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ASHP Continues to Support Members and the Healthcare Community Through the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Paul Abramowitz posted 04-30-2020 18:01

  

Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 pandemic is changing our country’s healthcare landscape every day. Critical health policy changes are occurring at an unprecedented rate. We continue to engage with state and federal policymakers to ensure that pharmacists’ expertise is fully utilized and that healthcare providers are equipped to safely and effectively respond to the pandemic.

Update on States’ Response Efforts

State governors are issuing executive orders that expand pharmacists’ ability to provide high-quality care to patients during this crisis. For example, Michigan now permits pharmacists within licensed health facilities to contribute to routine health maintenance and manage chronic disease states without physician supervision. This expansion alleviates burdens on primary care providers and expands access to care, especially in rural and underserved communities where pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare professionals.

We are also seeing a positive trend in pharmacists’ ability to manage therapeutic interchange. In Iowa and Kentucky, executive orders grant pharmacists the authority to substitute medications in response to drug shortages.

Point-of-care testing for COVID-19 is critical to the national pandemic response. Some states already permitted pharmacists, under their scope of practice or through collaborative practice agreements, to order and administer these tests. Pennsylvania, which previously allowed pharmacists to order and administer tests, has taken emergency measures to grant pharmacists explicit authority to order and administer COVID-19 tests. States like Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, and, most recently New York, issued executive orders that permit pharmacists to order and administer COVID-19 tests. State-level COVID-19 response is a rapidly changing situation as local healthcare providers respond to patient surges and the demand for testing. Please check with your state’s board of pharmacy for more information about the status of COVID-19 testing in your area. Helpful information on COVID-19 testing can also be found on the National Community Pharmacists Association’s website.

ASHP applauds state governors’ efforts to expand pharmacists’ scope of practice during this state of emergency. However, we are concerned that authorizing the expansion of pharmacists’ services without authorizing payment for those services will limit the delivery of care in some pharmacy practice settings. COVID-19 is already highlighting shortcomings in state Medicaid payment systems and commercial payer policies that prevent qualified pharmacists from fully serving patients. ASHP is working closely with our state affiliates and other organizations to request reimbursement for the new services they are providing under the state of emergency. This advocacy aligns with ASHP's Pharmacy Readiness for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Recommendations for State Policymakers. The recommendations address shortages of drugs and medical supplies and reimbursement of pharmacists for patient care services and also provide readiness and resilience resources for clinicians.

Pharmacists are Essential Healthcare Personnel

ASHP continues to voice our support for all pharmacists who are working tirelessly across the continuum of care in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yesterday, I sent a letter to the chief executive officer of Novo Nordisk responding to a full-page NovoCare ad that ran last weekend in the Wall Street Journal and other publications. Pharmacists were omitted from a list of individuals, including nurses, doctors, researchers, and other essential workers who were acknowledged for their caring efforts on the front lines of the COVID-19 response.

In the letter, I reinforced that pharmacists are highly skilled, licensed healthcare professionals who play a key role in selecting and optimizing medication therapy for patients. Pharmacists also oversee the entire medication-use process in hospitals and health systems, including the purchasing, distribution, preparation, and administration of pharmaceuticals. I further explained that, as members of interprofessional healthcare teams, pharmacists are providing a broad range of patient care services during the COVID-19 public health emergency, from directly caring for mechanically ventilated patients in critical care settings, to providing point-of-care testing and medication management to patients in community pharmacy settings and beyond.

It is my hope that Novo Nordisk will appropriately recognize pharmacists and the important role they play in future communications.

ASHP’s Response to Disruptions in Residency Training

In last week’s blog, I discussed the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on residency training. As a result of disruptions in routine or elective procedures and reductions in inpatient hospital stays, some hospitals and health systems are facing the difficult situation of furloughing their PGY1 and PGY2 pharmacy residents. These actions can disrupt patient care and make residents ineligible for board certification and professional positions that require postgraduate pharmacy residency training. We believe that educating future generations of pharmacists is more critical than ever, and ASHP has issued a statement opposing the furlough of residents.

As always, ASHP is here to support residents and residency programs. If you need assistance with a furlough situation, please reach out to Janet Silvester, vice president of Accreditation Services, or Stephen Ford, director of Residency Accreditation Services.

ASHP is Here for You and the Entire Healthcare Community

Over the past several weeks, I have been sharing information about new and timely resources that ASHP has developed and made available to optimize medication use and patient outcomes during this public health emergency. The response to these offerings, which is captured in a new ASHP infographic, has been tremendous. We are immensely proud of our staff and volunteers who have been working tirelessly to deliver highly relevant information across multiple channels. Our COVID-19 Resource Center is updated regularly with new content and I hope you continue to find the tools and information produced by ASHP valuable as needs related to the pandemic response evolve.

Thank you for being a member of ASHP and for everything that you do for your patients and our profession.

Sincerely,

Paul

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