American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Endorses Professional Credentialing for Pharmacists and Recommends Pharmacy Profiles to Help Pharmacists Build and Maintain Their Professional Credentials

Collaboration advances a more consistent approach to documenting pharmacist education, training, credentials and professional achievements throughout a pharmacist's career 

ARLINGTON, Va. and WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) and Pharmacy Profiles, LLC today announced a joint initiative encouraging pharmacists, student pharmacists, schools and colleges of pharmacy, and the broader pharmacy profession to embrace comprehensive professional credentialing and the use of Pharmacy Profiles as a resource for maintaining pharmacists' professional information. 

The announcement builds upon AACP's Credentialing Call to Action, which highlights the growing importance of pharmacist credentials as the profession evolves and pharmacists assume increasingly diverse roles in patient care and health care delivery. 

AACP represents pharmacy education nationally, and its Executive Vice President and CEO, Lee C. Vermeulen, BSPharm, MS, FCCP, FFIP, has emphasized advancing the value of pharmacists and innovative pharmacy practice models as important priorities. 

Through this joint announcement, AACP endorses the importance of pharmacists establishing and maintaining a comprehensive professional credential profile and recommends Pharmacy Profiles as a resource to help pharmacists organize and maintain that information throughout their professional careers. 

"The profession of pharmacy is changing rapidly, and pharmacists increasingly need a reliable way to communicate the full breadth of their education, training, credentials and professional capabilities," said Vermeulen. "AACP believes that establishing and maintaining a comprehensive professional credential profile should begin during their pharmacy education and training, and continue throughout a pharmacist's career. Pharmacy Profiles provides an important resource to help make that vision possible." 

Vermeulen has served as AACP's Executive Vice President and CEO since 2022. His leadership has included a focus on promoting the value of pharmacists, practice transformation and innovation in pharmacy education. 

Creating a Lifelong Professional Record 

Pharmacists today accumulate credentials from numerous organizations and across multiple stages of their careers. These may include academic degrees, licenses, postgraduate training, certifications, continuing professional development and other indicators of professional qualifications. 

Creating a more comprehensive and accessible professional profile can help pharmacists better demonstrate the qualifications they bring to health care organizations, health plans, provider networks, employers and patients. 

Pharmacy Profiles is designed to support that objective by providing pharmacists with a centralized professional profile that can evolve throughout their careers. 

"AACP's endorsement sends an important message that professional credentialing is no longer simply an administrative requirement. It is becoming fundamental infrastructure for the profession," said Mark Pilkington, Executive Director of Pharmacy Profiles. "Our goal at Pharmacy Profiles is to give every pharmacist a trusted professional identity that can follow them from pharmacy school through every stage of their career. Working with AACP, we have an opportunity to establish that expectation at the very beginning of a pharmacist's professional journey." 

Starting in Pharmacy School 

AACP and Pharmacy Profiles believe pharmacy education represents a natural starting point for creating a pharmacist's professional credential profile. 

Introducing students to professional credential management while they are enrolled in pharmacy school can help establish a lifelong practice of maintaining accurate information about their education, qualifications and professional accomplishments. 

The initiative encourages schools and colleges of pharmacy to introduce students to professional credentialing and Pharmacy Profiles as part of their preparation for entry into the profession. 

That approach also helps create continuity across the pharmacist's professional journey: 

Student Pharmacist→ Graduate → Licensed Pharmacist → Credentialed Healthcare Provider → Advanced Practice and Leadership 

Maintaining that information throughout a career can make it easier for pharmacists to represent their qualifications as new professional opportunities emerge. 

Supporting Pharmacy Practice Transformation 

AACP's support for credentialing comes as pharmacists continue to expand their contributions to patient care and as new practice and payment models create opportunities for pharmacists to participate more fully in healthcare delivery. 

A consistent professional credential profile can provide infrastructure supporting those opportunities by making pharmacists' qualifications easier to document and communicate. 

For Pharmacy Profiles, this is particularly important as pharmacists increasingly seek participation in health plan provider networks, value-based care arrangements, clinical services programs and other healthcare delivery models where credentialing and verified professional information are essential. 

About the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy 

 The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) is the national organization representing pharmacy education. AACP is comprised of 142 accredited colleges and schools with pharmacy degree programs, including more than 5,800 faculty, 42,000 students enrolled in professional programs and 5,000 individuals pursuing graduate study. For more information, visit www.aacp.org. 

About Pharmacy Profiles 

Pharmacy Profiles, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American Pharmacists Association, provides professional identity and credential information solutions for pharmacists. Pharmacy Profiles is focused on helping pharmacists maintain comprehensive professional profiles and supporting organizations that need reliable pharmacist credential and professional information. For more information, visit pharmacyprofiles.com. 

SOURCE Pharmacy Profiles