101st Annual Meeting CE Sessions Offer Insight on Today's Pharmacy Practice Issues

April 13, 2005 12:00 am

101st Annual Meeting CE Sessions Offer Insight on Today's Pharmacy Practice Issues

Attendees of NABP's 101st Annual Meeting, held May 21-24, 2005, at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel in New Orleans, LA, may earn up to five hours of continuing education (CE) credit when they choose from the Association's variety of timely and informative topics. Over the course of two days, members may attend CE sessions discussing such issues as maintaining medication product integrity; state-mandated medication error quality assurance programs; continuing professional development; regulatory initiatives and technologies in deterring drug abuse, diversion, and theft; and the progress of patient safety.

Monday, May 23 On Monday, May 23, meeting attendees may attend the Joint CE Programming session "Regulatory Initiatives and Innovative Technologies in Deterring Drug Abuse, Diversion, and Theft" (Program #: 205-000-05-001-L03) from 8:15 to 10:15 AM. Patricia F. Harris, executive director of the California State Board of Pharmacy; Marc Lilly, chief executive officer of Script IQ, Inc; Ronald W. Buzzeo, RPh, president of BuzzeoPDMA; and Leah S. Foster, vice president of BuzzeoPDMA, will discuss how many states have begun to utilize technologies and implement novel regulation to address public health concerns of drug abuse and diversion. Participants will evaluate various technological applications utilized in prescription order forms and recent proposals adopted by the states to prevent the proliferation of illegal methamphetamine clandestine labs. The session, sponsored by Medco Health Solutions, Inc, provides 0.20 continuing education units (CEUs) (2.0 contact hours).

Following the Joint CE Programming, meeting attendees will be able to choose from three concurrent CE tracks that take place from 10:30 AM to noon: Executive Officer and Board Member Programming, Compliance Officer Programming, and Pharmacy Practice Programming.

Entitled "Maintaining Medication Product Integrity: Applications of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Electronic Product Codes (EPC) for the Regulation of Wholesale Distribution" (Program #: 205-000-05-002-L03), the Executive Officer and Board Member Programming session offers 0.15 CEUs (1.5 contact hours) and is sponsored by Merck & Co, Inc. Sandra Stovell, Florida Drug and Cosmetic Act compliance manager, Bureau of Statewide Pharmaceutical Services, Florida Department of Health, will discuss recent regulatory and legislative initiatives to fully implement drug pedigrees; James T. Hintlian, partner, Accenture Health & Life Sciences Supply Chain Practices; and Lucia Deus, vice president of Product Development, SupplyScape Corporation, will discuss the application of RFID and EPC technology to electronic pedigrees and recent results of pilot projects to implement such technology throughout the industry.

Compliance Officer Programming includes the CE session "State-Mandated Medication Error Quality Assurance Programs: Surveying for Patient Safety" (Program #: 205-000-05-003-L04), which is 0.15 CEUs (1.5 contact hours) and is sponsored by Walgreen Co. In this session, Diane E. Tobias, PharmD, CGP, FASCP, president, Tobias Consulting Services, will discuss the results of a research study that evaluated the implementation of California Code of Regulations, Title 16, Division 17, Section 1711. This regulation specifically mandates that all California-licensed pharmacies establish or participate in a medication error quality assurance program. Additionally, Matthew Grissinger, RPh, FASCP, medication safety analyst for the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), will address key components of ISMP's Medication Safety Self Assessment for community/ambulatory and hospital pharmacies and how these components may be incorporated into existing survey processes.

Finally, meeting attendees may choose to attend the Pharmacy Practice Programming session "Portfolio Development: A Critical Aspect of Continuing Professional Development" (Program #: 205-000-05-004-L04), which offers 0.15 CEUs (1.5 contact hours) and is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. During this session, speakers Randal P. McDonough, PharmD, MS, associate professor of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy, University of Iowa College of Pharmacy; and Jennifer Moulton, senior vice president of Professional and Educational Affairs for the Iowa Pharmacy Association, will examine how to effectively develop a portfolio that will assist participants in the evaluation of their individual learning needs and the creation of a learning plan.

Tuesday, May 24 The final CE session of the 101st Annual Meeting will be held from 9 to 10:30 AM on Tuesday, May 24. This Joint CE Programming session, entitled "Realizing a Safer Health Care System: The Progress of Patient Safety Since 1999" (Program #: 205-000-05-005-L04), provides 0.15 CEUs (1.5 contact hours) and is sponsored by Osco Drug. During this session, Michael R. Cohen, RPh, MS, ScD, president of ISMP, will review the major recommendations of the 1999 Institute of Medicine report, To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, which reported significant concerns about the quality of health care delivered in the US. By the end of this session, participants will be able to describe efforts involving regulatory, error reporting, technology, accountability, and work force issues that have addressed health care quality.

Sponsors of the 101st Annual Meeting CE sessions acknowledge that NABP is solely responsible for designing and conducting the continuing educational program supported by their education grant and for the selection of faculty. They further acknowledge that activities supported by this grant will be educational, nonpromotional, and free from commercial bias.

NABP and the NABP Foundation are approved by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as providers of continuing pharmacy education. ACPE Provider Number: 205. Participants may earn up to five hours of ACPE-approved continuing education credit from NABP. Participants in continuing pharmacy education programs will receive credit by completing a "Statement of Continuing Pharmacy Education Participation" and submitting it to the NABP office. A validated Statement of Credit will be sent as proof of participation within approximately six weeks. Full attendance and completion of a program evaluation form for each session are required to receive continuing pharmacy education credit and a Statement of Credit.

Renee Renganathan