This product is an ASHP Learning Center activity.
Accreditation for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technician
The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education with Commendation.
Target Audience
This self-paced, online professional certificate is designed for pharmacists who are interested in expanding their knowledge and skills in specialty pharmacy and inflammatory and neurologic disease states.
Overview
The Specialty Pharmacy Certificate is self-guided, with online learning activities that have been created for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians seeking to expand their skills in specialty pharmacy.
A learner begins with the Specialty Pharmacy Fundamentals, where the well-rounded curriculum gives the essential information on business models and operations of specialty pharmacies, patient management, specialty pharmacy accreditations, structuring outcomes to determine value within a specialty pharmacy, and specialty pharmacy disease state overviews. In order to move to the next step, a learner will need to pass the comprehensive assessment of the fundamental material.
Next, the learner will take a deep dive into their selected specialty focus area with the Inflammatory and Neurologic Disease States Track. These topics include the dermatology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, and neurology.
Professional Certificate Requirement
Once a learner has completed the Specialty PharmacyFundamentals and the Inflammatory and Neurologic Disease States Track educational curriculum, they will have the opportunity to complete the track final exam. Once the learner successfully completes the track final exam (minimum 80% passing rate; unlimited attempts permitted), they will earn the professional certificate.
Educational Activities
Specialty Pharmacy 101
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-735-H04-P & T
1 contact hour
Learning Objectives:
- Explain key specialty pharmacy terms and abbreviations.
- Compare stakeholder priorities in specialty pharmacy.
- Summarize key elements in the landscape of specialty pharmacy.
Specialty Pharmacy Organizational Models and Program Designs
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-736-H04-P & T
1.75 contact hours
Learning Objectives:
- Explain the three types of procurement models for sourcing medications administered in a health care setting (white/brown/clear bagging).
- Apply the appropriate billing method(s) for specialty medications.
- Identify differences among four different specialty pharmacy organizational structures.
- Develop a new specialty pharmacy business plan.
- Identify considerations for developing a specialty pharmacy program.
Specialty Pharmacy Patient Management
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-737-H04-P & T
1.25 contact hours
Learning Objectives:
- Explain specialty pharmacy documentation requirements.
- Discuss the tenets of specialty medication monitoring.
- Describe multidisciplinary collaborative opportunities in specialty pharmacy.
- Apply specialty medication patient education and counseling principles.
- Assess specialty medication adherence.
- Describe medication error and adverse event reporting methods.
Introduction to Specialty Pharmacy Medications
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-738-H04-P & T
1 contact hour
Learning Objectives:
- Contrast generic medications with biosimilar products.
- Explain the elements of safe medication handling and disposal.
- Evaluate strategies for drug access.
Operations: The Backbone of Specialty Pharmacy
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-739-H04-P & T
1 contact hour
Learning Objectives:
- Differentiate the roles of specialty pharmacy staff from retail and hospital pharmacy staff.
- Explain the main steps of the specialty pharmacy supply chain.
- Predict potential challenges associated with specialty medication delivery.
From Prescription to Patient: A Specialty Medication's Journey
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-740-H04-P & T
1 contact hour
Learning Objectives:
- Define the important elements of a specialty prescription.
- Analyze potential issues associated with ordering a specialty medication.
- Describe a specialty medication benefits investigation and prior authorization.
- Assess specialty prescription dispensing factors.
- Summarize the specialty prescription verification process.
- Differentiate specialty prescription delivery requirements and methods.
From Diagnosis to Treatment: The Journey for Patients with Specialty Conditions
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-741-H04-P & T
1 contact hour
Learning Objectives:
- Summarize financial assistance options for patients with specialty conditions and serving the underserved.
- Differentiate between manufacturer-provided and pharmacy-provided patient education resources.
- Interpret patient satisfaction results.
Specialty Pharmacy Accreditation and Certifications
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-742-H04-P & T
1 contact hour
Learning Objectives:
- Define specialty pharmacy accreditation.
- Assess the importance and benefits of specialty pharmacy accreditation.
- Categorize the different specialty pharmacy accreditations available.
- Differentiate between various pharmacist and pharmacy technician certifications.
Outcomes and Value of Specialty Pharmacy
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-743-H04-P & T
2.5 contact hours
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the need and methods to collect, track, and report disease-specific outcomes in specialty pharmacy practice.
- Select clinical performance outcomes measures to collect, based on key institution, patient, disease state, and stakeholder requirement factors.
- Design quality improvement initiatives to advance outcomes monitoring and response.
- Measure the clinical and economic impact of specialty pharmacy staff actions.
- Assess how the hub-and-spoke information dissemination model promotes the value of specialty pharmacy.
- Apply operational and financial metrics to assess specialty pharmacy performance.
- Critique specialty pharmacy performance based on a scorecard.
Common Specialty Pharmacy Service Lines
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-744-H04-P & T
2 contact hours
Learning Objectives:
- Summarize the basics of inflammatory diseases.
- Summarize the basics of oncology and hematology.
- Summarize the basics of neurology.
- Summarize the basics of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis.
- Summarize the basics of cystic fibrosis.
- Summarize the basics of hemophilia and PAH.
Inflammatory Conditions: The Basics
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-751-H04-P
1 contact hour
Learning Objectives:
- Categorize the management versus curative goals of therapy for inflammatory disease states.
- Summarize historical and current treatment advances for inflammatory disease states treatments.
- Assess additional clinical considerations for inflammatory disease states.
Dermatology
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-752-H01-P
2 contact hours
Learning Objectives:
- Differentiate dermatologic disease states treated with specialty medications.
- Categorize on-label versus off-label dermatologic conditions and drug therapies.
- Interpret dermatologic tools used for diagnosis.
- Evaluate vaccination requirements and recommendations.
- Summarize non-pharmacologic, non-specialty, and specialty therapies used to treat chronic dermatology conditions.
- Identify a specialty pharmacist's impact on this patient population.
Gastroenterology
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-753-H01-P
2.25 contact hours
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the prevalence and clinical presentation of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including subjective and objective diagnostic factors.
- Identify acute and long-term complications of IBD as well as risk factors for the development of long-term complications, including short gut syndrome.
- Recommend preventative care, nonpharmacologic, non-specialty, and/or infused treatments for patients with IBD.
- Select appropriate lab work to be ordered both prior to initiating and to monitor safety and efficacy of biologic and small molecule treatments.
- Counsel patients on the mechanism of action, dosing, administration, and common adverse drug events (ADRs) for currently available FDA-approved pharmacologic agents for IBD.
- Recommend pharmacologic regimens for patients with moderately-severely active IBD.
- Develop a therapeutic plan for patients with treatment failure, incomplete response, or loss of response to current pharmacologic regimen.
Rheumatology
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-754-H01-P
2 contact hours
Learning Objectives:
- Differentiate rheumatologic disease states treated with specialty medications.
- Summarize the impact of overlapping diseases.
- Interpret rheumatologic tools used for diagnosis and scoring.
- Evaluate vaccination requirements and recommendations.
- Summarize non-pharmacologic, non-specialty, infusion, and specialty therapies used to treat chronic rheumatologic conditions.
- Identify a specialty pharmacist's impact on this patient population.
Neurology
ACPE: 0204-0000-23-755-H01-P
2.25 contact hours
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the prevalence, clinical presentation, and pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis (MS), including subjective and objective diagnostic factors.
- Counsel patients on the mechanism of action, dosing, administration, and common adverse drug events (ADRs) for currently available FDA-approved pharmacologic agents for MS.
- Develop a therapeutic plan for treatment of MS in patients starting biologic treatments as well as in patients with treatment failure or intolerance to a current pharmacologic regimen.
- Recommend preventative care, nonpharmacologic treatments, non-specialty, and/or infused treatments for patients with neurologic disorders.
Faculty Information
Stefanie Cisek, PharmD, BCACP
Clinical Pharmacist
Northwestern Medicine
Chicago, Illinois
Dana Harman, PharmD, MBA, CSP
Specialty Pharmacy Manager
University of Missouri Health Care
Columbia, Missouri
Bernice Man, PharmD, BCSP, CSP, CPHQ
Clinical Pharmacy Manager
University of Chicago Medicine
Chicago, Illinois
Ashley Nixon-Mongler, PharmD, BCACP
Clinical Pharmacist
University of Missouri Health Care
Columbia, Missouri
Marci Saknini, PharmD, CSP
Clinical Pharmacist
Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy
Nashville, Tennessee
Autumn Zuckerman, PharmD, BCPS, AAHIVP, CSP
Director, Health Outcomes and Research
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tennessee
Relevant Financial Relationship Disclosure
In accordance with our accreditor's Standards of Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, ASHP requires that all individuals in control of content disclose all financial relationships with ineligible companies. An individual has a relevant financial relationship if they have had a financial relationship with ineligible company in any dollar amount in the past 24 months and the educational content that the individual controls is related to the business lines or products of the ineligible company.
An ineligible company is any entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients. The presence or absence of relevant financial relationships will be disclosed to the activity audience.
- No one in control of the content of this activity has a relevant financial relationship (RFR) with an ineligible company.
As defined by the Standards of Integrity and Independence definition of ineligible company. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated prior to the CPE activity.
Methods and CE Requirements
This online activity consists of a combined total of 15 learning modules. Pharmacists are eligible to receive a total of 23.25 hours of continuing education credit by completing all 15 modules within this professional certificate. Pharmacy technicians are eligible to receive a total of 13.5 hours of continuing education credit by completing the 10 modules within the Specialty Pharmacy Fundamentals.
Participants must participate in the entire activity and complete the evaluation and all required components to claim continuing pharmacy education credit online at ASHP Learning Center. Follow the prompts to claim credit and view your statement of credit within 60 days of completing the activity.
Important Note – ACPE 60 Day Deadline:
Per ACPE requirements, CPE credit must be claimed within 60 days of being earned. To verify that you have completed the required steps and to ensure your credits have been reported to CPE Monitor, check your NABP eProfile account to validate that your credits were transferred successfully before the ACPE 60-day deadline. After the 60-day deadline, ASHP will no longer be able to award credit for this activity.
System Technical Requirements
System requirements courses and learning activities are delivered via your web browser and Acrobat PDF. Users should have a basic comfort level using a computer and navigating web sites. View the minimum technical and system requirements for learning activities.