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Directly Speaking
What Lies Ahead in 2017?
by Scott A. Meyers, Executive Vice President
Well, 2016 is over, thank goodness! Things got pretty crazy last year, and while our hope is for a better, safer, quieter 2017, my guess it that’s just an optimistic hope that could be shattered early and often.
We at ICHP have a lot of projects in the works for 2017, so while the world might spin out of control, we will, with any luck, move the profession and the organization forward. One of this year’s projects from Marketing Affairs will be to kick off a “Pharmacy Cares” campaign on social media, primarily Facebook and Twitter. The campaign will highlight interventions pharmacists have made on behalf of their patients as a means of increasing pharmacy’s and pharmacists’ public perception. This is very timely, considering the recent Chicago Tribune Investigation.
The Division of Government Affairs is going to tackle a Practice Act revision for the 2017 sunset. This is going to be a great opportunity to broaden the pharmacist and pharmacy technician scope of practice and bring the entire Act up to date or even a little in the future.
The Division of Organizational Affairs will be reviewing ICHP’s process to elect ASHP delegates from Illinois. Currently, a call for delegates is made in the October KeePosted and the election follows closely. However, there is really no policy on candidate requirements, campaigning and the actual election process. This doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it has caused problems in other states so we want to get out in front of any potential future issues.
The Division of Professional Affairs is reviewing current toolkits, one of ICHP’s most underused member resources, and considering which new ones to add. Toolkits now exist on a variety of topics including: Starting a residency, REMs, Continuing Professional Development (CPD), High School Community Outreach, Pharmaceutical Waste, Precepting, Staff Development, Student Internships and Technicians.
The Division of Educational Affairs will continue to offer Champion continuing pharmacy education webinars on an at least every other month basis and also add some technician-specific presentations in between. In addition, the Division will work to establish educational tracks throughout the year that will guide members in selecting appropriate educational programming. New programming formats for the Spring and Annual Meetings are also on their agenda for 2017.
ICHP’s Technology Committee continues to review new technology advances and evaluate topics for future educational offerings. In addition, committee members monitor advances for hot topic discussions and best practices.
It’s clear to me that ICHP has a plan for the future of practice and it is also indelibly clear that the future for Illinois and the world needs a lot of new plans. I hope that 2017 turns out to be a year that brings positive changes for the world – I know it will for Illinois pharmacy practice.
