Specialty Pharmacy Times® Celebrates National Pharmacist Day

January 12, 2018, is National Pharmacist Day, a date set aside to honor and recognize the positive impact that pharmacists have in health care. Pharmacist recognition days are crucial for increasing awareness about the importance of the profession.

As health care becomes more collaborative and pharmacists are integrated into care teams, the true significance of the profession has come to light.

On November 1, 2017, Specialty Pharmacy Times® and Pharmacy Times® launched the joint #APharmacistIs campaign to celebrate the crucial role of the pharmacist in both the patient journey and in the real world.

During this ongoing campaign, pharmacists from all walks of life have shared numerous photos on social media showing interests ranging from waterfall rappelling in Costa Rica, to painting, to playing in a rock band comprised of nearly all pharmacists.

The #APharmacistIs campaign, much like National Pharmacist Day, seeks to raise awareness in the health care space and among the general public to provide a better understanding of who pharmacists are and just how important they are for overall patient health.

Traditionally, individuals may think of pharmacists as a health care professional who wears a white coat and puts pills in a bottle, but we know that the role of the pharmacist expands beyond dispensing drugs and that filling prescriptions is just the beginning of their mission.

The goal of the #APharmacistIs campaign is to break certain assumptions and show another side of pharmacists. Pharmacists can use the #APharmacistIs platform to define their true role and help differentiate the countless faces of pharmacists.

Especially in the specialty space, pharmacists help patients manage complex, high-touch drug regimens and mitigate potentially dangerous adverse events. Specialty pharmacists also help patients navigate their insurance and address cost concerns to ensure that they remain adherent to therapy.

“As specialty products and therapies are complex the degree of influence specialty pharmacists have in managing patients is also complex and greater,” said Dan Steiber, RPh, Specialty Pharmacy Times® editor-in-chief. “Studies have shown role of specialty pharmacy has a profound impact on the outcomes of therapy, largely driven by the work done by specialty pharmacists and the support personnel associated with their practice.”

Pharmacists make a difference every day in the pharmacy and in their personal lives. On National Pharmacist day, we encourage you, your co-workers, family members, and friends to share photos of you doing an activity of you enjoy or tell us how you are celebrating the day. Be sure to use #APharmacistIs and tag Specialty Pharmacy Times® and Pharmacy Times® on social media.

As the role of pharmacists expand, recognizing the many facets of the profession will only become more important.

“The practice of specialty pharmacy continues to grow in prominence and relevance, these are the ‘experts’ in the drug expert field of pharmacy,” Steiber concluded.