APhA Policy Manual

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

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.

APhA encourages the development of appropriate educational materials and guidelines to assist pharmacists in addressing the ethical issues associated with the appropriate use of biotechnology-based products.

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.

1. APhA advocates for laws, regulations, and policies that establish reasonable out-of-pocket patient costs for evidence-based, guideline-recommended, or standard of care therapies to enhance affordability and ensure access to appropriate treatments from a patient’s preferred pharmacy.
2. APhA advocates for laws, regulations, and policies that allow for sustained access to evidence-based, guideline-recommended, or standard of care therapies after a patient has met treatment goals.

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 urges pharmacists to use patient-specific data and social determinants of health to address health inequities and drive decisionmaking in practice and advocacy.

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.

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 calls on pharmacists to uphold the Oath of the Pharmacist to promote inclusion, embrace diversity, and advocate for justice to advance health equity.
3. APhA commits to prioritizing the elimination of systemic barriers that prevent pharmacy personnel from performing their critical role in ensuring health equity.
4. APhA supports efforts to develop and empower pharmacy personnel as advocates for groups who are or have been marginalized and are facing health inequities.
5. 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.

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 counseling by a pharmacist or student pharmacist on medication use to patients or their representatives prior to or at delivery; and encourages verification by pharmacy personnel to ensure the medication will be left in a safe place at delivery.

1. APhA encourages implementation of a standard pharmacy benefit card to improve the dispensing process and encourages the use of technology in this implementation.
2. APhA supports the use of technology to facilitate record-keeping of patient prescription information for third-party audit purposes and regulatory compliance.
3. APhA supports education of the public regarding the responsibility to be informed consumers of their pharmacy benefits provided through third-party plans.
4. APhA encourages third-party plans to provide pharmacies all information necessary for benefits administration in a timely organized manner or to provide access to the information through the Internet or similar technologies at no cost to the pharmacy.
5. APhA supports clear communication during the pharmacy claims adjudication process. APhA supports the communication of all plan management options available from the claims processor to the pharmacist.
6. APhA supports the development and use of systems to communicate in-pharmacy drug utilization review messages with online claims processing systems to eliminate redundant and/or repetitive messages.
7. APhA encourages the transmission of pre-adjudication drug utilization review messages (i.e., drug utilization review communication between the prescriber and claims processor) to the pharmacist.
8. APhA supports efforts to:
   1. improve on-line drug utilization review messages by the establishment of evidence-based criteria to prevent drug-related conflicts that have the potential for causing serious harm; and
   2. eliminate drug utilization review messages that have questionable or inconsequential impact on patient outcomes.

1. APhA will work to ensure pharmacy is the profession responsible for providing leadership in developing a safe, error-free medication use process.
2. APhA supports continuation and expansion of medication error reporting programs.
3. APhA supports identifying the system-based causes of errors and building systems to support safe medication practice.

1. APhA supports organization and patient care provider rights to use patient data for improvement of patient and public health outcomes and enhancement of patient care delivery processes in accordance with ethical practices and industry standards regarding data privacy and transparency.
2. APhA urges ongoing transparent, accessible, and comprehensible disclosure to patients by all HIPAA-covered and noncovered entities as to how personally identifiable information may be utilized.
3. APhA calls for all entities with access to patient health data, including those with digital applications, to be required to adhere to established standards for patient data use.
4. APhA supports the right of patients to have full and timely access to their personal health data from all entities.

APhA encourages the use of people first language in all written and oral forms of communication.

1. APhA supports culturally sensitive outreach efforts to increase mutual understanding of the risks and other issues of using prescription medications without a prescription order or using unapproved products.
2. APhA supports expanding culturally competent health care services in all communities.

1. Recognizing the diverse patient population served by our profession and the impact of cultural diversity on patient safety and medication use outcomes, APhA encourages pharmacists to continually strive to achieve and develop cultural awareness, sensitivity, and cultural competence.
2. APhA shall facilitate access to resources that assist pharmacists and student pharmacists in achieving and maintaining cultural competence relevant to their practice.

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. Patient safety is influenced by patients, caregivers, health care providers, and health care systems. APhA recognizes that improving patient safety requires a comprehensive, continuous, and collaborative approach to health care.
2. APhA should promote public and provider awareness of and encourage participation in patient safety initiatives.
3. APhA supports research on a more effective, proactive, and integrated health care system focused on improving patient safety. APhA encourages implementation of appropriate recommendations from that research.

1. APhA opposes prior authorization programs that create barriers to patient care.
2. Patients, prescribers, and pharmacists should have ready access to the coverage conditions for medications or devices requiring prior authorization.
3. Prescription drug benefit plan sponsors and administrators should actively seek and integrate the input of network pharmacists in the design and operation of prior authorization programs.
4. APhA supports prior authorization programs that allow pharmacists to provide the necessary information to determine appropriate patient care.
5. APhA expects prescription drug benefit plan sponsors to compensate pharmacy providers who complete third-party payer authorization procedures. Compensation should be in addition to dispensing fee arrangements.
6. APhA should work with relevant groups to improve prior authorization design and decrease prescription processing inefficiencies.

1. APhA acknowledges the following:
   1. Patients have the right to be informed participants in decisions related to their personal health care.
   2. Pharmacists have a professional obligation to contribute to the education of patients to help achieve optimal drug therapy.
   3. Pharmacists should provide drug-related information to their patients (or patients’ agent) by face-to-face oral consultation, supplemented by written or printed material, or any other means or combination of means that is best suited to an individual patient’s needs for specific information.
2. APhA acknowledges that the pharmacist is responsible for initiating pharmacist/patient dialogue and assessing the patient’s ability to comprehend and communicate so as to optimize the patient’s understanding of and compliance with drug therapy.
3. APhA encourages the research and development of ancillary communication aids and techniques to maximize patient understanding of medication and its proper use.

1. APhA advocates and will facilitate pharmacists’ participation in the continuum of patient care. The continuum of patient care is characterized by the interdisciplinary care provided a patient through a series of organized, connected events or activities independent of time and practice site, in order to optimize desired therapeutic outcomes.
2. APhA will facilitate pharmacists’ participation in the continuum of patient care by
   1. achieving recognition for the pharmacist as a primary care provider;
   2. securing access for pharmacists to patient information systems, including creation of the necessary software for the purpose of record maintenance of cognitive services provided by pharmacists; and
   3. developing means and methods to establish and enable pharmacists’ direct participation in the continuum of patient care.

APhA supports the development of programs that educate pharmacy’s several publics about the cost effectiveness of drug products and related comprehensive pharmacists services.