The ASHP Midyear 2022 Clinical Meeting & Exhibition convened from Sunday, December 4, 2022, to Thursday, December 8, 2022, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following a couple of years of virtual Midyears brought on by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the meeting finally returned as an in-person assembly.

“I am thrilled to see all of us together again here in Las Vegas,” said ASHP 2022-2023 President Paul Walker, PharmD, FASHP, during Monday’s Opening Session. “This year’s theme is ‘More than a Meeting,’” he added, “which is especially relevant as we come together in person for the first time since 2019.”
 
Dr. Walker continued, “During my inaugural address, I emphasized that we are better together. We each bring valuable, diverse perspective to our work, and we are better together, when diverse voices are included and heard.”

He noted that in 2022, ASHP membership surpassed 60,000 and is “still growing.” He explained, “ASHP is better together as our pharmacists, our student pharmacists, and our technicians provide optimal care to patients across the entire spectrum of healthcare. The Midyear Meeting presents tremendous opportunities…to share your ideas and gain new perspectives, and to learn about the latest in pharmacy practice and research, and to explore our expansive exhibit program.”

Turning to the ASHP’s efforts in shaping public policy, Dr. Walker said, “We are better together when we advocate to improve the health of our patients. We remain to committed to our efforts to protect the 340B drug-pricing program, and we continue to call on Congress to pass the Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries maintain access to this essential pharmacist care and pharmacist services.” He added that a number of states have expanded their pharmacist payment program, pointing out that 47 states currently provide payment for pharmacist services.

Continuing the theme of collaboration, he said, “ASHP is also better together as we embrace an exciting future for the pharmacy profession.” As an example, Dr. Walker cited the ASHP Leadership Center, an “exciting new resource that facilitates leadership in our profession for pharmacists at all career levels and all career positions, from students to seasoned executives.” In addition, he described a new ASHP section for digital and telehealth practitioners to address the rapidly evolving advances in digital health, telehealth, and the use of data to improve and inform clinical decision making.

Commemorating an impressive milestone this year—the ASHP’s 80th anniversary—Dr. Walker said ASHP’s work through the decades is ”rooted in bringing diverse voices together to drive excellence within our organization and within the profession ensures that we are all working toward our vision to ensure that medication use if optimal, safe, and effective for all people all of the time.”

Looking ahead toward preparing the profession’s future practitioners, Dr. Walker cited a new scholarship program that is “part of ASHP’s longstanding commitment to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion. Supporting the ASHP Task Force on Racial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the scholarship will seek to increase representation from historically underrepresented groups in the pharmacy workforce. The inaugural program will award a total of $25,000 in scholarships to pharmacy students enrolled at U.S.-accredited Historically Black Colleges and Universities beginning in fall 2023.   

Wrapping up, Dr. Walker said, “It has been another challenging year, and through it all, through natural disasters, the ongoing toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, emerging health threats, and more, you have all stepped up and continue to give your patients your best,” adding, “Collaboration is central to our profession and our work. We are better together. We could not do what we do without you."