Virtual center to offer courses on complex disease states, including oncology, fertility, hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis and chronic inflammatory/autoimmune diseases
At the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) Annual Meeting & Expo in Washington D.C. today, Walgreens, in collaboration with NASP and ProCE Inc., a continuing pharmacy and medical education company, announced an accredited, web-based continuing education (CE) center customized specifically for Walgreens specialty pharmacists.
As part of its ongoing professional development and clinical training programs for its pharmacists, Walgreens will offer a range of on-demand as well as live education courses across many of the most prevalent disease states managed within specialty pharmacy. These include: oncology, fertility, hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis and chronic inflammatory/autoimmune diseases. The courses are provided by NASP, the only national trade association representing specialty pharmacy, and serving as both the leading educational resource and national advocate for specialty healthcare professionals and patients.
The Walgreens continuing education curriculum and portal, which will go live in January, is based off of NASP’s existing virtual Center for Specialty Pharmacy Education (CSPE) powered by ProCE. Developed last year by NASP’s advisory panel and ProCE, the CSPE is a professionally managed, online learning platform that provides accredited continuing pharmacy education (CPE) activities, examinations, and credit tracking for specialty pharmacists seeking advanced training and recognition for their enhanced knowledge and experience to improve patient care.
“We’re proud to collaborate with NASP and ProCE, two highly-reputable, nationally recognized organizations which share our strong commitment to continuing education and patient care,” said Gerald Gleeson, group vice president, Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy. “Ongoing education and training are critical to ensuring our pharmacists can provide the highest levels of care and service, while helping patients with complex conditions navigate the complexities of their treatment, and providing comprehensive support when and where they need it most.”
The Walgreens customized continuing education portal features dashboard reports at both the aggregate and individual levels to track utilization and CE credits issued to Walgreens specialty pharmacists enrolled in the program. In addition, Walgreens will have the ability to assign specific CE activities to enrolled pharmacists and to track an individually-enrolled pharmacist’s activity through course completion.
“In this exciting and ever-changing juncture in specialty pharmacy, pharmacist education is of utmost importance,” said Richard Lewis, CEO of ProCE. “ProCE’s proven technology platform and content expertise will ensure that the Walgreens online education offering stays fresh, timely and relevant while always reflecting the expertise and knowledge of a wide range of specialty pharmacy industry leaders.”
After completing a post-test with instant grading, Walgreens specialty pharmacists can electronically claim Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) CPE credit through CPE Monitor, a national database of CPE credits through which pharmacists can track their credits and state boards of pharmacy can verify that the pharmacists have met the CPE requirements for license renewal.
“Our virtual Center for Specialty Pharmacy Education is rapidly becoming the largest source of specialty pharmacy education available,” said Burt Zweigenhaft, President of the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy. “On behalf of the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy, we applaud Walgreens industry leadership and extraordinary commitment to continued education and advanced training of its specialty pharmacists to support the ever-growing needs of the patients they serve. Walgreens specialty pharmacists are not only taking the courses and getting CPE credit, they are also CSPE advisors, reviewers and faculty.”