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National Association of Specialty Pharmacy Annual Meeting and Expo to Offer Unique Virtual Experience
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This year’s annual NASP meeting will feature an enhanced virtual environment that allows attendees to earn required CPE credits, share best practices, and browse a convention hall.
The National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) Annual Meeting and Expo will take place between September 14 and 18, 2020, and will be held within a unique virtual environment.
Although the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic prevents an in-person expo this year, a virtual experience will allow attendees to earn required continuing pharmacy education (CPE) credits, share best practices, enhance their knowledge, and even wander a virtual convention hall with an array of poster presentations. The meeting will have a shortened daily schedule with a later start time in order to allow participants from all over the country to participate, even those in different time zones.
“Attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors have my promise and commitment that the NASP Annual Meeting and Expo Virtual Experience will be the next best thing to being there,” said President and CEO of the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy, Sheila Arquette, RPh. “Utilizing innovation and cutting-edge technology, we will deliver all of what folks love and come to expect from the NASP live meeting.”
Five preconference offerings will also be made available for a separate fee. Sessions include a technology workshop, a workshop on hospital/health system networks, and a CSP exam prep course. The NASP Fifth Annual Specialty Pharmacy Law Conference will also be held before the conference on September 14. An ancillary event focusing on women in specialty pharmacy will be available for a sperate fee.
The NASP meeting is an education-focused event, with plenty of opportunities for participants to earn CPE credits and the registration fee covers the cost of these credits. For each session participants intend to earn credit for, a post-test and evaluation must be completed at the conclusion of the conference, according to the NASP website. The post-test and evaluation can be found at proce.com and deadlines will be announced prior to the meeting.
“As the leader in specialty pharmacy, NASP views education as one of their foundational areas. Whereby, stakeholders from every walk of the industry can grow, regardless of who you work for. That way, we position programs to be agnostic to the organization,” said Jonathan Ogurchak, PharmD, CSP, who serves as educational consultant for NASP. “Whether you are coming from a pharma company, whether you’re coming from a health system, whether you’re coming from a specialty pharmacy itself, we want to give you the opportunity to grow and learn. Those things really are central to how the specialty pharmacy experience should be managed.”
This year’s NASP Annual Meeting and Expo will also focus on the COVID-19 pandemic and how it will affect pharmacists. COVID-19 Products or Services is one of the categories for abstract submission. Other categories include, adherence, outcomes, student research, and delivery of specialty pharmacy products or services, according to the meeting’s website.
Two satellite symposia will also be held. The first, “Available Therapies for Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome: The Roles of Specialty and Infusion Pharmacists,” will be held on September 14 from 8-9 pm EST. It is sponsored by Pharmacy Times Continuing Education. The second, session sponsored by Pharmacy Times Continuing Education, titled “The Expanding Therapy Landscape for Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria: A Review for Specialty and Infusion Pharmacists,” will take place on September 17 from 8-9 pm EST.
“NASP is unique because it’s the advocate for all walks of the specialty pharmacy industry,” Ogurchak said. “They’re [from] pharmacies themselves, obviously, but then you also have representation from payers, from manufacturers, from venders, and service providers that all work together to build that overall specialty experience. And with specialty growing into so many different walks and different avenues of the pharmacy industry as a whole…as an organization, [NASP} represents the needs of all of those groups.”
Several awards, such as the Specialty Pharmacy Service Excellence Award and the Specialty Pharmacy of the Year Award, will be presented at the conference. A full list of awards and nomination criteria can be found at naspmeeting.com/annual-meeting-awards.
