Emergency Preparedness and Compounding Sessions Added to Fall Legislative Conference FDA and CMS to Participate in Discussions

August 15, 2007 12:00 AM

Two sessions featuring the timely topics of emergency preparedness and compounding are the latest additions to a program already full with exciting and relevant educational sessions available at the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy^® (NABP^®) Fall Legislative Conference to be held September 16-18, 2007, in Arlington, VA. Featured speakers at these new sessions include representatives of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

On Monday, September 17, the session “Moving Forward with Emergency Preparedness” will feature representatives from the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL), CMS, and NABP. In particular, the session will discuss the importance of licensure recognition to assist the state boards of pharmacy when faced with disasters, as well as CMS’s Emergency Prescription Assistance Program. Additionally, NCCUSL will explain the recently released Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act, a uniform law that the organization drafted to establish a system that quickly facilitates the deployment and use of licensed practitioners to provide health care services in response to declared disasters or emergencies.

The newly added session “FDA Discussion on Compounding” will be held on Tuesday, September 18. During this session, representatives from FDA will discuss current issues related to compounding and respond to questions and comments from participants.

In addition to these two newly added sessions, there are many other sessions that are sure to provide valuable information to state boards of pharmacy. Attendees may obtain 4.5 continuing education credits by participating in a variety of sessions:

• Legislative and Regulatory Update (0.15 CEUs or 1.5 contact hours), sponsored by Medco Health Solutions, Inc, will provide the current status of legislative issues important to the state boards of pharmacy and will be presented by Eileen M. Lewalski, PharmD, JD, NABP professional affairs manager, and Joshua M. Bolin, NABP board liaison.
• Roundtable Discussion: Political Platforms Meet Current Issues in Pharmacy Regulation (0.2 CEUs or 2 contact hours), sponsored by Abbott Laboratories, is a highly interactive session that will give attendees the chance to discuss how the 2008 presidential election may alter the regulatory environment for boards of pharmacy.
• Building the Infrastructure for Health Information Exchange (0.1 CEUs or 1 contact hour) will discuss efforts at a federal level to create a national health information network and will feature Brent I. Fox, PharmD, PhD, assistant to the dean for educational technology, Auburn University – Harrison School of Pharmacy.

To allow attendees to schedule meetings with congressional leaders, no programming has been scheduled for Monday and Tuesday afternoon of the Fall Legislative Conference. Additional educational sessions are available throughout the Conference to instruct participants on how to effectively speak with senators and representatives.

• The Federal Legislative Process: Understanding the Beltway will review the intricacies of the federal legislative process and will be presented by two representatives from the American Pharmacists Association: Catherine Polley, RPh, chief policy officer and senior vice president of government and professional affairs, and Kristina Lunner, senior director of government affairs.
• Meeting Your Congressional Leadership: Tools for a Successful Encounter will provide board members with the guidance, tools, and confidence they need for successful meetings with their congressional leadership and will feature John Coster, PhD, RPh, vice president federal affairs and public policy, Rite Aid Corp.
• 111th Congress and the New Administration: What to Expect will focus on what may be health care issues of interest and concern for the new administration based upon the predicted outcomes of the 2008 presidential election.

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 4.5 contact hours (0.45 CEUs) 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.

Larissa Doucette