In the midst of the COVID-19 emergency and the end of National Pharmacists Week, Colegio de Farmacéticos de Puerto Rico officially launched its digital educational platform that is now available to its affiliated members. As the world faces one of the biggest health crisis of modern time, calling for an international pause and social distancing, the need for new and inventive solutions to learning and connecting, especially in the realm of health services, is as urgent as ever before.
This is why Abarca has teamed up with Colegio to launch our first continuing education course on Drug Utilization Review (DUR) Management Tools. In this pilot phase, the online course is available to community pharmacists via invite and valid toward one credit.
“Abarca is excited to be the first company to participate in this educational initiative and contribute to the performance of our pharmaceutical community, and in turn, to the health of the people of our communities,” said Suzette Vélez-Rivera, director of Clinical Services at Abarca and leader of the course’s design efforts.
The DUR online course is the first in a series being offered through our Off Road Pharmacy Program, an educational initiative providing news, resources, and opportunities to the pharmaceutical community. The course provides a unique opportunity to learn more about the role of Drug Utilization Review Management tools and strategies in managed care and drug safety use, as well as the responsibilities of the pharmacist and pharmacy technician in the process.
“In the chain of health services, the role of the pharmacist is crucial — being the closest link to the patient. Not only in the matter of medication formulations but just as important, in adherence, to ensure that the patient completes their treatment. To offer our knowledge to the service and empowerment of our community pharmacists, who day in and day out are performing extraordinary work, is our way of contributing to the excellence in health care in our country,” concludes Vélez-Rivera.
Additionally, Abarca’s clinical team is in the process of developing our next online course which will focus on the topic of adherence –the subjects of the following courses under the Off Road Pharmacy Program will be determined based on the results of the survey we sent to pharmacies in December of last year. Through this cutting edge program, we reaffirm our commitment to going off road in new initiatives and collaboration with the pharmaceutical community in favor of the patients we serve. In this time of isolation, we urge all community pharmacists and technicians to take advantage of these remote tools which are as beneficial as ever before.
Stay tuned to learn more about this new kind of pharmacy and upcoming Continuing Education course opportunities. We expect that during the summer of 2020, our second online course on the subject of Adherence will be recorded and available online through digital educational platforms. As an added value of the Off Road Pharmacy Program, we are excited to announce that we have also recently hired two full-time educators and service providers to serve as an extra resource to our community nurses, doctors, and pharmacists.
We thank the pharmaceutical community in advance for finding better ways to make healthcare awesome for our patients and members, even amid the health emergency.
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