October is American Pharmacists Month! The theme this year is Caring for Our Communities. According to their website, “there are over 700,000 pharmacists, technicians, and student pharmacists, and each one is dedicated to improving public health by providing vital services in keeping their communities safe. About 90% of all Americans live within 5 miles of a pharmacy, and in some cases, it is the only accessible form of health care available in the community. Patients visit their pharmacy and their pharmacists twice as often as they visit their physician’s office and their primary care provider.”
Two specialty practice areas where pharmacists are part of the interdisciplinary care team are hospice care and palliative care. Palliative Care provides support to patients living with serious illness and their caregivers no matter the stage or prognosis and independent of the type if medical interventions they seek. Hospice Care provides support to patients with serious illness and their care givers when it is likely they will die within the next six months and are no longer seeking curative interventions. Both specialties, however, provide pain and symptom management to patients and try to improve their quality of life.
Pharmacists play a critical role on the team to ensure these core functions are addressed. This can include managing side effects from treatment or illness such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, appetite, and dyspnea. They provide expert pain intervention recommendations like pain assessments to guide which medication is the best for a specific type of pain, prescribing opioids and opioid conversion, using buprenorphine, deprescribing medications and many other interventions.
Pharmacists can get specialty certification in hospice and palliative care through a few programs including University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy-St. Louis and the University of Iowa. The Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS) offers board certification in several areas that would complement hospice and palliative care. Specialty Certificate is available through the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP)
Additional education, training and support for pharmacist interested in hospice and palliative care can be obtained through the Society of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacists (SPPCP) and the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC).
If you are fortunate enough to work alongside a pharmacist be sure to thank them this month for their dedication, expertise and kindness.
South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations (SDAHO) is a proud member of the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC), the nation’s leading resource dedicated to increasing the availability of quality health care for people living with a serious illness. CAPC is offering a 15% discounted membership rate to SDAHO members. CAPC members receive exclusive access to technical assistance and clinical training through a robust online course curriculum with free continuing education credits; call-in consulting with national experts in the palliative care field; hundreds of ready-to-use tools and resources; webinars on common topics; and a vibrant, collaborative community of health care professionals working with people living with a serious illness. One CAPC membership provides an organization’s entire staff with full access to CAPC training, tools, and expert resources. Learn more at capc.org or contact the CAPC membership team at membership@capc.org or 626-599-3730.
