In June 2009, the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (now called the Board of Pharmacy Specialties) officially recognized Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Practice as a specialty.  The petition to recognize Ambulatory Care Pharmacy was jointly sponsored and drafted by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, American Pharmacists Association, and American Society of Health-System Pharmacy.  To become recognized as a specialty practice within pharmacy required the petitioning organization(s) to document:

  • a NEED for the specialty, 
  • sufficient DEMAND for the specialty, 
  • a reasonably large cohort of individuals (NUMBER) who spend a significant amount of TIME working in the specialty,
  • that individuals in the specialty have specialized KNOWLEDGE and FUNCTIONS,
  • specialized EDUCATION and TRAINING (beyond the entry level degree) prepares people to become specialists, and
  • there are mediums for the TRANSMISSION OF KNOWLEDGE within the specialty.

The Ambulatory Care Specialty Council was formed in January 2010 and these individuals are responsible for overseeing the credential and protecting its integrity.  A general outline of theAmbulatory Care Specialty examination has been publicly announced and the domains include:

  • Direct Patient Care (50% of the exam)
  • Practice Management (20% of the exam)
  • Public Health (5% of exam)
  • Retrieval, Generation, Interpretation, and Dissemination of Knowledge (15% of exam)
  • Patient Advocacy (10% of exam)

iForum Rx is a medium for the TRANSMISSION OF KNOWLEDGE among ambulatory care specialists. The members of iForum Rx contribute their time and expertise to this on-line, interactive media … and in so doing improve patient care in ambulatory care settings.  We will keep you informed about the latest news that impacts Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Practice and how to prepare for board certification.  Stay tuned!