APhA leader's plan to leave office takes center stage at its conference

List of accomplishments

Gans' imminent departure comes at a time when there's much the association can write home about. Not only is membership at a record high of 63,000, but also there's progress to report on many fronts, said president-elect Timothy Tucker, Pharm.D. The expansion of APhA headquarters is ahead of schedule and under budget. More than $8 million have been raised toward the goal of $15 million. APhA staffers expect to move into their new home on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in 2009.

Results were also reported from the first phase of Project Destiny, a collaborative effort among APhA, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, and the National Community Pharmacists Association. According to APhA president Winnie Landis, the project's goal is to expand from a commoditized dispensing model to a service-based approach that is scalable, measurable, and economically viable.

BearingPoint, the consulting firm the three groups have hired, has issued a report, which calls for the development of primary care pharmacists who would work to reduce overall healthcare costs and empower patients to manage their own health. The work being done by this project will help the profession achieve the 2015 vision of pharmacy practice as adopted by the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners, Landis said.

Other initiatives

APhA also released the following news at its meeting:

"Over the next two years, as we move into a new headquarters and transition to new leadership, we will always remember the vision and progress John Gans and our association's leaders have provided," Tucker concluded.

Policies passed at a glance

As if there wasn't enough going on at the APhA annual meeting, the House of Delegates also passed these policies: