IPA in Action

PHARMACY STAKEHOLDER MEETING

The Iowa Pharmacy Stakeholder group convened on January 26, 2021, which included leaders from Iowa’s colleges of pharmacy, CPESNIA, the Board of Pharmacy, and CEimpact. The discussion included updates on IPA’s bills introduced during the legislative session and the Practice Act Taskforce, as well as COVID-19’s impact on the perception of the pharmacy profession as pharmacy school enrollment and applications continue to decline. The importance of all pharmacy organizations taking ownership to positively impact the profession was emphasized, including the need for media to showcase the profession’s valuable role. Many of the stakeholders shared their direct contributions to addressing the pandemic, including vaccine distribution efforts, ongoing collaboration with local public health departments, and implementation of immunization training. The stakeholder group is scheduled to convene again in May.

DIABETES STATEWIDE STRATEGY MEETING

Hosted by IDPH, the Diabetes Statewide Strategy Meeting serves as a method for implementing unifying goals and actions to address diabetes as a priority health issue. With the goal of improving diabetes outcomes in quality, patient safety, patient experience and cost, IPA regularly attends to share examples of innovative work in the pharmacy profession and upcoming opportunities, as well as to engage others in discussion of successes and challenges. The group met in January to discuss resources for Diabetes Prevention Programs (DPP) and Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES), including a series of educational webinars and a virtual platform for support. Additionally, a new data source, PLACES, was discussed as a means to better understand the burden and geographic distribution of health-related outcomes in Iowa’s counties for assistance with planning public health interventions.

IOWA PHARMACIST WORKFORCE REPORT RELEASED

In February, the Iowa Pharmacist Tracking System Advisory Committee convened to review the newest report from the Iowa Health Professions Tracking Center. Representatives on this advisory committee include IPA, the Board of Pharmacy, and representatives from each college of pharmacy. The report summarized the Iowa pharmacist workforce trends through the end of 2019. Some key points highlighted in the report, include: • A total of 2,955 working pharmacists in Iowa, which is a net loss of 32 pharmacists from 2018 • 66% have a PharmD degree, and 65% are female • 11 counties have 50% of practicing pharmacists over the age of 55

FALLS PREVENTION MEETING

In March, IPA met with the Iowa Falls Prevention Coalition, a network of health care organizations with a mission to foster collaboration among state, community, and health care system partners to reduce falls by building awareness and providing education about falls. At the March meeting, representatives from the Brain Injury Alliance of Iowa (BIAIA) and the Iowa Department of Public Health presented on “Approaching Brain Injury as a Health Outcome from Intimate Partner Violence.” Sharmi Patel, Executive Fellow at IPA, and Payton Augustine, fourth-year pharmacy student at the University of Iowa and current IPA pharmacy student intern, presented on the role of medications in falls prevention and recent pharmacy initiatives that address fall risk, including the Rural Community Opioid Response Program (RCORP). IPA looks forward to contributing to the Iowa Falls Prevention Coalition in the future through educational opportunities and pharmacy-related initiatives. The charter continues to meet every other month via a virtual platform.

APhA VIRTUAL 2021 ANNUAL MEETING

From March 12-15, the American Pharmacists Assocation (APhA) hosted their Annual Meeting in a virtual format to help showcase that “Pharmacy’s Future Starts Here.” APhA welcomed keynote speakers Janet Woodcock, MD, the Acting Commission of Food and Drugs at the FDA, and Dan Schneider, the pharmacist spotlighted in the Netflix series entitled The Pharmacist, to speak and engage with attendees throughout the weekend event. In addition, the APhA House of Delegates convened and debated topics related to health inequities, harassment, and national organization unity.

This year, IPA celebrated the installment of Wendy Mobley-Bukstein as the president for the APhA Academy of Pharmacy Practice & Management (APPM). She will serve in this role for one year. Congratulations, Wendy!

IDAC MEETING: IPA HELPS GUIDE COVID-19 VACCINE DISTRIBUTION

Given the limited federal distribution of FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines, the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) convened a team of appointed external and internal subject matter experts, known collectively as the Infectious Disease Advisory Council (IDAC), in December 2020 and January 2021. This council assisted the IDPH Director and Medical Director in developing COVID-19 vaccine distribution guidance and prioritization of populations for early in the vaccination response when vaccine supply was limited. IPA CEO Kate Gainer was invited to participate on this advisory council that brought together clinical and ethical expertise from across the state, including university leadership, infectious disease specialists, local public health agencies, key provider associations that represent vulnerable populations, and IDPH along with other state agency representatives.

IDAC developed recommendations for vaccine prioritization within the critical populations of healthcare personnel, critical infrastructure workers, and people at increased risk for severe COVID-19 illness and developed priority subset groups that promote public health and enable social and economic activity. These priority recommendations recognized the importance of treating individuals fairly and promoting social equity, by addressing racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 mortality, and by recognizing the contributions of critical infrastructure workers. IDAC submitted the vaccine priority recommendations and priority subsets to the Director of IDPH for consideration and approval. The approved recommendations served a critical purpose throughout the early days of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

This wasn’t the first state-based advisory group for the profession to assist in the managing the pandemic in Iowa. In June 2020, several IPA members with infectious disease expertise served on the Remdesivir Advisory Committee. In September and October 2020, IPA staff served on the Vaccine Planning & Distribution Workgroup.