Foundation for Managed Care Pharmacy, Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Announce Partnership with Pfizer Inc. to Continue Summer Internship Program

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Foundation for Managed Care Pharmacy (FMCP) and the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) are pleased and honored to announce a partnership with Pfizer Inc. to continue the Summer Internship Program. Through the generous support of Pfizer Inc., FMCP will continue to focus its mission on research, leadership and education by selecting six pharmacy students to experience a managed care pharmacy practice internship during the summer of 2012. The interns will also compete for scholarships at the end of their internship at AMCP's 2012 Educational Conference. The application process will begin in October 2011.

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AMCP Chief Executive Officer Judith Cahill said developing future leaders is a core value for the Academy's members and for the future of the managed care pharmacy profession.

"The partnership with Pfizer is a unique and valuable opportunity to work together to enhance learning opportunities that further our profession," Cahill said. "We have been successfully building internship programs for over 13 years; this partnership builds on the past by adding a strategic element."

John Main, PharmD, Senior Director, Medical Affairs, Pfizer, Inc., added, "AMCP and FMCP are dedicated to the pursuit of excellence for the profession. Training future pharmacists in managed care pharmacy is an important role and responsibility, and we are excited about this opportunity to work with the managed care industry."

As part of the internship program, the AMCP-FMCP-Pfizer partnership has created an Internship Strategic Council (ISSC) that will examine changes and assure that interns are exposed to the factors helping to shape the future role of the managed care pharmacy profession from a multidimensional perspective.

"We will be inviting industry leaders who have a broad spectrum of experience, including from academia, professional practice, and the payer and technology fields. These leaders have an exceptional ability to anticipate future change to help define the role of industry over the next five years," said Dr. Norrie Thomas PhD, FMCP Interim Executive Director. "The Internship Strategic Steering Council will meet once per year and offer our preceptors, interns and Academy leaders the opportunity to define what can be achieved through leadership, and applying a systems and customer focus. Training students today demands that we have a strategic focus on future changes," Thomas concluded.

"Our goal is to create a learning experience that is tied to market forces and changes in the market place," said Cahill. "Combining the internship experience with a strategic perspective will help foster innovation and guide the internship process from a strategic perspective. It is important for new models of pharmacy care to be defined and we are excited that the steering council will identify innovation."

"The Internship Strategic Steering Council will be a forum for our top leaders to address both the tactical needs of internship training today as well as reflecting the changes facing the managed care industry and how these changes impact the future of pharmacy practice," said Thomas. "We need to create a community around the internship experience that includes the multiple decision-makers, who design, purchase and deliver managed care pharmacy services with the ultimate demand better patient care."

Background

FMCP will announce in early 2012 the selection of six students who will:

• Complete a nine week structured rotation under the supervision of a pharmacist-preceptor at a managed health care system;
• Work with the site preceptor and Pfizer Medical Outcomes Specialist to conceptualize, develop and complete a project related to Improving the Quality of Patient Care in a Managed Care Pharmacy;
• Complete a one week rotation under the supervision of a pharmacist at the AMCP/FMCP headquarters in Alexandria, VA;
• Convert the interns' completed project results into a poster format and exhibit the posters; and
• Participate and compete in the Annual AMCP/FMCP Intern Best Project Competition. Projects will be evaluated by a panel of judges on the basis of scientific merit, innovation, practicality and presenter's knowledge of the subject matter and ability to articulate key elements of their research. The competition winner(s) will receive a scholarship(s).

The AMCP-FMCP-Pfizer Summer Internship Program strives to develop future leaders in managed health care through exposure to managed care concepts such as formulary management, value-based benefit design, prior authorization, medication therapy management and adherence management. Working directly with health system pharmacists and other members of the health team, interns gain an appreciation of how these concepts are used to maximize scarce health care resources and enhance patient care. The application process will be posted www.fmcpnet.org by October 15, 2011.

The Internship Strategic Steering Council will meet in late 2011 and the proceedings from this meeting will be presented on www.fmcpnet.org in early 2012.

About AMCP

The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) is a national professional association of pharmacists and other health care practitioners who serve society by the application of sound medication management principles and strategies to improve health care for all. The Academy's more than 6,000 members develop and provide a diversified range of clinical, educational and business management services and strategies on behalf of the more than 200 million Americans covered by a managed care pharmacy benefit. For more information, visit www.amcp.org. 

About FMCP:

The Foundation for Managed Care Pharmacy (FMCP), a 501(c)3 nonprofit, charitable trust, is a research, education and philanthropic organization supporting the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP).  The mission of the Foundation for Managed Care Pharmacy is to help people optimize medication therapy through the generation and dissemination of new knowledge.   FMCP is the only non-profit charitable trust dedicated solely to supporting research and education activities in the field of managed care pharmacy. News and additional information about FMCP is available on the Foundation's Web site, www.fmcpnet.org.

SOURCE Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy