ASHP President, Christene Jolowsky, recently appointed Dr. Dan Rackham (’08) as Vice-Chair to the Council on Therapeutics of ASHP for 2014-2015. Dr. Rackham has served on the Council for two years and looks forward to his third year of service as the Vice-Chair.
The Council on Therapeutics reviews and develops ASHP professional policies and position statements related to safe and appropriate use of medicines. Within the Council’s purview are the benefits and risks of drug products, the evidence-based use of medicines, the application of drug information in practice, and other related matters. They routinely review guidelines developed by ASHP and other multidisciplinary medical organizations to recommend whether or not the guidelines should be approved or endorsed by ASHP.
As Vice-Chair, Dr. Rackham will attend Policy Week at ASHP Headquarters in Bethesda, MD in September. At Policy Week, the Council will spend two days deliberating the profession’s most pressing issues. The results of these deliberations are reviews by the Board of Directors and then approved by the House of Delegates during its session at the Summer Meeting in June. These policies are a key part of ASHP’s advocacy efforts and form the basis of outreach to decision makers in Congress, quality organizations, and other stakeholders. Policy Week participants also take part in the Society’s annual Legislative Day at the Capitol in Washington, DC. Members meet with the Congressional representatives and their staffs to educate them about pharmacists’ patient care roles and to garner support for ASHP’s top legislative priorities.