all stakeholders. (b) Medication Therapy Management in Pharmacy Practice: Core Elements of an MTM Service Model, as adopted by the profession of pharmacy, shall serve as the foundational MTM service model.
4. APhA asserts that pharmacists must be included as essential patient care provider and compensated as such in every health care model, including but not limited to, the medical home and accountable care organizations.
5. APhA actively promotes the outcomes-based studies, pilot programs, demonstration projects, and other activities that document and reconfirm pharmacists’ impact on patient health and well-being, process of care delivery, and overall health care costs.

1. APhA supports only those government-operated or -financed, third-party prescription programs which ensures that participating pharmacists receive individualized, equitable compensation for professional services and reimbursement for products provided under the program.
2. APhA regards equitable compensation under any government-operated or -financed, third party prescription programs as requiring payments equivalent to a participating pharmacist’s prevailing charges to the self-paying public for comparable services and products, plus additional, documented, direct and indirect costs which are generated by participation in the program.
3. APhA supports those government-operated or -financed, third-party prescription programs which base compensation for professional services on professional fees and reimbursement for products provided on actual cost, with the provision of a specific exception to this policy in those instances when equity in professional compensation cannot otherwise be attained.

APhA supports the inclusion of pharmacist-provided patient care services in health care programs that are developed and/or funded by governments and private agencies and organizations.

1. APhA advocates a professional fee system of reimbursement in Medicare and Medicaid and other third-party payment programs which would recognize variations in services provided and costs incurred by individual pharmacies.
2. APhA supports maintaining close liaison with proponents of national health insurance programs to ensure that pharmacy will have an opportunity to make its views known in the development of such proposals.

APhA should educate pharmacists on aspects of reimbursement procedures and concepts associated with Medicare.

APhA opposes mandatory tablet splitting.

APhA supports continuing collaboration with other health care and professional organizations.

1. APhA opposes policies, practices, and statements by the American Medical Association (AMA) and other professional organizations that impede interprofessional care, patient access to pharmacist-provided care, and health equity.
2. APhA calls on the American Medical Association (AMA) to rescind its policies opposing expanded scopes of practice for pharmacists.
3. APhA adamantly supports the continuation and expansion of collaborative patient care models among pharmacists, physicians, and other healthcare professionals to improve patient access to care, health equity, and health outcomes.

1. APhA supports increased interaction with The Joint Commission regarding accreditation standards and procedures pertaining to pharmacy and therapeutics.
2. APhA supports pharmacy representation on appropriate The Joint Commission professional and technical advisory committees.

APhA supports the denaturing of abused products containing hallucinogens by appropriate means, such as the addition of harmless chemicals with obnoxious scents or with the ability to produce nausea when the products are abused, but not when used as directed.

1. APhA affirms that pharmacists play a vital role in improving outcomes in patients with or at risk of sexually transmitted infections.
2. APhA supports the pharmacist's role in the development of education and resources for individuals with Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT), Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) in order to increase awareness and access.
3. APhA advocates for revision of state practice acts to permit pharmacists to independently prescribe for individuals with Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT), Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) therapy.

APhA encourages pharmacists to provide pharmaceutical care for women, including education about the availability and benefits of opt-out Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) testing in prenatal and perinatal care, to decrease the risk of HIV transmission to unborn children and between partners. APhA encourages pharmacists to provide education about the availability and benefits of opt-out HIV testing in prenatal and perinatal care, including offering and/or performing testing to the patients and their partners.

1. APhA opposes mandatory Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) testing of pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy personnel.
2. APhA supports voluntary and confidential Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) testing of pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy personnel, to facilitate early detection and disease intervention.
3. APhA supports training designed to foster compliance with infection control procedures outlined in current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for universal precautions and OSHA standards for blood-borne pathogens.
4. APhA encourages the development of support networks to assist Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) positive health care professionals and students.

APhA supports a federal requirement that a name, trademark, number, or code be included on the drug dosage form.

APhA supports requirements for the name of the actual manufacturer of the dosage forms on all drug products.

APhA encourages including a description of a medication’s appearance on the pharmacy label or receipt as a means of reducing medication errors and distribution of counterfeit medications.

APhA supports modification of the National Drug Code system to provide uniform identification numbers for the same drug entity, dosage form, strength, and quantity in addition to a manufacturer’s identification number.

1. APhA encourages pharmacy personnel to take an active role in achieving the goals of the Healthy People program regarding immunizations through (a) advocacy; (b) contracting with other health care professionals; or (c) administering vaccines to patients facing barriers to health.
2. APhA encourages the availability of all vaccines to all pharmacies in order to meet public health needs.
3. APhA supports the compensation of pharmacy personnel for the administration of immunizations and the reimbursement for vaccine distribution.
4. APhA should facilitate the development of programs that educate pharmacy personnel about their role in immunizations in public health.

1. APhA supports efforts to increase immunization rates of health care professionals, for the purposes of protecting patients and urges all pharmacy personnel to receive all recommended immunizations.
2. APhA encourages employers to provide necessary immunizations to all pharmacy personnel.
3. APhA encourages federal, state, and local officials and agencies to recognize pharmacists, student pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy support staff as among the highest priority groups to receive medications, vaccinations, and other protective measures as essential health care workers.

1. APhA supports universal and consistent school-entry immunization requirements grounded in the best available evidence-based guidelines to protect the public’s health against vaccine-preventable disease.
2. APhA supports exemptions from school-entry immunization requirements only when an evidence-based medical contraindication exists.

1. APhA supports pharmacists practicing under a standard of care regulatory model for providing immunization services.
2. APhA advocates for the sustained, equitable, and reliable availability of immunizations as a public health priority.
3. APhA supports the development, implementation, and expansion of pharmacy-led public education initiatives that highlight the proven role of immunizations in preventing disease, saving lives, reducing health disparities, and strengthening community resilience.
4. APhA champions full compensation by public and private insurers for pharmacy-provided immunization services, including the cost of the vaccine products and administration.
5. APhA supports expanding the authority of pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians to increase immunization capacity nationwide.
6. APhA supports the use of best existing evidence-based guidelines for immunization schedules.

1. APhA supports pharmacists being recognized as independent health care providers with regard to recommending and administering vaccines based on shared clinical decision making (SCDM).
2. APhA advocates for compensation for shared clinical decision making (SCDM) consultations in addition to vaccine administration fees to increase patient access to SCDM vaccines.

APhA supports vaccinations, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as a condition of employment, training, or volunteering within an organization that provides pharmacy services or operates a pharmacy or pharmacy department (unless a valid medical or religious reason precludes vaccination).

1. APhA supports mandatory requirements for ALL immunization providers to report pertinent immunization data into Immunization Information Systems (IIS).
2. APhA calls for government entities to fund enrollment and engagement of all immunization providers in Immunization Information Systems (IIS). This engagement should support lifetime tracking of immunizations for patients.
3. APhA calls for a National Immunization Information System (IIS) to receive and report vaccination data from all registries for the purpose of providing health care professionals, patients, and their caregivers with accurate and timely information to assist in clinical decision-making.
4. APhA advocates that all appropriate health care personnel involved in the patient care process have timely access to Immunization Information Systems (IIS) and other pertinent data sources to support proactive patient assessment and delivery of immunization services while maintaining confidentiality.
5. APhA urges pharmacy management system vendors to include functionality that uses established and adopted electronic health record standards for the bidirectional exchange of data with Immunization Information Systems (IIS).

APhA supports requirements for full disclosure of therapeutically inactive, as well as active ingredients of all drug products.

1. APhA shall work with Congress to modify the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act or enact other laws, regulation, or policies to require that dietary supplement manufacturers provide evidence of efficacy and safety for all products, including products currently in the marketplace.
2. APhA supports the establishment and implementation of clear and effective enforcement policies to remove promptly unsafe or ineffective dietary supplement products from the marketplace.
3. APhA shall work with the FDA to improve dietary supplement product labeling to ensure full disclosure of all product components and their source with associated strengths and recommendations for use in specific patient populations.
4. APhA supports the development and enforcement of dietary supplement good manufacturing practices (GMPs) and compliance with USP/NF standards to ensure quality, safe, contaminant-free products.
5. APhA encourages health care professionals, manufacturers, and consumers to report adverse health events associated with dietary supplements. APhA encourages the FDA to create a database with this information and make it available to all interested parties.

1. APhA supports labeling of all prescription and nonprescription products, as well as dietary supplement products, to indicate the presence of gluten.
2. APhA encourages manufacturers to formulate drug products without use of wheat, barley, rye, or their derivatives whenever possible.
3. APhA supports additional research on the effects of gluten intolerance and celiac malabsorption, particularly as it relates to medication absorption.
4. APhA supports pharmacist education regarding celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
5. APhA encourages the development of analytical methods that can accurately detect lower levels of gluten than the current standard (20 ppm) and for the establishment of evidence-based gluten-free standards for the labeling of foods, excipients, dietary supplements, and prescription and nonprescription products.

APhA urges state legislatures and boards of pharmacy to eliminate unnecessary preceptor and practice site requirements, including separate preceptor licensure.

APhA supports a collaborative effort amongst relevant parties' (e.g., professional pharmacy organizations, deans, faculty, preceptors, and student pharmacists) to develop and implement a nationally defined set of competencies to assess the successful completion of introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPEs). APhA believes that these competencies should reflect the professional knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary for entry into advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs).

1. APhA supports establishment of pharmacy practice-based research networks (PBRNs) to strengthen the evidence base in support of pharmacists’ patient care services.
2. APhA encourages collaborations among stakeholders to determine the minimal infrastructure and resources needed to develop and implement local, regional, and nationwide networks for performing pharmacy practice-based research.
3. APhA encourages pharmacy residency programs to actively participate in pharmacy practice-based research network (PBRNs).

1. APhA urges continued growth in the number of accredited pharmacy residency positions in all practice settings to better meet the future health care needs of the nation.
2. APhA encourages active involvement of schools and colleges of pharmacy in the development and advancement of accredited pharmacy practice residency programs.
3. APhA advocates for the allocation of adequate funding for accredited pharmacy residencies in all practice settings by governmental and other entities.
4. APhA supports postgraduate training for new PharmD graduates.
5. APhA supports accreditation of all pharmacy residency programs by federally recognized accrediting bodies to ensure quality training experiences.

1. APhA urges pharmacies and facilities that include pharmacies to discontinue the sale of tobacco products.
2. APhA urges the federal government and state governments to limit participation in government-funded prescription programs to pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products.
3. APhA urges state boards of pharmacy to discontinue issuing and renewing licenses to pharmacies that sell tobacco products and to pharmacies that are in facilities that sell tobacco products.
4. APhA urges colleges of pharmacy to only use pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products as experience sites for their students.
5. APhA urges the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) to adopt the position that college-administered pharmacy experience programs should only use pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products.
6. APhA urges pharmacists and student pharmacists who are seeking employment opportunities to first consider positions in pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products.

1. APhA encourages the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), in collaboration with state boards of pharmacy, practitioner organizations, and other stakeholders, to develop national standardization among schools and colleges of pharmacy to improve the quality of student pharmacists’ experiential education. This standardization should be adopted by all schools and colleges of pharmacy and should include (a) a preceptor training program; (b) a model instrument for preceptors to evaluate student pharmacist performance in required pharmacy practice experiences; (c) a set of quality indicators for each required pharmacy practice experience; and (d) a report of quality indicator outcomes made available to all schools and colleges of pharmacy, faculty, and current and prospective students.
2. APhA urges schools and colleges of pharmacy to dedicate adequate and equitable financial and human resources to experiential education.

1. APhA encourages state boards of pharmacy to use the title “student pharmacist” to identify all students enrolled in their professional years of pharmacy education in an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) accredited program.
2. APhA encourages state boards of pharmacy to permit a student pharmacist to perform the duties of a pharmacist within the applicable state’s scope of practice under a pharmacist’s supervision. Preceptors shall consider the experience and education of student pharmacists when providing pharmacy practice opportunities.

1. APhA supports the inclusion of pharmacogenomic analysis in the drug development/approval and postmarketing surveillance processes.

APhA supports the adoption of policies in the new drug application (NDA) process that, beyond the pre-market clinical testing, would result in post-marketing, clinical testing of the drug for important new clinical uses or population groups. Post-marketing studies may also be preferable for other indications where circumstances may require a lengthy gathering of data due to limitations in numbers of clinical cases, and for which initial marketing approval for the major indication(s) or population groups should not be delayed.

1. APhA recognizes that investigational new drugs (IND) play a significant role in the delivery of innovative drug therapy approaches and as adjunctive aids in various diagnostics testing modalities.
2. APhA supports coverage by government and other third-party payers for pharmacy services associated with the use of drugs undergoing assessment.

APhA encourages investigators and sponsors who are conducting IND studies to utilize the professional services of pharmacists in carrying out such studies.

APhA encourages investigators and sponsors who are conducting IND studies to utilize the professional services of pharmacists in carrying out such studies.

1. APhA encourages state boards of pharmacy to develop laws, regulations, and policies allowing expanded pharmacy technician roles that allow both technicians and pharmacists to practice at the top of their training and license or certification.
2. APhA supports state board of pharmacy regulations that standardize and set minimum didactic and experiential standards for technicians to allow for functioning in expanded roles.

1. APhA supports the following minimum requirements for all new pharmacy technicians: (a) Successful completion of an accredited or state-approved education and training program. (b) Certification by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB).
2. APhA supports state board of pharmacy laws, regulations, and policies that require pharmacy technicians to meet minimum standards of education, training, certification, and recertification. APhA encourages state boards of pharmacy to develop a phase-in process for current pharmacy technicians. APhA also encourages boards of pharmacy to delineate between pharmacy technicians and student pharmacists for the purposes of education, training, certification, and recertification.
3. APhA recognizes the important contribution and role of pharmacy technicians in assisting pharmacists and student pharmacists with the delivery of patient care.
4. APhA supports the development of resources and programs that promote the recruitment and retention of qualified pharmacy technicians.
5. APhA supports the development of continuing pharmacy education programs that enhance and support the continued professional development of pharmacy technicians.
6. APhA encourages the development of compensation models for pharmacy technicians that promote sustainable career opportunities.

1. APhA should develop, in cooperation with other state and national associations, a voluntary process for self-assessing pharmaceutical care competence.
2. APhA opposes regulatory bodies utilizing continuing competence examinations as a requirement for renewal of a pharmacist’s license.
3. APhA supports programs that measure and evaluate pharmacist competence based on established valid standards.

APhA supports systems of reciprocity that recognize a current license issued by any state and eliminate the requirement for pharmacists to maintain active practice licenses in the states of initial licensure.

1. APhA affirms pharmacy personnel must have knowledge and understanding of laws, regulations, and policies that affect their roles in the practice of pharmacy.
2. In the interest of protecting public health and safety, APhA supports the assessment of knowledge regarding pharmacy laws, regulations, and policies as a component of pharmacist licensure or registration.
3. To mitigate barriers to licensure, APhA advocates for state boards of pharmacy to work with relevant parties to design and implement optimal methods for assessing minimum pharmacy jurisprudence competency.
4. APhA encourages National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) to collaborate with pharmacy educators to formulate measurable competency statements for use in developing pharmacy jurisprudence assessments.
5. APhA advocates for ongoing, timely, and transparent quality assurance and control for jurisprudence assessments.
6. APhA encourages state boards of pharmacy to publicly communicate when changes in laws, regulations, and policies will be reflected in jurisprudence assessments.
7. APhA encourages boards of pharmacy to provide free, timely, and readily accessible educational updates regarding changes in pharmacy laws, regulations, and policies.

APhA supports laws, regulations, and policies that require registration with the state boards of pharmacy of all facilities involved in the storage, wholesale distribution, and issuance of legend drugs to patients, provided that such registration does not restrict the pharmacists from providing professional services independent of a facility.

APhA supports enactment of laws, regulations, and policies that would require registration with the state boards of pharmacy of all facilities involved in the storage and issuing of legend drugs to patients, provided that such registration does not restrict the pharmacist from providing professional services independent of a facility.

APhA supports enactment of laws, regulations and policies which would govern the dispensing and issuing of legend drugs from mobile facilities.

1. APhA encourages the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and other regulatory agencies to recognize pharmacists as partners that are committed to ensuring that patients in legitimate need of controlled substances are able to receive the medications.
2. APhA supports efforts to modernize and harmonize state and federal controlled substance laws.
3. APhA urges DEA and other regulatory agencies to balance patient care and regulatory issues when developing, interpreting, and enforcing laws and regulations.
4. APhA encourages DEA and other regulatory agencies to recognize the changes occurring in health care delivery and to establish a transparent and inclusive process for the timely updating of laws and regulations.
5. APhA encourages the U.S. Department of Justice to collaborate with professional organizations to identify and reduce (a) the burdens on health care providers, (b) the cost of health care delivery, and (c) the barriers to patient care in the establishment and enforcement of controlled substance laws.

1. APhA should lead the creation of consensus-based, pharmacy profession-developed accreditation standards and methods of evaluation to optimize the quality and safety of patient care and promote best practices.
2. APhA urges that accrediting bodies use profession-developed standards for pharmacy.
3. APhA supports only those pharmacy accreditation processes that are voluntary, transparent, consensus-based, reasonably executable, and affordable, while avoiding duplication and barriers to patient care.
4. APhA opposes mandatory pharmacy accreditation.
5. APhA shall assume the leadership role among stakeholders on the design and implementation of an appropriate process for any new pharmacy accrediting program.
6. APhA supports the appropriate use of data gathered from pharmacy practice monitoring processes to facilitate the advancement of pharmacy practice and quality of patient care.

1. APhA urges pharmacies and facilities that include pharmacies to discontinue the sale of tobacco products.
2. APhA urges the federal government and state governments to limit participation in government-funded prescription programs to pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products.
3. APhA urges state boards of pharmacy to discontinue issuing and renewing licenses to pharmacies that sell tobacco products and to pharmacies that are in facilities that sell tobacco products.
4. APhA urges colleges of pharmacy to only use pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products as experience sites for their students.
5. APhA urges the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) to adopt the position that college-administered pharmacy experience programs should only use pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products.
6. APhA urges pharmacists and student pharmacists who are seeking employment opportunities to first consider positions in pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products.

1. APhA reaffirms the 1992 Compounding Activities of Pharmacists policy, which states that APhA affirms that compounding pursuant to or in anticipation of a prescription or diagnostic preparation order is an essential part of health care that is the prerogative of the pharmacist.
2. APhA supports compounding as defined by the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board (PCAB) as a means to meet patient drug therapy needs.
3. APhA opposes compounding when identical medications are commercially and readily available in strength and dosage form to meet patient drug therapy needs.
4. APhA asserts that compounding is subject to regulations and oversight from state boards of pharmacy. APhA urges state boards of pharmacy to identify and take appropriate action against entities who are illegally manufacturing medications under the guise of compounding.
5. APhA supports accreditation of compounding sites by PCAB to ensure patient safety. APhA encourages state boards of pharmacy to recommend accreditation for those sites that engage in more than basic non-sterile compounding as defined by PCAB.
6. APhA supports the development of education, training and recognition programs that enhance pharmacist and student pharmacist knowledge and skills to engage in compounding beyond basic, non-sterile preparations as defined by PCAB.
7. APhA encourages the exploration of a specialty certification in compounding through the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (BPS).

APhA supports measures that protect the patient, public, and employees from pharmacy conditions that pose a threat to health.

1. APhA supports that all non-criminal inspections of pharmacies shall be under the direct control of each state board of pharmacy.
2. APhA recommends that state boards of pharmacy require that all pharmacy inspectors be licensed pharmacists who regularly update their knowledge of pharmacy practice.
3. APhA encourages NABP to develop and maintain uniform guidelines and standards for non-criminal inspections of pharmacies.

APhA supports the requirements that all drug manufacturers must obtain a federal license or registration, conditioned upon an inspection of the manufacturer’s facilities before manufacturing is begun.

1. APhA supports inspections of pharmacies and peer review of pharmacists that promote high-quality pharmaceutical service and thereby serve to improve public health.
2. APhA opposes the use of criminal investigative techniques during routine noncriminal pharmacy inspections.
3. APhA supports regulation and inspection by boards of pharmacy of all facilities within a state at which drugs are dispensed, stored, or offered for sale in the same manner as pharmacies.

1. APhA supports research by properly qualified investigators operating under the investigational new drug (IND) process to explore fully the potential medicinal uses of marijuana and its constituents or derivatives.
2. APhA opposes state by state, marijuana specific, or other drug specific legislation intended to circumvent the federal laws, regulations, and policies pertaining to: (a) marketing approval of new drugs based on demonstrated safety and efficacy, or (b) controlling restrictions relating to those substances having a recognized hazard of abuse.

1. APhA supports legal, regulatory, and policy changes to further facilitate clinical research related to the clinical efficacy and safety associated with the use of cannabis and its various components.
2. APhA encourages health care provider education related to the clinical efficacy, safety, and management of patients using cannabis and its various components.
3. APhA advocates that the pharmacist collect and document information in the pharmacy patient profile about patient use of cannabis and its various components and provide appropriate patient counseling.
4. APhA supports pharmacist participation in independently prescribing cannabis and its various components when scientific data support the legitimate medical use of the products and delivery mechanisms, and federal, state, or territory laws or regulations permit pharmacists to independently prescribe them.
5. APhA opposes pharmacist involvement in independently prescribing cannabis and its various components for recreational use.

1. APhA encourages all stakeholders to develop and adopt evidence-based approaches to educate the public and all health care professionals to reduce the stigma associated with mental health diagnoses.
2. APhA supports the increased utilization of pharmacists and student pharmacists with appropriate training to actively participate in the care of patients with mental health conditions as members of interprofessional health care teams in all practice settings.
3. APhA supports the expansion of mental health education and training in the curriculum of all schools and colleges of pharmacy, postgraduate training, and within continuing professional development programs.
4. APhA supports the development of education and resources to address health care professional resiliency and burnout.

1. APhA supports changes in laws, regulations, and policies to permit DEA-registered and trained opioid treatment program clinicians and other providers the ability to prescribe methadone for opioid use disorder and refer patients for additional services as needed.
2. APhA supports changes in laws, regulations, and policies to permit community pharmacy dispensing of methadone for opioid use disorder and appropriate compensation for these services.
3. APhA supports partnerships and collaborations to increase patient access to opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and clinicians.
4. APhA advocates for interprofessional education on laws, regulations, and policies regarding office-based prescribing and community pharmacy dispensing of methadone in curricula, postgraduate training, and continuing professional development programs of all health professions.

1. A National Health Insurance pharmaceutical service benefit must include acceptable methods for ensuring equitable reimbursement to pharmacists for products and services which are to be provided under the program.
2. Reimbursement to pharmacists for dispensed medication and devices under an NHI plan should be based on professional fees for professional services, plus reimbursement for the actual cost of any drug product or device provided.
3. An NHI, pharmaceutical service benefit must optimize administrative efficiency and minimize administrative costs.

1. APhA should continue its work with pharmacy benefits’ managers and other private and public payers to develop innovative pharmacy benefit designs and compensation strategies for pharmacists’ services.
2. APhA will endorse benefit design concepts that recognize and compensate pharmacists for their cognitive services to maximize therapeutic outcomes.

1. APhA should provide pharmacists with tools to evaluate compensation for their pharmaceutical care services through mechanisms based on concepts other than fee-for-service.
2. APhA must facilitate both economic and clinical research on cost-to-outcomes benefits of pharmaceutical care services under integrated risk/capitated health care systems.
3. APhA affirms the principle that any pharmacist or pharmacy that adheres to a programs quality standards and agrees to accept its compensation plan shall be able to participate in an integrated risk/capitated system or network.

1. APhA shall work with public and private sectors in developing timely educational processes which assist pharmacists to implement patient care, understand new payment systems, and apply emerging therapeutic advances to achieve desired patient outcomes.
2. APhA supports payment systems that distinguish between compensation for the provision of pharmaceutical care and reimbursement for product distribution.
3. APhA shall participate in the identification, development, and implementation of models for procurement and handling of therapeutic and diagnostic pharmaceutical products and devices which assure the continuous provision of pharmaceutical care by pharmacists.

1. APhA must advocate reform of pharmacy payment systems to enhance the delivery of comprehensive medication-use management services.
2. APhA must assume a leadership role, in cooperation with other pharmacy organizations, patients, other providers of health services, and third-party payers, in developing a payment system reform plan.
3. APhA should encourage universal acceptance of all components of pharmaceutical care and their integration into pharmacy practice to support payment for services.

APhA opposes the use of titles such as “Pharmaceutical Specialist” and “Pharmaceutical Consultant” by sales representatives of pharmaceutical manufacturers.

1. APhA supports efforts to increase immunization rates of health care professionals, for the purposes of protecting patients and urges all pharmacy personnel to receive all recommended immunizations.
2. APhA encourages employers to provide necessary immunizations to all pharmacy personnel.
3. APhA encourages federal, state, and local officials and agencies to recognize pharmacists, student pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy support staff as among the highest priority groups to receive medications, vaccinations, and other protective measures as essential health care workers.

1. APhA calls upon all employers of pharmacy personnel to promote and support participation in professional development activities.
2. APhA urges all employers of pharmacy personnel to include conference attendance as part of an employee’s compensation package, including allocated professional development days.
3. APhA encourages employers to offer comprehensive benefits packages that promote positive workplace environments and cultures.
4. APhA supports efforts to empower pharmacy personnel to advocate for compensated time for professional and leadership development, as well as benefits that align with their career goals.
5. APhA encourages pharmacy personnel to seek guidance in self-advocating for employment benefits that align with their career goals.

1. APhA recognizes that pharmacy residents have a unique dual status as learners and employees and supports workplace protections to safeguard their education and well-being.
2. APhA asserts that the primary purpose of residency training is intensive education that prepares residents for advanced practice.
3. APhA supports protected educational time, appropriate supervision and support, progressive responsibility, and reasonable duty-hour and fatigue-mitigation safeguards.
4. APhA supports transparent, equitable compensation for pharmacy residents that reflects the education-first purpose of training yet ensures economic viability through cost-of-living-adjusted wages, core benefits and paid leave, coverage of required professional expenses, and periodic review and adjustment tied to service intensity and institutional conditions.

1. APhA recommends that health plans and payers contract with and appropriately compensate individual pharmacist providers for the level of care rendered without requiring the pharmacist to be associated with a pharmacy.
2. APhA supports adoption of laws, regulations, and policies pertaining to the independent practice of pharmacists when those laws, regulations, and policies and rules are consistent with APhA policy.
3. APhA, recognizing the positive impact that pharmacists can have in meeting unmet needs and managing medical conditions, supports the adoption of laws, regulations, and policies and the creation of payment mechanisms for appropriately trained pharmacists to autonomously provide patient care services, including prescribing, as part of the health care team.

1. APhA calls for employers to adopt and implement just culture principles to improve patient safety and support pharmacy personnel.
2. APhA encourages transparency between employers and employees by sharing deidentified medication error and near-miss data and trends as well as actions taken to promote continuous quality improvement.
3. APhA urges the integration of non-disciplinary and non-punitive mechanisms for use by boards of pharmacy to promote just culture principles when addressing people, systems, and processes involved in medication errors.
4. APhA encourages national and state associations to advocate for laws, regulations, and policies to provide protections to individuals utilizing error reporting systems to promote just culture.
5. APhA encourages the creation of a mechanism for an industrywide effort to engage in confidential and transparent sharing of learnings and root cause findings helpful in reducing the risk of medication errors.
6. APhA supports the integration of just culture principles in PharmD and pharmacy technician education, postgraduate training, and continuing professional development programs.

APhA supports vaccinations, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as a condition of employment, training, or volunteering within an organization that provides pharmacy services or operates a pharmacy or pharmacy department (unless a valid medical or religious reason precludes vaccination).

1. APhA advocates for pharmacists to be included as members of medical staffs and eligible to vote on the bylaws, standards, rules, regulations, and policies that govern those institutions’ medical staffs.
2. APhA supports pharmacists, as part of the medical staff, have parity in their opportunity to be credentialed and privileged as independent medical providers.

1. APhA denounces all forms of racism.
2. APhA affirms that racism is a social determinant of health that contributes to persistent health inequities.
3. APhA urges the entire pharmacy community to actively work to dismantle racism.
4. APhA urges the integration of anti-racism education within pharmacy curricula, postgraduate training, and continuing education requirements.
5. APhA urges pharmacy leaders, decisionmakers, and employers to create sustainable opportunities, incentives, and initiatives in education, research, and practice to address racism.
6. APhA urges pharmacy leaders, decisionmakers, and employers to routinely and systematically evaluate organizational policies and programs for their impact on racial inequities.

APhA adamantly opposes the basic education requirement within the Office of Personnel Management’s Classification and Qualifications –

APhA reaffirms its unequivocal support of equal opportunities for employment and advancement, compensation, and organizational leadership positions. APhA opposes discrimination based on sex, gender identity or expression, race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, or any other category protected by federal or state law.

1. APhA recognizes the need for an ongoing census of pharmacists to establish and track changes in workforce demographics and practice characteristics.
2. APhA urges the federal government or other stakeholders to establish funding mechanisms to conduct an ongoing census of pharmacists to establish and track changes in workforce demographics and practice characteristics.

APhA supports ready access to Internet resources by pharmacists at their practice sites to facilitate delivery of patient care and to support professional development.

1. APhA encourages employers to offer benefit packages that provide dependent-care benefits, including, but not limited to, flexible spending accounts, voucher systems, referral services, on-site dependent care, and negotiated discounts for use of day care facilities, to improve workforce conditions.

APhA supports efforts to ensure equal rights of all persons.

The American Pharmacist Association (APhA) encourages collaboration with the American Public Health Association (APHA) and other public health organizations to increase pharmacists’ participation in initiatives designed to meet global, national, regional, state, local, and community health goals.

1. APhA supports equitable patient access to evidence-based comprehensive reproductive health care, including, but not limited to, the management of pregnancy loss, ectopic pregnancy, infertility, pregnancy termination, contraception, and permanent contraception.
2. APhA recognizes patient autonomy in choosing reproductive health care services and the essential role of all health care professionals in facilitating access and advancing informed decision making.
3. APhA supports evidence-based laws, regulations, and policies that ensure patient access to comprehensive reproductive health care services.
4. APhA opposes legal actions against pharmacies, pharmacists, and pharmacy personnel that provide patient access to, or information regarding, reproductive health care services that are within pharmacist scope of practice.

1. APhA asserts that pharmacists, student pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy support staff are essential members of the healthcare team and should be actively engaged and supported in surveillance, mitigation, preparedness, planning, response, recovery, and countermeasure activities related to public health and other emergencies.
2. APhA reaffirms the 2016 policy on the Role of the Pharmacist in National Defense, and calls for the active and coordinated engagement of all pharmacists in public health and other emergency planning and response activities.
3. APhA advocates for the timely removal of legal, regulatory, and policy restrictions; practice limitations; and financial barriers during public health and other emergencies to meet immediate patient care needs.
4. APhA urges regulatory bodies and government agencies to recognize pharmacists' training and ability to evaluate patient needs, provide care, and appropriately refer patients during public health and other emergencies.
5. APhA advocates for pharmacists’ authority to ensure patient access to care through the prescribing, dispensing, and administering of medications, as well as provision of other patient care services during times of public health and other emergencies.
6. APhA calls for processes to ensure that any willing and able pharmacy and pharmacy practitioner is not excluded from providing pharmacist patient care services during public health and other emergencies.
7. APhA calls on public and private payers to establish and implement payment policies that compensate pharmacists providing patient care services, including during public health and other emergencies, within their recognized authority.
8. APhA advocates for the inclusion of pharmacists as essential members in the planning, development, and implementation of alternate care sites or delivery models during public health and other emergencies.
9. APhA reaffirms the 2015 Interoperability of Communications Among Health Care Providers to Improve Quality of Care and encourages pharmacists, as members of the healthcare team, to communicate care decisions made during public health and other emergencies with other members of the healthcare team to ensure continuity of care.

APhA encourages pharmacist involvement in surveillance, mitigation, preparedness, planning, response, and recovery related to natural, technological, or human-caused incidents.

APhA urges pharmacists to expand patient access to secure, convenient, and environmentally responsible drug disposal options, in accordance with the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, by implementing disposal programs they deem appropriate for their individual practice sites, patient care settings, and business models in an effort to reduce the amount of dispensed but unused prescription drug product available for diversion and misuse.

1. APhA encourages all stakeholders to develop and adopt evidence-based approaches to educate the public and all health care professionals to reduce the stigma associated with mental health diagnoses.
2. APhA supports the increased utilization of pharmacists and student pharmacists with appropriate training to actively participate in the care of patients with mental health conditions as members of interprofessional health care teams in all practice settings.
3. APhA supports the expansion of mental health education and training in the curriculum of all schools and colleges of pharmacy, postgraduate training, and within continuing professional development programs.
4. APhA supports the development of education and resources to address health care professional resiliency and burnout.

1. APhA encourages pharmacist involvement in the planning and coordination of medication take-back programs for the purpose of disposal.
2. APhA supports increasing public awareness regarding medication take-back programs for the purpose of disposal.
3. APhA urges public and private stakeholders, including local, state, and federal agencies, to coordinate and create uniform, standardized laws, regulations and policies, including issues related to liability and sustainable funding sources, for the proper and safe disposal of unused medications.
4. APhA recommends ongoing medication take-back and disposal programs.

1. APhA affirms that pharmacists are trained to provide patient care and have the ability to address patient needs, regardless of geographic location.
2. APhA advocates for the continued development of uniform laws, regulations, and policies that facilitate pharmacists,' student pharmacists,' and pharmacy technicians’ timely ability to practice in multiple states to meet practice and patient care needs.
3. APhA supports individual pharmacists’ and student pharmacists’ authority to provide patient care services across state lines whether in person or remotely.
4. APhA supports consistent and efficient centralized processes across all states for obtaining and maintaining pharmacist, pharmacy intern, and pharmacy technician licensure and/or registration.
5. APhA urges state boards of pharmacy to reduce administratively and financially burdensome requirements for licensure while continuing to uphold patient safety.
6. APhA encourages the evaluation of current law exam requirements for obtaining and maintaining initial state licensure, as well as licensure in additional states, to enhance uniformity and reduce duplicative requirements.
7. APhA urges state boards of pharmacy and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) to involve a member of the board of pharmacy and a practicing pharmacist in the review and updating of state jurisprudence licensing exam questions.
8. APhA calls for development of profession-wide consensus on licensing requirements for pharmacists and pharmacy personnel to support contemporary pharmacy practice.

1. APhA urges government authorities to hold pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesalers, pharmacies, and other pharmaceutical supply distributors and providers accountable to state and federal price gouging laws, regulations and policies in selling those items to patients, pharmacies, hospitals, and other health care providers during times of local, state, or national emergency.
2. APhA urges government authorities to aggressively enforce laws and regulations against adulterated products and false and misleading claims by entities offering to sell pharmaceutical and medical products to health care providers and consumers.

1. APhA shall work with Congress to modify the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act or enact other laws, regulation, or policies to require that dietary supplement manufacturers provide evidence of efficacy and safety for all products, including products currently in the marketplace.
2. APhA supports the establishment and implementation of clear and effective enforcement policies to remove promptly unsafe or ineffective dietary supplement products from the marketplace.
3. APhA shall work with the FDA to improve dietary supplement product labeling to ensure full disclosure of all product components and their source with associated strengths and recommendations for use in specific patient populations.
4. APhA supports the development and enforcement of dietary supplement good manufacturing practices (GMPs) and compliance with USP/NF standards to ensure quality, safe, contaminant-free products.
5. APhA encourages health care professionals, manufacturers, and consumers to report adverse health events associated with dietary supplements. APhA encourages the FDA to create a database with this information and make it available to all interested parties.

1. APhA supports legal, regulatory, and policy changes to further facilitate clinical research related to the clinical efficacy and safety associated with the use of cannabis and its various components.
2. APhA encourages health care provider education related to the clinical efficacy, safety, and management of patients using cannabis and its various components.
3. APhA advocates that the pharmacist collect and document information in the pharmacy patient profile about patient use of cannabis and its various components and provide appropriate patient counseling.
4. APhA supports pharmacist participation in independently prescribing cannabis and its various components when scientific data support the legitimate medical use of the products and delivery mechanisms, and federal, state, or territory laws or regulations permit pharmacists to independently prescribe them.
5. APhA opposes pharmacist involvement in independently prescribing cannabis and its various components for recreational use.

1. APhA supports the use of manual and automated blood pressure measurement devices that are clinically validated initially and then undergo routine calibration to ensure accurate results.
2. APhA supports laws, regulations, policies, and peer-reviewed clinical validation testing for automated blood pressure measurement devices.
3. APhA promotes public awareness of accuracy of automated blood pressure measurement devices.

1. APhA supports the enactment of laws, regulations, and policies to end discriminatory practices that limit access to care for persons who are transgender or gender-diverse.
2. APhA encourages equity in care for persons who are transgender or gender-diverse through: (a) Continuing education on the pharmacist’s role in transgender care, gender-affirming therapy, and health disparities in patients who are transgender or gender-diverse. (b) Systematic integration and utilization of affirmed name and pronouns, gender identity, and anatomical inventory. (c) Availability and implementation of education and resources related to gender-diverse care for all persons employed in health care settings.

APhA supports expanding access to medications indicated for opioid use disorders (MOUDs) and other substance use disorders, including but not limited to pharmacist-administered injection services for treatment and maintenance of substance use disorders that are based on a valid prescription.

1. APhA denounces all forms of racism.
2. APhA affirms that racism is a social determinant of health that contributes to persistent health inequities.
3. APhA urges the entire pharmacy community to actively work to dismantle racism.
4. APhA urges the integration of anti-racism education within pharmacy curricula, postgraduate training, and continuing education requirements.
5. APhA urges pharmacy leaders, decisionmakers, and employers to create sustainable opportunities, incentives, and initiatives in education, research, and practice to address racism.
6. APhA urges pharmacy leaders, decisionmakers, and employers to routinely and systematically evaluate organizational policies and programs for their impact on racial inequities.

1. APhA supports the integration of social determinants of health screening as a vital component of pharmacy services.
2. APhA urges the integration of social determinants of health education within pharmacy curricula, postgraduate training, and continuing education requirements.
3. APhA supports incentivizing community engaged research, driven by meaningful partnerships and shared decisionmaking with community members.
4. APhA urges pharmacists to create opportunities for community engagement to best meet the needs of the patients they serve.
5. APhA encourages the integration of community health workers in pharmacy practice to provide culturally sensitive care, address health disparities, and promote health equity.

1. APhA strongly urges all employers of pharmacists and pharmacy personnel, and the settings in which they practice, to implement protection and control measures and procedures, per consensus recommendations when available, and access to protective gear and cleaning supplies that ensure the safety of pharmacy personnel and that of their family members and the public.
2. APhA urges federal and state government officials, manufacturers, distributors, and health system administrators to recognize pharmacists and pharmacy personnel as “front-line providers” who should receive appropriate personal protective equipment and other resources to protect their personal safety and support their ability to continue to provide patient care.

1. APhA recognizes the value of pharmacist-provided point-of-care testing and related clinical services and promotes the provision of those tests and services in accordance with the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners Pharmacists’ Patient Care Process.
2. APhA advocates for laws, regulations, and policies that enable pharmacist-provided point-of-care testing and related clinical services that are consistent with the pharmacists’ role in team-based care.
3. APhA opposes laws, regulations, and policies that create barriers to the tests that have been waived by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) and that are administered and interpreted by pharmacists.
4. APhA encourages use of educational programming and resources to facilitate practice implementation of pharmacist-provided point-of-care testing and related clinical services.
5. APhA supports patients taking active roles in the management of their health, including their ability to request and obtain pharmacist-provided point-of-care tests and related clinical services.
6. APhA advocates for access to, coverage of, and payment for both pharmacist-provided point-of-care tests and any related clinical services.

APhA supports pharmacists, in collaboration with the health care team, providing adequate and comprehensive prenatal and perinatal care for overall maternal and newborn health and wellness.

APhA advocates for the recognition and utilization of pharmacists as providers to address gaps in primary care.

APhA opposes the reuse of devices intended for “single use” in the screening and management of patients, consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines.

APhA reaffirms its 1954 position in support of appropriate fluoridation of water supplies and encourage pharmacists to assist in implementing such programs in their local communities.

1. APhA encourages appropriate public and private partnerships to accept responsibility for the costs of implementing safe medication disposal programs for consumers. Furthermore, APhA urges DEA to permit the safe disposal of controlled substances by consumers or on their behalf.
2. APhA encourages provision of patient-appropriate quantities of medication supplies to minimize unused medications and unnecessary medication disposal.

1. As a matter of patient safety, APhA opposes the re-dispensing of a previously dispensed medication once it has been out of the control of a health care professional.
2. APhA supports a public awareness program to explain why the re-dispensing of a previously dispensed medication once it is out of the control of the healthcare professional is a public health safety concern.

1. APhA supports the World Health Organization’s (WHO's) requirements for accurate and expeditious reporting of infectious diseases from all countries, including unrestricted sharing of infectious substance samples with WHO.
2. APhA supports access to affordable vaccines in all countries.

1. APhA supports pharmacists using professional judgment to make informed decisions regarding the appropriateness of use or the sale of complementary and alternative medicines.
2. APhA shall assist pharmacists and student pharmacists in becoming knowledgeable about complementary and alternative medications to facilitate the counseling of patients regarding effectiveness, proper use, indications, safety, and possible interactions.

1. APhA encourages pharmacists and student pharmacists to increase their awareness of health literacy. Health literacy is the degree to which people can obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services they need to make appropriate health decisions.
2. APhA encourages pharmacists and student pharmacists to assess patients’ health literacy and then implement appropriate communications and education.
3. APhA encourages the review of all patient information for health literacy appropriateness.

1. APhA calls upon all producers of prophylactic devices to include in or on their packaging adequate instructions for use so as to better ensure the effectiveness of the devices in the prevention of sexually transmitted infections.
2. APhA urges pharmacists to make more readily available to the public educational materials, prophylactic devices, and adequate instructions for use in combating sexually transmitted infections.

1. APhA supports the demonstration of safety and efficacy of homeopathic products from adequate, well-designed scientific studies before pharmacists advocate or sell homeopathic products.
2. APhA recognizes patient autonomy regarding the use of homeopathic products. Pharmacists should educate patients who choose to use homeopathic products.
3. APhA supports the modification of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to require that homeopathic manufacturers provide evidence of efficacy and safety for all products, including products currently in the marketplace.

APhA supports all initiatives which enhance public education about the potential relationship between Reye Syndrome and oral and rectal salicylate-containing products, including settings where pharmacists are not available for consultation.

1. APhA is opposed to the use of performance-enhancing drugs by athletes unless deemed therapeutically necessary by a health care professional following the policies and procedures set forth by the appropriate governing organizations.
2. APhA advacates for the public's education on the safety, potential consequences, and misinformation pertaining to the use of performance-enhancing drugs by athletes.
3. APhA encourages enforcement of laws, regulations, policies, and rules related to the use of performance-enhancing drugs by athletes.
4. APhA affirms that pharmacists are the medication and supplement experts for the sports medicine community.
5. APhA encourages pharmacy personnel to participate in continuing professional education, training, and certifications relevant to sports pharmacy.
6. APhA supports research on sports pharmacy, athlete care, and the outcomes associated with the integration of pharmacists into sports medicine interprofessional care.

APhA opposes the term “P.D.” (Pharmacy Doctor) as the uniform designation for pharmacists.

1. The profession of pharmacy should establish and use a uniform designation to identify an individual as a pharmacist.
2. The profession should adopt and use the designation “Pharmacist” following an individual’s name as the uniform designation identifying that individual as a pharmacist.
3. At the discretion of individual pharmacists, earned academic degrees or state licensure designation may be indicated following the uniform designation.

1. APhA supports equitable patient access to evidence-based comprehensive reproductive health care, including, but not limited to, the management of pregnancy loss, ectopic pregnancy, infertility, pregnancy termination, contraception, and permanent contraception.
2. APhA recognizes patient autonomy in choosing reproductive health care services and the essential role of all health care professionals in facilitating access and advancing informed decision making.
3. APhA supports evidence-based laws, regulations, and policies that ensure patient access to comprehensive reproductive health care services.
4. APhA opposes legal actions against pharmacies, pharmacists, and pharmacy personnel that provide patient access to, or information regarding, reproductive health care services that are within pharmacist scope of practice.

1. APhA asserts that pharmacists should have the authority and support to practice to the full extent of their education, training, and experience in delivering patient care.
2. APhA opposes burdensome legal and regulatory requirements beyond continuing professional development for the provision of patient care services.
3. APhA supports continuing efforts toward establishing a consistent and accurate perception of the contemporary role and practice of pharmacists by the general public, patients, and all persons and institutions engaged in health care policy, administration, payment, and delivery.
4. APhA supports continued collaboration with stakeholders to facilitate adoption of standardized practice acts, appropriate related laws, regulations, and policies that reflect contemporary pharmacy practice.
5. APhA supports the establishment of multistate pharmacist licensure agreements to address the evolving needs of the pharmacy profession and pharmacist-provided patient care.
6. APhA urges the continued development of consensus documents, in collaboration with medical associations and other stakeholders, that recognize and support pharmacists’ roles in patient care as health care providers.
7. APhA urges universal recognition of pharmacists as health care providers and compensation based on the level of patient care provided using standardized and future health care payment models.

1. APhA asserts that pharmacists, student pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy support staff are essential members of the healthcare team and should be actively engaged and supported in surveillance, mitigation, preparedness, planning, response, recovery, and countermeasure activities related to public health and other emergencies.
2. APhA reaffirms the 2016 policy on the Role of the Pharmacist in National Defense, and calls for the active and coordinated engagement of all pharmacists in public health and other emergency planning and response activities.
3. APhA advocates for the timely removal of legal, regulatory, and policy restrictions; practice limitations; and financial barriers during public health and other emergencies to meet immediate patient care needs.
4. APhA urges regulatory bodies and government agencies to recognize pharmacists' training and ability to evaluate patient needs, provide care, and appropriately refer patients during public health and other emergencies.
5. APhA advocates for pharmacists’ authority to ensure patient access to care through the prescribing, dispensing, and administering of medications, as well as provision of other patient care services during times of public health and other emergencies.
6. APhA calls for processes to ensure that any willing and able pharmacy and pharmacy practitioner is not excluded from providing pharmacist patient care services during public health and other emergencies.
7. APhA calls on public and private payers to establish and implement payment policies that compensate pharmacists providing patient care services, including during public health and other emergencies, within their recognized authority.
8. APhA advocates for the inclusion of pharmacists as essential members in the planning, development, and implementation of alternate care sites or delivery models during public health and other emergencies.
9. APhA reaffirms the 2015 Interoperability of Communications Among Health Care Providers to Improve Quality of Care and encourages pharmacists, as members of the healthcare team, to communicate care decisions made during public health and other emergencies with other members of the healthcare team to ensure continuity of care.

1. APhA calls for employers to adopt and implement just culture principles to improve patient safety and support pharmacy personnel.
2. APhA encourages transparency between employers and employees by sharing deidentified medication error and near-miss data and trends as well as actions taken to promote continuous quality improvement.
3. APhA urges the integration of non-disciplinary and non-punitive mechanisms for use by boards of pharmacy to promote just culture principles when addressing people, systems, and processes involved in medication errors.
4. APhA encourages national and state associations to advocate for laws, regulations, and policies to provide protections to individuals utilizing error reporting systems to promote just culture.
5. APhA encourages the creation of a mechanism for an industrywide effort to engage in confidential and transparent sharing of learnings and root cause findings helpful in reducing the risk of medication errors.
6. APhA supports the integration of just culture principles in PharmD and pharmacy technician education, postgraduate training, and continuing professional development programs.

1. APhA affirms that pharmacists are trained to provide patient care and have the ability to address patient needs, regardless of geographic location.
2. APhA advocates for the continued development of uniform laws, regulations, and policies that facilitate pharmacists,' student pharmacists,' and pharmacy technicians’ timely ability to practice in multiple states to meet practice and patient care needs.
3. APhA supports individual pharmacists’ and student pharmacists’ authority to provide patient care services across state lines whether in person or remotely.
4. APhA supports consistent and efficient centralized processes across all states for obtaining and maintaining pharmacist, pharmacy intern, and pharmacy technician licensure and/or registration.
5. APhA urges state boards of pharmacy to reduce administratively and financially burdensome requirements for licensure while continuing to uphold patient safety.
6. APhA encourages the evaluation of current law exam requirements for obtaining and maintaining initial state licensure, as well as licensure in additional states, to enhance uniformity and reduce duplicative requirements.
7. APhA urges state boards of pharmacy and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) to involve a member of the board of pharmacy and a practicing pharmacist in the review and updating of state jurisprudence licensing exam questions.
8. APhA calls for development of profession-wide consensus on licensing requirements for pharmacists and pharmacy personnel to support contemporary pharmacy practice.

1. APhA affirms that pharmacists play a vital role in improving outcomes in patients with or at risk of sexually transmitted infections.
2. APhA supports the pharmacist's role in the development of education and resources for individuals with Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT), Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) in order to increase awareness and access.
3. APhA advocates for revision of state practice acts to permit pharmacists to independently prescribe for individuals with Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT), Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) therapy.

1. APhA encourages the revision of pharmacy laws, regulations, and policies to assign the responsibility and accountability to the pharmacy license holder for the operations of the pharmacy, including but not limited to quality improvement, staffing, inventory, and financial activities. Further, APhA supports the responsibility and accountability of the pharmacist for dispensing of the pharmaceutical product and for the provision of pharmaceutical care services.
2. APhA encourages the pharmacy license holder to provide adequate resources and support for pharmacists to meet their professional responsibilities, and for pharmacists to utilize the resources and support appropriately and efficiently. APhA encourages state boards of pharmacy to hold pharmacy license holders accountable for failure to provide such adequate resources and support.

1. APhA requests that state boards of pharmacy and legislative bodies regulate pharmacy practice using a standard of care regulatory model similar to other health professions’ regulatory models, thereby allowing pharmacists to practice at the level consistent with their individual education, training, experience, and practice setting.
2. To support implementation of a standard of care regulatory model, APhA reaffirms 2002 policy that encourages states to provide pharmacy boards with the following: (a) adequate resources; (b) independent authority, including autonomy from other agencies; and (c) assistance in meeting their mission to protect the public health and safety of consumers.
3. APhA encourages NABP as well as state and national pharmacy associations to support and collaborate with state boards of pharmacy in adopting and implementing a standard of care regulatory model.
4. APhA and other pharmacy stakeholders should provide educational programs, information, and resources regarding the standard of care regulatory model and its impact on pharmacy practice.

1. APhA encourages the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and other regulatory agencies to recognize pharmacists as partners that are committed to ensuring that patients in legitimate need of controlled substances are able to receive the medications.
2. APhA supports efforts to modernize and harmonize state and federal controlled substance laws.
3. APhA urges DEA and other regulatory agencies to balance patient care and regulatory issues when developing, interpreting, and enforcing laws and regulations.
4. APhA encourages DEA and other regulatory agencies to recognize the changes occurring in health care delivery and to establish a transparent and inclusive process for the timely updating of laws and regulations.
5. APhA encourages the U.S. Department of Justice to collaborate with professional organizations to identify and reduce (a) the burdens on health care providers, (b) the cost of health care delivery, and (c) the barriers to patient care in the establishment and enforcement of controlled substance laws.

1. APhA recommends and supports enactment of state pharmacy practice act revisions enabling pharmacists to achieve the full scope of APhA’s Mission Statement for the Pharmacy Profession.
2. APhA supports standards of pharmacy practice reflecting the APhA Mission Statement for the Pharmacy Profession.

1. APhA supports state-based systems to regulate pharmacy and pharmacist practice.
2. APhA encourages states to provide pharmacy boards with (a) adequate resources, (b) independent authority, including autonomy from other agencies, and (c) assistance in meeting their mission to protect the public health and safety of consumers.
3. APhA supports efforts of state boards of pharmacy to adopt uniform standards and definitions of pharmacy and pharmacist practice.
4. APhA encourages state boards of pharmacy to recognize and facilitate innovations in pharmacy and pharmacist practice.

1. APhA supports the systematic transition from Cockcroft-Gault estimated creatinine clearance to race-free estimated glomerular filtration rate adjusted for body surface area (eGFRBSAadj) as the preferred kidney function measure to inform medication-related decision making in adults.
2. APhA advocates for race-free eGFRBSAadj as the preferred standard for medication-related decision making for adults in PharmD curricula and licensing/board certification examinations.
3. APhA encourages expanded research evaluating race-free eGFRBSAadj use in medication-related decision making in adults using measured GFR, drug concentrations, or pharmacokinetic modeling as a comparator, especially for subgroups of adults usually underrepresented in clinical trials.

1. APhA supports the integration of pharmacists as providers of primary care services to address acute health issues, improve management of chronic disease, coordinate care, and provide preventive care.
2. APhA advocates for government and private entities to add community pharmacy as a recognized place of service for the delivery of pharmacist-led primary care services
3. APhA calls for payment parity for primary care services provided by a pharmacist through the patients’ medical benefit.
4. APhA supports the application of the standard of care regulatory model to guide pharmacists’ delivery of primary care services.
5. APhA supports increasing public awareness of pharmacist-led primary care services.

1. APhA supports the establishment of secure, portable, and interoperable electronic patient health care records.
2. APhA supports the engagement of pharmacists with other relevant communities in the development and implementation of multidirectional electronic communication systems to improve patient safety, enhance quality care, facilitate care transitions, increase efficiency, and reduce waste.
3. APhA advocates for the inclusion of pharmacists in the establishment and enhancement of electronic health care information technologies and systems that must be interoperable, HIPAA compliant, integrated with claims processing, updated in a timely fashion, allow for data analysis, and do not place disproportionate financial burden on any one health care provider or relevant party.
4. APhA advocates for pharmacists and other health care providers to have access to view, download and transmit electronic health records. Information shared among providers using a health information exchange should utilize a standardized secure interface based on recognized international health record standards for the transmission of health information.
5. APhA supports the integration of federal, state, and territory health information exchanges into an accessible, standardized, nationwide system.
6. APhA opposes business practices and policies that obstruct the electronic access and exchange of patient health information because these practices compromise patient safety and the provision of optimal patient care.
7. APhA advocates for the development of systems that facilitate and support electronic communication between pharmacists and prescribers concerning patient adherence, medication discontinuation, and other clinical factors that support quality care transitions.
8. APhA supports the development of education and training programs for pharmacists, student pharmacists, and other health care professionals on the appropriate use of electronic health records to reduce errors and improve the quality and safety of patient care.
9. APhA supports the creation and non-punitive application of a standardized, interoperable system for voluntary reporting of errors associated with the use of electronic health care information technologies and systems to enable aggregation of protected data and develop recommendations for improved quality.

1. APhA opposes the replacement of a pharmacist’s professional judgment or patient’s access to their pharmacist with artificial intelligence.
2. APhA calls on the profession of pharmacy and all related organizations to proactively assess and respond to the evolving role of artificial intelligence in pharmacy practice and workforce dynamics.
3. APhA encourages judicious use of artificial intelligence by pharmacists and pharmacy personnel as a tool to elevate pharmacy practice and enhance patient care.
4. APhA advocates for the integration of pharmacists into the development, design, validation, implementation, and maintenance of artificial intelligence solutions.
5. APhA calls on regulatory bodies, employers, and other relevant parties to develop laws, regulations, and policies as applicable for artificial intelligence to ensure patient safety, privacy, public awareness, and public protection.
6. APhA calls on those providing artificial intelligence solutions to implement processes that identify and mitigate bias and misinformation in artificial intelligence.
7. APhA advocates for education providers to facilitate, and pharmacy personnel to seek out, education and training on the lawful, ethical, and clinical use of artificial intelligence.

1. APhA supports changes in laws, regulations, and policies to permit DEA-registered and trained opioid treatment program clinicians and other providers the ability to prescribe methadone for opioid use disorder and refer patients for additional services as needed.
2. APhA supports changes in laws, regulations, and policies to permit community pharmacy dispensing of methadone for opioid use disorder and appropriate compensation for these services.
3. APhA supports partnerships and collaborations to increase patient access to opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and clinicians.
4. APhA advocates for interprofessional education on laws, regulations, and policies regarding office-based prescribing and community pharmacy dispensing of methadone in curricula, postgraduate training, and continuing professional development programs of all health professions.

1. APhA strongly believes that all pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians should be safe in their work and learning environments and be free from firearm-related violence.
2. APhA strongly recommends that technician training programs, schools and colleges of pharmacy, postgraduate training programs, and employers should develop programs to increase readiness in the event of an active shooter.
3. APhA strongly believes pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians should be trained to recognize and refer patients at high risk of violence to themselves or others.
4. APhA encourages pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians who are survivors of firearm-related violence to seek the help of counselors and other trained mental health professionals.

1. APhA advocates for implementation and maintenance of cybersecurity systems, safeguards, and response mechanisms to mitigate risk and minimize harm or disruption for all pharmacies and related parties who manage or access electronic health and business information.
2. APhA advocates for all pharmacies and related business entities responsible for electronic health and business information to have cyber liability insurance or an equivalent self-funded plan to protect all relevant parties in the event of a cyberattack and data breach.
3. APhA advocates for education providers to facilitate, and pharmacy personnel to seek out, education and training on cybersecurity laws, regulations, and best practices.

1. APhA encourages all stakeholders to develop and adopt evidence-based approaches to educate the public and all health care professionals to reduce the stigma associated with mental health diagnoses.
2. APhA supports the increased utilization of pharmacists and student pharmacists with appropriate training to actively participate in the care of patients with mental health conditions as members of interprofessional health care teams in all practice settings.
3. APhA supports the expansion of mental health education and training in the curriculum of all schools and colleges of pharmacy, postgraduate training, and within continuing professional development programs.
4. APhA supports the development of education and resources to address health care professional resiliency and burnout.

1. APhA encourages state legislatures and boards of pharmacy to revise laws, regulations, and policies to support the patient-centered care of people who use non-medically sanctioned psychotropic or psychoactive substances.
2. To reduce the consequences of stigma associated with drug use, APhA supports the expansion of interprofessional harm reduction education in the curriculum of schools and colleges of pharmacy, postgraduate training, and continuing professional development programs.
3. APhA encourages pharmacists to initiate, sustain, and integrate evidence-based harm reduction principles and programs into their practice to optimize the health of people who use non-medically sanctioned psychotropic or psychoactive substances.
4. APhA supports pharmacists’ roles to provide and promote consistent, unrestricted, and immediate access to evidence-based, mortality- and morbidity-reducing interventions to enhance the health of people who inject nonmedically sanctioned psychotropic or psychoactive substances and their communities, including sterile syringes, needles, and other safe injection equipment, syringe disposal, fentanyl test strips, immunizations, condoms, wound care supplies, pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis medications for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), point-of-care testing for HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV), opioid reversal agents, and medications for opioid use disorder.
5. APhA urges pharmacists to refer people who use nonmedically sanctioned psychotropic or psychoactive substances to specialists in mental health, infectious diseases, and substance use disorder treatment; to housing, vocational, harm reduction, and recovery support services; and to safe consumption facilities and syringe service programs.

1. APhA encourages schools and colleges of pharmacy and pharmacy technician training programs to facilitate educational opportunities for student pharmacists, and student pharmacy technicians in the principles of veterinary pharmacotherapy.
2. APhA encourages the availability of professional development opportunities in the principles of veterinary pharmacotherapy for pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians.

1. APhA encourages the use of social media in ways that advance patient care and uphold pharmacists as trusted and accessible health care providers.
2. APhA supports the use of social media as a mechanism for the delivery of patient-specific care in a platform that allows for appropriate patient and provider protections and access to necessary health care information.
3. APhA supports the inclusion of social media education, including but not limited to appropriate use and professionalism, as a component of pharmacy education and continuing professional development.
4. APhA affirms that the patient’s right to privacy and confidentiality shall not be compromised through the use of social media.
5. APhA urges pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and student pharmacists to self-monitor their social media presence for professionalism and that posted clinical information is accurate and appropriate.
6. APhA advocates for continued development and utilization of social media by pharmacists and other health care professionals during public health emergencies.

APhA supports a collaborative effort amongst relevant parties' (e.g., professional pharmacy organizations, deans, faculty, preceptors, and student pharmacists) to develop and implement a nationally defined set of competencies to assess the successful completion of introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPEs). APhA believes that these competencies should reflect the professional knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary for entry into advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs).

1. APhA supports adopting and maintaining continuous quality improvement processes at the national school/college level to identify differences between contemporary pharmacy practice and curriculum offerings, and to provide information and resources to encourage up-to-date curricula.
2. APhA encourages pharmacists to cooperate with schools and colleges of pharmacy by participating as preceptors and permitting their practices to be used as experiential sites.

1. APhA emphasizes genomics as an essential aspect of pharmacy practice.
2. APhA recognizes pharmacists as the health care professional best suited to provide medication-related consults and services based on a patient’s genomic information. All pharmacists involved in the care of the patient should have access to relevant genomic information.
3. APhA supports processes to protect patient data confidentiality and opposes unethical utilization of genomic data.
4. APhA demands payers include pharmacists as eligible providers for covered genomic interpretation and related services to support sustainable models that optimize patient care and outcomes.
5. APhA urges pharmacy management system vendors to include functionality that uses established and adopted electronic health record standards for the exchange, storage, utilization, and documentation of clinically actionable genetic variations and actions taken by the pharmacist in the provision of patient care.
6. APhA recommends pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists lead the collaborative development of evidence-based practice guidelines for pharmacogenomics and related services.
7. APhA recommends the inclusion of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists in the collaborative development of pharmacogenomics clinical support tools and resources.
8. APhA encourages pharmacists to use their professional judgment and published guidelines and resources when providing access to testing or utilizing direct-to-consumer genomic test results in their patient care services.
9. APhA urges schools and colleges of pharmacy to include clinical application of genomics as a required element of the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum.
10. APhA encourages the creation of continuing professional development and post-graduate education and training programs for pharmacists in genomics and its clinical application to meet varying practice needs.
11. APhA encourages the funding of pharmacist-led research examining the cost effectiveness of care models that utilize pharmacists providing genomic services.

1. APhA believes that it is essential to integrate professionalism throughout a student pharmacist’s educational experience.
2. APhA will assist schools and colleges of pharmacy to develop and utilize recruitment materials that emphasize the professional role and responsibilities associated with the provision of pharmaceutical care.
3. APhA supports schools and colleges of pharmacy interviewing candidates during the admissions process to assess their characteristics for the potential for development of professional attitudes and behaviors.
4. APhA recommends that schools and colleges of pharmacy administer the model pledge of professionalism, as developed by the APhA-ASP/American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Council of Deans Task Force on Professionalism, to all student pharmacists.
5. APhA encourages schools and colleges of pharmacy and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy to develop and implement ongoing programs for faculty, staff, preceptors, and other mentors to enhance their ability to serve as role models and teach professionalism.
6. APhA supports the continuation of a forum for faculty, students, preceptors, and others to establish and foster mentor relationships.

1. APhA urges pharmacies and facilities that include pharmacies to discontinue the sale of tobacco products.
2. APhA urges the federal government and state governments to limit participation in government-funded prescription programs to pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products.
3. APhA urges state boards of pharmacy to discontinue issuing and renewing licenses to pharmacies that sell tobacco products and to pharmacies that are in facilities that sell tobacco products.
4. APhA urges colleges of pharmacy to only use pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products as experience sites for their students.
5. APhA urges the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) to adopt the position that college-administered pharmacy experience programs should only use pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products.
6. APhA urges pharmacists and student pharmacists who are seeking employment opportunities to first consider positions in pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products.

1. APhA supports the delivery of informatics education within pharmacy schools and continuing education programs to improve patient care, understand interoperability among systems, understand where to find information, increase productivity, and improve the ability to measure and report the value of pharmacists in the health care system.
2. APhA urges that pharmacists have read/write access to electronic health record data for the purposes of improving patient care and medication use outcomes.
3. APhA encourages inclusion of pharmacists in the definition, development, and implementation of health information technologies for the purpose of improving the quality of patient-centric health care.
4. APhA urges public and private entities to include pharmacist representatives in the creation of standards, the certification of systems, and the integration of medication use systems with health information technology.

1. It is APhA’s position that patient safety initiatives must include pharmacists in leadership roles.
2. APhA encourages dissemination of best practices derived from nationally aggregated reporting data systems to pharmacists for the purpose of improving the medication use process and making informed decisions that directly impact patient safety and quality.
3. APhA encourages the profession of pharmacy to continually review and evaluate ways to enhance training, curricula, continuing education and accountability of pharmacists to improve patient safety.
4. APhA encourages risk management and post-marketing surveillance programs to be standardized and include infrastructures and compensation necessary to allow pharmacists to support these patient safety programs.
5. APhA supports the creation of voluntary, standardized and interoperable reporting systems for patient safety events to minimize barriers to pharmacist participation and to enable aggregation of data and improve quality of medication use systems. The system should be free, voluntary, non-punitive, easily accessible, and user friendly for all providers within the healthcare system.
6. APhA supports the elimination of hand-written prescriptions or medication orders.

1. APhA encourages state boards of pharmacy to use the title “student pharmacist” to identify all students enrolled in their professional years of pharmacy education in an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) accredited program.
2. APhA encourages state boards of pharmacy to permit a student pharmacist to perform the duties of a pharmacist within the applicable state’s scope of practice under a pharmacist’s supervision. Preceptors shall consider the experience and education of student pharmacists when providing pharmacy practice opportunities.

APhA encourages the colleges and schools of pharmacy to incorporate the concept of payment system reform throughout the curricula for all professional programs, and should work with pharmacy organizations to ensure the integration of these concepts into practitioners’ continuing development.

APhA supports the incorporation of professional ethics instruction in pharmacy curricula and post-graduate continuing education and training.

APhA supports efforts to improve education at the primary and secondary school levels, particularly in the areas of science, mathematics, and English.

1. APhA supports the role of pharmacy personnel in antimicrobial stewardship in all practice settings.
2. APhA supports pharmacy personnel working in collaboration with others to lead the development and implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs and initiatives.
3. APhA supports pharmacists advising prescribers and educating patients on the appropriate use of antimicrobials.

1. APhA supports the establishment of collaborative practice agreements between pharmacists and other health care professionals designed to optimize patient care outcomes.
2. APhA supports the establishment of collaborative practice agreements between one or multiple pharmacists and one or multiple prescribers or entities.
3. APhA supports state laws, regulations, and policies that do not require a referral or a prior provider–patient relationship as a prerequisite to access services provided under a collaborative practice agreement.
4. APhA opposes state laws, regulations, and policies that limit collaborative practice agreements to specific patients.
5. APhA supports state laws, regulations, and policies that allow for pharmacists’ prescriptive authority.
6. APhA supports state collaborative practice laws, regulations, and policies that allow all licensed pharmacists, in all practice settings, to establish collaborative practice agreements with other health care professionals or entities.
7. APhA shall promote the establishment and dissemination of guidelines and information to pharmacists and other health care professionals to facilitate the development of collaborative practice agreements.

1. APhA asserts that pharmacists should have the authority and support to practice to the full extent of their education, training, and experience in delivering patient care.
2. APhA opposes burdensome legal and regulatory requirements beyond continuing professional development for the provision of patient care services.
3. APhA supports continuing efforts toward establishing a consistent and accurate perception of the contemporary role and practice of pharmacists by the general public, patients, and all persons and institutions engaged in health care policy, administration, payment, and delivery.
4. APhA supports continued collaboration with stakeholders to facilitate adoption of standardized practice acts, appropriate related laws, regulations, and policies that reflect contemporary pharmacy practice.
5. APhA supports the establishment of multistate pharmacist licensure agreements to address the evolving needs of the pharmacy profession and pharmacist-provided patient care.
6. APhA urges the continued development of consensus documents, in collaboration with medical associations and other stakeholders, that recognize and support pharmacists’ roles in patient care as health care providers.
7. APhA urges universal recognition of pharmacists as health care providers and compensation based on the level of patient care provided using standardized and future health care payment models.

1. APhA supports pharmacists leading medication management activities during care transitions to ensure safe and effective medication use.
2. APhA supports the integral role of pharmacists during care transitions for improving quality of patient-centered care and reducing overall costs to the health care system.
3. APhA strongly encourages collaboration and shared accountability among patients, family members, caregivers, pharmacists, and other health care providers during care transitions.
4. APhA supports the development and utilization of standardized processes that facilitate real-time, bidirectional communication of protected health information during care transitions.
5. APhA supports that documentation of health outcomes is an essential component of any care transition program to demonstrate value and ensure continuous quality improvement.
6. APhA supports financially viable payment models that recognize the value of pharmacists’ services, including, but not limited to, those provided during care transitions.
7. APhA strongly urges the development and implementation of multidisciplinary, interprofessional, and team-based training for health care professionals and students to improve the quality and consistency of care transition services.
8. APhA urges the collaboration and partnership of community pharmacies with health care systems, institutions, and other entities involved in care transitions.

APhA opposes any method that provides an inappropriate sharing of compensation between the prescriber and dispenser.

APhA supports efforts to develop guidelines on physician ownership of pharmacies due to the inherent conflict of interest.

1. APhA supports laws, regulations, and policies permitting direct-to-consumer advertising concerning medical or health conditions treatable by prescription or nonprescription drug products. These advertisements must conform to existing laws, regulations, and policies that ensure complete, comprehensive, and understandable information that informs consumers of potential benefits and risks of the product.
2. APhA opposes false or misleading advertising for prescription or nonprescription drugs or any promotional efforts that encourage indiscriminate use of medication.
3. APhA supports the availability of accurate information to consumers about medication use and recognizes the responsibility of pharmacists to provide appropriate responses to consumer inquiries stimulated by direct-to-consumer advertising as a compensated pharmaceutical service. In addition, APhA recommends that health care professionals, including but not limited to pharmacists, receive new product information on direct-to-consumer advertising campaigns prior to this information being made available to consumers.

APhA does not oppose the dissemination of price information to patients, by advertising or by any other means.

1. APhA supports staffing models that promote safe provision of patient care services and access to medications.
2. APhA encourages the adoption of patient centered quality and performance measures that align with safe delivery of patient care services and opposes the setting and use of operational quotas or time-oriented metrics that negatively impact patient care and safety.
3. APhA denounces any policies or practices of third-party administrators, processors, and payers that contribute to a workplace environment that negatively impacts patient safety. APhA calls upon public and private policy makers to establish provider payment laws, regulations, and policies that support the safe provision of medications and delivery of effective patient care.
4. APhA urges pharmacy personnel to establish collaborative mechanisms that engage the pharmacist in charge of each practice, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy staff in addressing workplace issues that may have an impact on patient safety.
5. APhA urges employers to collaborate with the pharmacy staff to regularly and systematically examine and resolve workplace issues that may have a negative impact on patient safety.
6. APhA opposes retaliation against pharmacy personnel for reporting workplace issues that may negatively impact patient safety.

1. APhA recognizes that pharmacists provide patients cognitive services that may or may not be related to the dispensing or sale of a product.
2. APhA demands payment parity for pharmacists providing patient care services that may or may not be related to the dispensing or sale of a product.

It is essential that laws, regulations, and policies governing pharmacist professional fees in federally-supported, health care programs require review and equitable adjustments on a regularized, periodic basis.

1. APhA encourages the development and use of a system for billing of medication therapy management (MTM) services that: (a) includes a standardized data set for transmission of billing claims, (b) utilizes a standardized process that is consistent with claim billing by other health care providers, and (c) utilizes a billing platform that is accepted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and is compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
2. APhA supports the pharmacist’s or pharmacy’s choice of a documentation system that allows for transmission of any MTM billing claim and interfaces with the billing platform used by the insurer or payer.
3. APhA encourages pharmacists to use the American Medical Association (AMA) Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for billing of MTM services.
4. APhA supports efforts to further develop CPT codes for billing of pharmacists’ services, through the work of the Pharmacist Services Technical Advisory Coalition (PSTAC) and Pharmacy e-HIT Collaborative.

The American Pharmacist Association (APhA) encourages collaboration with the American Public Health Association (APHA) and other public health organizations to increase pharmacists’ participation in initiatives designed to meet global, national, regional, state, local, and community health goals.

1. APhA affirms health equity as a core value of the profession of pharmacy and supports policies and practices that advance equitable access to care.
2. APhA commits to prioritizing the elimination of systemic barriers that prevent pharmacy personnel from performing their critical role in ensuring health equity.
3. APhA supports efforts to develop and empower pharmacy personnel as advocates for groups who are or have been marginalized and are facing health inequities.
4. APhA advocates for the inclusion of pharmacy professionals’ expertise in all efforts to ensure individuals and communities have equitable opportunities to attain their full potential for health and well-being.

Because of the broad implications of the pharmacist’s role in public health, the committee recommends that pharmacists and pharmacy associations seek to have the state laws, regulations, and policies amended to require that a pharmacist serve on the state and local boards of health. One part of this effort should be an increased interest on the part of the pharmacist in his local health boards and commissions.

1. APhA supports the integration of social determinants of health screening as a vital component of pharmacy services.
2. APhA urges the integration of social determinants of health education within pharmacy curricula, postgraduate training, and continuing education requirements.
3. APhA supports incentivizing community engaged research, driven by meaningful partnerships and shared decisionmaking with community members.
4. APhA urges pharmacists to create opportunities for community engagement to best meet the needs of the patients they serve.
5. APhA encourages the integration of community health workers in pharmacy practice to provide culturally sensitive care, address health disparities, and promote health equity.

APhA encourages pharmacists’ active participation in health care organizations within their communities to assist in the public health efforts of community health and foster better community understanding of the profession of pharmacy.

1. APhA encourages state legislatures and boards of pharmacy to revise laws, regulations, and policies to support the patient-centered care of people who use non-medically sanctioned psychotropic or psychoactive substances.
2. To reduce the consequences of stigma associated with drug use, APhA supports the expansion of interprofessional harm reduction education in the curriculum of schools and colleges of pharmacy, postgraduate training, and continuing professional development programs.
3. APhA encourages pharmacists to initiate, sustain, and integrate evidence-based harm reduction principles and programs into their practice to optimize the health of people who use non-medically sanctioned psychotropic or psychoactive substances.
4. APhA supports pharmacists’ roles to provide and promote consistent, unrestricted, and immediate access to evidence-based, mortality- and morbidity-reducing interventions to enhance the health of people who inject nonmedically sanctioned psychotropic or psychoactive substances and their communities, including sterile syringes, needles, and other safe injection equipment, syringe disposal, fentanyl test strips, immunizations, condoms, wound care supplies, pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis medications for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), point-of-care testing for HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV), opioid reversal agents, and medications for opioid use disorder.
5. APhA urges pharmacists to refer people who use nonmedically sanctioned psychotropic or psychoactive substances to specialists in mental health, infectious diseases, and substance use disorder treatment; to housing, vocational, harm reduction, and recovery support services; and to safe consumption facilities and syringe service programs.

1. APhA supports referrals of patients to pharmacists, among pharmacists, or between pharmacists and other health care providers to promote optimal patient outcomes.
2. APhA supports referrals to and by pharmacists that ensure timely patient access to quality services and promote patient freedom of choice.
3. APhA advocates for pharmacists’ engagement in referral systems that are aligned with those of other health care providers and facilitate collaboration and information sharing to ensure continuity of care.
4. APhA supports attribution and equitable payment to pharmacists providing patient care services as a result of a referral.
5. APhA promotes the pharmacist’s professional responsibility to uphold ethical and legal standards of care in referral practices.
6. APhA reaffirms its support of development, adoption, and use of policies and procedures by pharmacists to manage potential conflicts of interest in practice, including in referral systems.

1. APhA encourages state legislatures and boards of pharmacy to revise laws, regulations, and policies to support the patient-centered care of people who use non-medically sanctioned psychotropic or psychoactive substances.
2. To reduce the consequences of stigma associated with drug use, APhA supports the expansion of interprofessional harm reduction education in the curriculum of schools and colleges of pharmacy, postgraduate training, and continuing professional development programs.
3. APhA encourages pharmacists to initiate, sustain, and integrate evidence-based harm reduction principles and programs into their practice to optimize the health of people who use non-medically sanctioned psychotropic or psychoactive substances.
4. APhA supports pharmacists’ roles to provide and promote consistent, unrestricted, and immediate access to evidence-based, mortality- and morbidity-reducing interventions to enhance the health of people who inject nonmedically sanctioned psychotropic or psychoactive substances and their communities, including sterile syringes, needles, and other safe injection equipment, syringe disposal, fentanyl test strips, immunizations, condoms, wound care supplies, pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis medications for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), point-of-care testing for HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV), opioid reversal agents, and medications for opioid use disorder.
5. APhA urges pharmacists to refer people who use nonmedically sanctioned psychotropic or psychoactive substances to specialists in mental health, infectious diseases, and substance use disorder treatment; to housing, vocational, harm reduction, and recovery support services; and to safe consumption facilities and syringe service programs.

1. APhA opposes legalization of the possession, sale, distribution, or use of illicit drug substances for non-medical uses.
2. APhA supports decriminalization of the personal possession or personal use of illicit drug substances or paraphernalia.
3. APhA supports voluntary pathways for the treatment and rehabilitation of individuals who have been charged with the possession or use of illicit drug substances and who have substance use or other related medical disorders.

1. APhA encourages the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and other regulatory agencies to recognize pharmacists as partners that are committed to ensuring that patients in legitimate need of controlled substances are able to receive the medications.
2. APhA supports efforts to modernize and harmonize state and federal controlled substance laws.
3. APhA urges DEA and other regulatory agencies to balance patient care and regulatory issues when developing, interpreting, and enforcing laws and regulations.
4. APhA encourages DEA and other regulatory agencies to recognize the changes occurring in health care delivery and to establish a transparent and inclusive process for the timely updating of laws and regulations.
5. APhA encourages the U.S. Department of Justice to collaborate with professional organizations to identify and reduce (a) the burdens on health care providers, (b) the cost of health care delivery, and (c) the barriers to patient care in the establishment and enforcement of controlled substance laws.

1. APhA urges pharmacies and facilities that include pharmacies to discontinue the sale of tobacco products.
2. APhA urges the federal government and state governments to limit participation in government-funded prescription programs to pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products.
3. APhA urges state boards of pharmacy to discontinue issuing and renewing licenses to pharmacies that sell tobacco products and to pharmacies that are in facilities that sell tobacco products.
4. APhA urges colleges of pharmacy to only use pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products as experience sites for their students.
5. APhA urges the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) to adopt the position that college-administered pharmacy experience programs should only use pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products.
6. APhA urges pharmacists and student pharmacists who are seeking employment opportunities to first consider positions in pharmacies that do not sell tobacco products.

1. APhA encourages state boards of pharmacy to use the title “student pharmacist” to identify all students enrolled in their professional years of pharmacy education in an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) accredited program.
2. APhA encourages state boards of pharmacy to permit a student pharmacist to perform the duties of a pharmacist within the applicable state’s scope of practice under a pharmacist’s supervision. Preceptors shall consider the experience and education of student pharmacists when providing pharmacy practice opportunities.

1. APhA encourages continuing dialogue with other health care organizations on pharmacist's role in therapeutic interchange, including the formation of a task force to include representatives of pharmacy, industry, government, and medicine for the purpose of adoption of uniform terminology and definitions related to chemical, biological, and therapeutic equivalence.
2. APhA supports the concept of therapeutic interchange of various drug products by pharmacists based on mutual arrangements between pharmacists and authorized prescribers on behalf of the care of patients.

1. APhA urges the development of laws, regulations, and policies that facilitate patient access to and affordability of biologic products.
2. APhA urges the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expedite the development of standards and pathways that will evaluate the interchangeability of biologic products.
3. APhA recognizes the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Purple Book as an authoritative reference about biologic product interchangeability within the United States.
4. APhA opposes interchangeable biologic product substitution processes that require authorization, recordkeeping, or reporting beyond generic product substitution processes.
5. APhA encourages scientific justification for extrapolation of indications for biologic products to ensure patient safety and optimal therapeutic outcomes.

APhA opposes the enactment of laws, regulations, and policies that would act to restrict the clinical judgments of medical practitioners and other health professionals.

APhA should initiate educational programs for pharmacists and other health care professionals concerning the determination of therapeutic equivalence of generic/biosimilar versions of biologic drug products

APhA supports recognition of the pharmacist’s role in the selection of pharmaceutical alternates (i.e., drug products containing the same therapeutic moiety, but differing in salt, ester, or comparable physical/chemical form or differing in dosage form)

APhA seeks introduction of laws, regulations, and policies exempting state, third-party, and prescription programs from preemption by ERISA.

APhA supports enactment of laws, regulations, and policies requiring that third-party program reimbursement to pharmacists be at least equal to the pharmacists prevailing charges to the self-paying public for comparable services and products, plus additional documented direct and indirect costs, which are generated by participating in the program.

1. APhA advocates that the public and private sectors maintain or increase their level of commitment to ensure adequate resources for both basic and applied research within a reformed health care system.
2. APhA encourages the public and private research communities to preferentially expend resources for the discovery and development of new drugs and technologies that provide substantive, innovative therapeutic advances.
3. APhA advocates an increased emphasis on outcomes research in all areas of health services, including drug and disease-specific research encompassing clinical, economic, and humanistic dimensions (e.g., quality of life, patient satisfaction, ethics) and advocates for action related to conclusions for such research.
4. APhA encourages interdisciplinary collaboration in research efforts within and between the public and private research communities.

1. APhA shall not function as or become a collective bargaining unit.
2. APhA recommends continuation of its educational efforts concerning the mutual responsibilities of the employer and employee pharmacist inherent in the employment relationship.
3. APhA recommends continued efforts to urge state associations to develop employee/employer relations committees to (a) study all aspects of both the professional and employment relationships that exist between the employer and the employee; (b) develop and recommend guidelines to provide direction and guidance to both the employed pharmacist and the employer in developing a mutually acceptable relationship; (c) conduct necessary surveys designed to provide information on salaries, benefits, and specific problems with attention given to possible regional variations in the data obtained; and (d) consider the establishment of an employment standards committee where feasible in each appropriate area of the state to act in an advisory and/or arbitrating capacity on matters pertaining to employment standards and employment grievances.
4. APhA recommends that colleges of pharmacy include the subject of employer/ employee relations within an appropriate course of the curriculum.

1. APhA affirms the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights that collective bargaining is a fundamental human right.
2. APhA supports pharmacists' participation in organizations that promote the discretion or professional prerogatives exercised by pharmacists in their practice, including the provision of patient care.
3. APhA supports the rights of pharmacists to negotiate with their respective employers for working conditions that will foster compliance with the standards of patient care as established by the profession.

1. APhA encourages schools and colleges of pharmacy and pharmacy technician training programs to facilitate educational opportunities for student pharmacists, and student pharmacy technicians in the principles of veterinary pharmacotherapy.
2. APhA encourages the availability of professional development opportunities in the principles of veterinary pharmacotherapy for pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians.

APhA encourages pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians to become more knowledgeable about veterinary drugs and their usage.

APhA calls for the adoption, by pharmacy organizations and regulatory and professional entities, of the expanded definition for patient to include human or non-human species.

1. Employers are obligated to respect the professional status, privileges, and responsibilities of employed pharmacists.
2. Employers are obligated to provide working conditions that enhance the ability of employed pharmacists to utilize their full professional capacity in providing patient care service to the public.
3. Employers are obligated to provide employed pharmacists opportunities to increase their professional knowledge and experience.
4. Employers are obligated to fairly compensate employed pharmacists commensurate with their duties and performances. Such compensation should include benefits generally available to other professionals including, but not limited to, vacation, sick leave, insurance plans, and retirement programs.
5. Employed pharmacists are obligated to use their best efforts to further the services offered to the public by their employers.
6. Employed pharmacists are obligated to bring to the attention of their employers all matters that will assist the employers in maintaining professional standards and successful practices.
7. Employed pharmacists are obligated, when negotiating compensation, to consider not only prevailing economic conditions in their community, but also their economic position relative to other health care professionals.
8. Employed pharmacists are obligated to recognize that their responsibility includes not depriving the public of their patient care services by striking in support of their economic demands or those of others.
9. Both employers and employed pharmacists are obligated to reach and maintain definite understandings with regards to their respective economic rights and duties by resolving employment issues fairly, promptly, and in good faith.
10. Encouraging and assisting state and national associations to establish broadly representative bodies to study the subject of professional and economic relations and to establish locally responsive guidelines to assist employers and employed pharmacists in developing satisfactory employment relationships.
11. Encouraging and assisting state and national pharmacy associations to use their good offices, whenever invited, to resolve specific issues that may arise.
12. Assisting state pharmacists associations and national specialty associations to develop procedures for mediation or arbitration of disputes that may arise between employers and employed pharmacists so that pharmacists can call on their profession for such assistance when required.
13. Increasing its activities directed towards educating the profession about the mutual employment responsibilities of employers and employed pharmacists.
14. Developing benefits programs wherever possible to assist employers in providing employed pharmacists with economic security.
15. Continuously reminding pharmacists that the future development and status of pharmacy as a health profession rests in their willingness and ability to maintain control of their profession.

1. APhA calls for employers to develop policies and procedures to support pharmacy personnel’s ability to retreat or withdraw, without retaliation, from interactions that threaten their safety and well-being.
2. APhA encourages the development or utilization of educational programs and resources by the Association, employers, and other institutions to prepare pharmacy personnel to respond to situations that threaten their safety and well-being.

1. APhA supports staffing models that promote safe provision of patient care services and access to medications.
2. APhA encourages the adoption of patient centered quality and performance measures that align with safe delivery of patient care services and opposes the setting and use of operational quotas or time-oriented metrics that negatively impact patient care and safety.
3. APhA denounces any policies or practices of third-party administrators, processors, and payers that contribute to a workplace environment that negatively impacts patient safety. APhA calls upon public and private policy makers to establish provider payment laws, regulations, and policies that support the safe provision of medications and delivery of effective patient care.
4. APhA urges pharmacy personnel to establish collaborative mechanisms that engage the pharmacist in charge of each practice, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy staff in addressing workplace issues that may have an impact on patient safety.
5. APhA urges employers to collaborate with the pharmacy staff to regularly and systematically examine and resolve workplace issues that may have a negative impact on patient safety.
6. APhA opposes retaliation against pharmacy personnel for reporting workplace issues that may negatively impact patient safety.

1. APhA advocates for employers to provide coverage and access to comprehensive reproductive health care services.
2. APhA demands that pharmacists and pharmacy personnel receive accommodations before, during and after pregnancy, including but not limited to sufficient time and space for breaks, opportunities to sit while working, and access to food and water between breaks.

1. APhA calls for employers to provide fair, realistic, and equitable workplace conditions for pharmacy personnel that promote a safe, healthy, and sustainable working environment.
2. APhA urges all entities that impact pharmacy personnel workplace conditions to adopt the Pharmacists Fundamental Responsibilities and Rights.
3. APhA urges employers to develop and empower pharmacy personnel to use flexible practice management models based on available staffing, expertise, and resources that balance workloads to minimize distractions.
4. APhA advocates for employers to provide workplace onboarding and training for pharmacy personnel to optimize employee performance and satisfaction.
5. APhA encourages pharmacy personnel, starting with leaders, to model and facilitate individualized healthy working behaviors that improve well-being and to encourage and empower colleagues to do the same.
6. APhA opposes the sole use of productivity and fiscal measures for employee performance evaluations.
7. APhA calls for employers and employees to collaborate in the development and use of behavioral performance competencies in performance evaluations.

1. APhA calls on all national and state pharmacy organizations, colleges/schools of pharmacy, and other stakeholders to support the development of a profession-wide effort to address harassment, intimidation, and abuse of power or position.
2. APhA supports the development of a profession-wide guideline on reporting harassment, intimidation, or abuse of power or position in their pharmacy education and training, professional practice, or volunteer service to pharmacy organizations.
3. APhA recommends all pharmacy organizations incorporate harassment, intimidation, and abuse training in their member professional development and education activities.

1. APhA strongly urges all employers of pharmacists and pharmacy personnel, and the settings in which they practice, to implement protection and control measures and procedures, per consensus recommendations when available, and access to protective gear and cleaning supplies that ensure the safety of pharmacy personnel and that of their family members and the public.
2. APhA urges federal and state government officials, manufacturers, distributors, and health system administrators to recognize pharmacists and pharmacy personnel as “front-line providers” who should receive appropriate personal protective equipment and other resources to protect their personal safety and support their ability to continue to provide patient care.

1. APhA encourages all health care personnel to receive training and provide services to identify, assist, and refer people at risk for, or currently experiencing, a mental health crisis.
2. APhA encourages employers and policy makers to provide the support, resources, culture, and authority necessary for all pharmacy personnel to engage and assist individuals regarding mental health and emotional well-being.
3. APhA supports integration of a mental health assessment as a vital component of pharmacist-provided patient care services.

1. APhA supports the principle that all work environments and educational settings be free of sexual harassment.
2. APhA recommends all pharmacy practice environments and educational settings have a written policy on sexual harassment prevention and grievance procedures.
3. APhA recommends that every owner/employer in facilities where pharmacists work institute a sexual harassment awareness education and training program for all employees.
4. APhA supports the wide distribution of the model guidelines contained within “APhA Model Policy on Sexual Harassment Prevention and Grievance Procedures” – Appendix D, APhA Policy and Procedures Manual.

APhA encourages employers to provide pharmacists with the tools required to manage stress and conflict within the workplace.