NABP and APhA Partner to Develop Voluntary Accreditation for Community Pharmacies

November 4, 2011 4:27 PM

NABP is partnering with the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) to develop a voluntary accreditation program for community pharmacies. The associations will work together to develop, test, and implement standards and the accreditation process, and the program is expected to launch in 2012. As emphasized in an APhA press release, the program standards “will be focused on assisting pharmacies in the ongoing patient safety and quality initiatives that support the best interest of patients.” Further, both APhA and NABP see the developing community pharmacy practice accreditation as supporting the realization of the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners’ (JCPP) 2015 Vision for Pharmacy Practice which envisions that “Pharmacists will be the health care professionals responsible for providing patient care that ensures optimal medication therapy outcomes.” The NABP 2011 Report of the Executive Committee (PDF), presented by 2010-2011 NABP Executive Committee Chairperson, Gary A. Schnabel, RN, RPh, at the Association’s 107th Annual Meeting, stressed that the change in pharmacy practice envisioned in the JCPP statement “can be realized with the community pharmacy accreditation program.”