Immediate Past President, Nigerian Association of Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists in the Americas (NAPPSA) Dr Teresa Pounds, has identified the successful affiliation of NAPPSA to the FIP as a member organisation, as her greatest delight, as the collaboration will enhance the progress of NAPPSA in no mean measure.
Pounds, while highlighting the achievements of her tenure, in an exclusive interview with Pharmanewsonline at the just concluded 17th Annual Scientific Conference of the National Association of Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists in the Americas (NAPPSA) held in Colombus Ohio, USA, recently, mentioned the benefits of the new relationship with FIP, saying it will afford NAPPSA access to invaluable resources and global trends in Pharmacy.
“Other benefits of this affiliation include access to newsletters, research publications, consultancy on practice, advocacy role of pharmacists and access to a pharmacy science section, provision of advocacy tools for use with government, as well as online meetings and seminars on pertinent topics, enabling us to stay informed and promote best practices in Pharmacy”, she stated..
She further noted the registration of NAPPSA as an NGO in Nigeria, as another milestone for her tenure, as this will really help the organisation’s collaboration efforts with some key stakeholders in Nigeria. It will also help some activities in the Foundation to get going.
The former NAPPSA President also expressed her fulfillment in what the organisation is doing, in terms of community pharmacy, as the landscape is changing in Pharmacy globally. She said pharmacy practice is going through turbulent times presently, meaning it is transiting into a new era, and the new era is, practitioners are going into the community pharmacy setting from dispensing into clinical practice.
“In recognition of the challenges faced by independent pharmacy owners within our association, we developed a Patent-Centred Clinical Pharmacy Solutions Pilot Programmed (NAPPSA –PCPS). This initiative aims to improve patient health outcomes through value-based clinical services that are eligible for reimbursement.
“Three focus groups have been created namely, Business Development Focus Group-to come up with financial benefits for NAPPSA members; Value-Based Practice Focused Group= focus on clinical pharmacy initiative ; and Clinical Pharmacy /Pharmaceutical sciences strategic group.
“Not only are we doing that, we also want to show value for all the clinical activities pharmacists are doing, in other words, billing, getting reimbursement for it, so NAPPSA is looking at that. We also continue our strong relationship with key stakeholders in Nigeria, and others that were present at the NAPPSA conference, and that will continue”, she explained.
Dr Pounds did not fail to mention the solid communication platforms she and her team were able to create for NAPPSA in ensuring connectivity among members. She listed some for the forums they introduced for communication purposes to include quarterly town hall meetings, distribution of President’s Monthly Pulse Newsletter, and other social forums.
Asked about the sustainability of her clinical practice legacy, with the new president not being a clinical practitioner, she said the new president is aware that he has an experienced clinician like herself in his executive committee at his disposal for support.
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Congratulations to Dr Pounds for a very successful tenure