Pharmacy Times Continuing Education™ Announces Keynote Speakers for Directions in Oncology Pharmacy™ Fall Conference Series

Pharmacy Times Continuing Education™ (PTCE), a leader in continuing education for retail, health-system, managed care, oncology, and specialty pharmacists, has named Emily Mackler, PharmD, BCOP, and Evelyn Handel, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, as keynote speakers for the 2019 Directions in Oncology Pharmacy™ fall conference series. The keynote, Priming Pharmacists for Making an Impact in Oncology Value-Based Care, sets the stage for the entire conference and highlights how pharmacists are critical to the multidisciplinary team in providing value in patient-centered oncology care.

“We are excited to welcome Drs. Mackler and Handel as this year’s keynote speakers for the Directions in Oncology Pharmacy™ conferences,” said Jim Palatine, RPh, MBA, president of PTCE. “Mackler and Handel have broad experience and leadership in the evolving landscape of oncology practice and pharmacists’ roles, and their expertise will add unparalleled insight to each meeting.”

Mackler is the director of clinical quality initiatives at the Michigan Oncology Quality Consortium (MOQC). She served as the keynote speaker for the Oct. 5 conference in Chicago, Illinois. She also will serve as the keynote speaker for the Oct. 19 conference at the Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek in Orlando, Florida.

Mackler has made great contributions to the development of oncology pharmacy practice and pharmacists’ education, and she has been a driving force of advancement at Michigan Medicine since joining in 2002. In 2003, Mackler founded the University of Michigan’s Oncology Specialty Residency, serving as program director for nearly 10 years, and then was a founding pharmacist in the Cancer Center Symptom Management and Supportive Care Program from 2009 to 2012. Additionally, she was a founding director of the University of Michigan Oral Chemotherapy Program in 2012 as well as MOQC’s Oral Oncolytic Program in 2013. Mackler serves as the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA) Quality Oversight Committee chair and HOPA’s National Quality Forum representative.

Handel is the director of the Drugs & Biologics Program at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and will serve as the keynote speaker for the meeting on Nov. 9 at the Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan in New York City.

Handel oversees drug information resources, including the Drugs & Biologics Compendium and the Chemotherapy Order Templates, which facilitate the safe and effective use of anticancer therapies that are recommended in the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology. Before joining the NCCN, Handel was an oncology clinical pharmacist specialist at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York, and previously at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, Virginia. Handel is also an active member of HOPA and the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners (ISOPP). Most recently, she served as the secretary of the board of directors for ISOPP.

The Directions in Oncology Pharmacy™ fall conference series is held in major cities across the United States and provides live practical education to pharmacists in the inpatient, ambulatory, infusion and specialty pharmacy practice settings. These meetings will focus on evolving treatment strategies, including the use of checkpoint inhibitors and targeted oral and infusion therapies for the care of patients with solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. In addition to the keynote address, specific sessions on topics including head and neck cancer, melanoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, hepatocellular carcinoma, oncology biosimilars, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, triple-negative breast cancer, and acute myeloid leukemia will highlight evidence for new therapies and pharmacists’ roles in delivering care to optimize patient outcomes.

Accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, each meeting provides attendees with the opportunity to earn up to 6.75 continuing education credits, including law and patient safety credit.

This conference is supported by educational grants from Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Celgene Corporation; Eisai; Jazz Pharmaceuticals; Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.; and Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company and Janssen Biotech, Inc.

For more information and to register for the fall conference series, vist the Directions in Oncology Pharmacy website at Pharmacy Times.org.