CPPA Seeks Comments on Draft Standards for Community Pharmacy Practice Accreditation

The Center for Pharmacy Practice Accreditation (CPPA) seeks review and comment on the newly released draft standards for community pharmacy practice accreditation. The draft standards will serve as the basis for community pharmacy practice accreditation. They are designed to facilitate the delivery of quality pharmacy services to patients, as well as recognize and stimulate innovative community pharmacy practices.

“Input from pharmacists, health care system stakeholders, consumer groups and patients – the ultimate recipients of pharmacist services – is vitally important to the establishment of consensus standards for community pharmacy practice accreditation,” stated Thomas E. Menighan, BSPharm, ScD, MBA, CPPA President and chair of the CPPA Board of Directors. “The draft standards being released today are the product of months of consideration by a broad group of stakeholders. Yet, this draft is only a start. Ultimately the standards and process will be as good as the input we receive. Well developed and implemented standards can create the specificity, measurability and predictability that are required for broad adoption of pharmacists’ services as the norm in health care.”

CPPA is a partnership between the American Pharmacists Association and the NABP. CPPA develops and implements comprehensive programs of pharmacy practice site accreditation, including the promotion, development, and maintenance of principles, policies, and standards. CPPA offers the general public and users of pharmacy services a means of identifying those pharmacies that satisfy the accreditation criteria and are focused on advancing patient care, safety, and quality.

Public participation in the review of these standards is important. To review the draft standards and submit comments, visit https://cppa.pharmacist.com. The deadline for submissions is August 15, 2012. The full news release is available on the American Pharmacists Association Web site.