ASHP Foundation

Helping Patients Over the Years
The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Research and Education Foundation is the professional foundation associated with the national professional organization that represents pharmacists practicing in hospitals and health systems, ASHP. Our work is focused on conducting research and educational activities that help pharmacists provide care to patients in our nation’s hospitals and health systems, leading to optimal medication outcomes.

The ASHP Foundation has a long history of conducting programs that benefit patients. Our work is centered on improving the knowledge, skills, and abilities of pharmacists to assume responsibility of drug therapy for patients. Here is a highlight of some of the major research and educational activities that have led to improvements in patient care:

In 1985, the ASHP Foundation spearheaded a major consensus conference entitled “Directions for Clinical Practice in Pharmacy-the Hilton Head Conference.” This sparked and fueled the movement for pharmacists to assume greater roles in the medication use decision making process and working on multidisciplinary teams.

The concept of a combined self-study program and a week-long practical experience program in anticoagulation patient management was born. In 1986, the Foundation developed a program called a traineeship which was designed both to enhance the knowledge, skills and abilities of competent practitioners, but also guarantee that the knowledge gained in the week-long practical program will be applied at the attendee’s hospital. Traineeships enabled knowledgeable clinical pharmacists to get specialized drug therapy management skills.

In 1992, the Foundation supported research on the evaluation of clinical pharmacy on inpatient outcomes. Entitled the Walter Reed Project, it took 2 years to complete and demonstrated the positive impact on patient care when pharmacists are involved in rounds and monitor and manage drug therapy.

These activities demonstrate our unique focus on fostering improvements in the pharmacist’s abilities to improve patient’s health and well-being. The ASHP Research and Education Foundation has a long history of supporting a range of educational and research efforts to foster the safe use of medications and prevent medication errors. We hope you see the same benefits and want to support the Foundation.

For more information about other ASHP Foundation activities go to www.ashpfoundation.org.

Educational Program
New practitioners (pharmacists, physicians and nurses) must assume a personal responsibility for developing logical and safe thought processes in the execution of their responsibilities in the medication-use system. The purpose of this project was to help integrate safety concepts into health professional curricula. The ASHP Foundation convened a committee of experts in the area of medication safety to develop this program. Committee members worked on targeting content for a teaching tool to help instruct and orient health professional students and new practitioners in their professional responsibilities in the medication-use system. Each professional would gain the knowledge of their own professional responsibilities and also be exposed to other colleague's roles in the medication-use process. One of the major stumbling blocks to change in the medication-use process is the awareness of what other professional colleagues responsibilities are compared to their own.

Virginia Daine, R.N.
Nurse Consultant for Performance Improvement
The Clinical Center
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, Maryland

Patricia C. Kienle, M.P.A., R.Ph.
Medication Safety Manager
Cardinal Health Pharmacy Management
Laflin, Pennsylvania

Peter Pronovost, M.D., Ph.D.
Medical Director of the Center for Innovation in Quality Patient Care
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Baltimore, Maryland

Marc Summerfield, M.S., R.Ph.
Director, Department of Pharmacy Services
University of Maryland Medical Center
Baltimore, Maryland

This program was made possible through a grant from Hospira Worldwide, Inc.