Roles of the Pharmacy Academy in informing consumers about the new American pharmacist: 2010-2011 Argus Commission Report.

The AACP Argus Commission is comprised of the five immediate past AACP presidents and is annually charged by the AACP President to examine one or more strategic questions related to pharmacy education often in the context of environmental scanning. Depending upon the specific charge, the President may appoint additional individuals to the Commission. The 2010-2011 Argus Commission was charged to examine how AACP and its members can engage with appropriate consumer and payer groups to increase awareness of “the new American pharmacist” and the pharmacist's role and value in patient-centered care. President Carter emphasized that although increasing public awareness will require broad action by all pharmacy organizations, the Argus Commission was to focus their discussions on the unique roles of the Pharmacy Academy in increasing public awareness about “the new American pharmacist” as compared to what other professional organizations may contribute. The following individuals were invited to participate in the discussions with the Argus Commission: Artem Gulish (Citizen Advocacy Center), Marsha Henderson, MCRP (Office of Women's Health, Food and Drug Administration), and Karen Williams (Office of Women's Health, Food and Drug Administration). In preparation of the Argus Commission meeting, these participants were informed that pharmacist roles have changed and that pharmacy educators need to identify the Academy's role in increasing consumer awareness. In preparation of the meeting, Commission members read the article by Worley, et al., which reported the results of a study that investigated both patient and pharmacist views about what patients and pharmacists expect of each other in the patient-pharmacist relationship.1 This study reported that both patients and pharmacists have similar views about the pharmacist's role in sharing information such as how to watch for medication side effects and whether a medication should be taken with over-the-counter products. However, patients agreed less about pharmacist behaviors such as showing interest in working with patients to meet their health needs and communicating a desire to help patients with their medication concerns. Patients also had less agreement about the pharmacist's role in providing a patient-centered relationship such as being approachable when a patient wants to discuss medication concerns. There was also less agreement among patients about the pharmacist's role in interpersonal communications such as greeting patients at the prescription counter and taking prescription information. Furthermore, patients had less agreement about the role of the pharmacist in general healthcare communications such as pharmacist availability when patients call the pharmacist via phone to discuss a new medication question. Argus Commission members also reviewed resources from the Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative which included documents communicating the new roles of pharmacists and patient-focused information.2 Articles summarizing the current roles of pharmacists and the value they bring to patient care were also reviewed. Specifically, the 2009-2010 Professional Affairs Committee Report provided a summary of evidence supporting pharmacist integration in primary care practice within community settings where there were also partnerships with patients and other healthcare service providers.3 The recent study by Kassam et al. stimulated Argus Commission members to think about the role of practice experiences in helping the profession increase consumer awareness about the roles of the pharmacist.4 This study compared patients’ expectations and experiences at pharmacies offering traditional APPE learning opportunities to APPEs which provided pharmaceutical care learning activities and found significantly higher in-store satisfaction and fewer service gaps in the later. Several other publications that highlighted the value of pharmacists were also reviewed. A report by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores provided a review of how pharmacies are improving health and reducing costs.5 The recent article by Chisholm-Burns et al. which provided evidence that pharmacists positively impact patient care also provided the Argus Commission with insights.6 The Commission noted this article was published in Medical Care and provided readers such as health systems leaders, payers, health-care CEOs and CFOs with greater awareness about the role of the pharmacist. As the Argus Commission members read this article, they realized the importance of informing healthcare leaders outside the pharmacy profession and the value of having faculty write publications outside the pharmacy profession as a means for communicating to others about the role of “the new American pharmacist.”6 The Argus Commission meeting initially focused on the roles of “the new American pharmacist” and reasons why the public has a low awareness about the value of pharmacists in improving medication therapy outcomes of patients. Discussions then addressed how pharmacy educators can promote greater awareness among consumers, healthcare payer groups, and other stakeholders.