PharmPAC Meeting Minutes December 2007

**Guests attending the meeting via call in are request= ed to email their rank, name, agency, and location (City and state) information to the PharmPAC executive secretary, LCDR Jeff Mallette at jxmallette@bop.gov .

Call to Order: LCDR Violette Ganoe (vganoe@bop.gov)

LCDR Ganoe called the December 2007 Pharmacist Professional Advisory Commit= tee (PharmPAC) meeting to order

Acceptance of 06 November 2007 PharmPAC Meeting Minutes à LCDR Violet= te Ganoe (vganoe@bop.gov)

CAPT James Bresette requested edits of the recruitment section. CAPT Bresette submitted these edits prior to the meeting via e-mail, and they have y= et to be incorporated into the minutes.&= nbsp; The minutes are not finalized.= LCDR Ganoe stated that edits will be incorporated and the minut= es will be e-mailed to the PharmPAC members for approval and review via e-mail vote. Minutes are= not accepted at this time

CPO Report à RADM Robert Pittman

RADM Pittman is attending the ASHP meeting and is unable = to attend today’s PharmPAC meeting. RADM Pittman submitted his re= port to LCDR Ganoe. LCDR Gano= e will incorporate this into the PAC Chair report at the end of today’s meeting.

Section Lead Comments:

Career Development à = CDR Michael Shiber (MJShiber@bop.gov) / CDR Scott Giberson (Scott.Giberson@ihs.gov)

Pharmacist Readiness Training Pr= ogram (PRTP) (see attachment) – CAPT Mike Montello & CDR Laura Pincock

o = Goal of program is to establish a mechanism = to advance the readiness and preparedness skills of each pharmacist officer to enhance the Corps’ ability to assure the health and safety of our nat= ion in the event of a large scale public health crisis

o = Details of the program are too extensive for these minutes; however the workgroup has prepared an excellent document outlining the program, and it is attached

o = A concern was raised by LCDR Ganoe that it is proposed in the program to add some of the program items as promotion benchmarks and, if so added, that officers in mission critical positions th= at cannot deploy may be at a disadvantage

o = A concern was raised LT Jeff Vang about pharmacists in the field having the time to pursue the requirements of this program if it is implemented. Discussion, initiated by CAPT Raelene Skerda, ensued regarding an officer’s obligation to find the time outside the normal work day to = do duties related to officership, and all officers should consider themselves lifelong learners. CDR Pincoc= k noted that completion of the items of this program would fulfill pharmacy continu= ing education requirements

o = Pharmacy category is taking the lead on this type of training. If viable, = other categories will participate in this project

o = Workgroup representatives plan to meet with = OFRD to discuss findings of workgroup and next steps

Immunization Training Overview &= #8211; CDR Michael Shiber

o = Position paper to recognize non-APhA equival= ent pharmacist immunization certification programs was presented to OFRD and si= gned by RADM David Rutstein

§§§o = RADM Rutstein made edits of letter to APhA – edits were approved by LCDR Ganoe and the Career Development Section and the letter has been forwarded to APhA – PharmPAC representatives = will be meeting with Carol Able at APhA to get the immunization work studies training onto the OFRD blackboard

o = Thank you to the Federal Bureau of Prisons a= nd CAPT Chris Bina, BOP Chief Pharmacist, for renewing the license agreement w= ith APhA for the BOP to provide pharmacist immunization certification training = for Fiscal Year 2008. The PAC will be providing pharmacist immunization training at the COA conference in Tucson in June on the Friday of the conference week

o = CDR Shiber and LCDR Ganoe will attempt to me= et with the new Surgeon General to complete the mission of the immunization initiative as well as meeting with RADM Vanderwagon at ASPR to continue to obtain funding to meet the total readiness and preparedness for the immunization program for all PHS pharmacists

o = FOH clinic immunization opportunities – currently focused in just a few areas, but idea is to expand in the future. If interested, please contact LCDR Keith Olin (keith.olin@fda.hhs.gov)

Readiness Update – CDR Sco= tt Giberson

o = Pharmacy category had fallen out of the top = five among categories in readiness percentage and a recommendation was made to investigate ways to improve our readiness as a category and provide recommendations at this meeting

§§ At 955 officers, pharmacy is the l= argest category within the top five readiness by percentage categories and is more than double the size of the other categories within the top five

§1) Continue RADM Pittman&= #8217;s quarterly readiness e-mail to all pharmacist officers

2) Improve readiness educ= ation of new calls to active duty

3) RADM Pittman stated a = goal of 80% is a good goal to utilize in determining if any further action should be taken to improve the readiness percentage of the category – there is a percentage of officers that would be hard to convert to ready despite any actions taken due to lack of interest by the officer in obtaining readiness=

4) Incorporate readiness = within the CCPMN – add to mentor checklist

5) CDR Giberson will moni= tor percentage quarterly for any dips below 80%

o = LCDR Ganoe noted that December 31, 2007 is t= he flu shot deadline for readiness and this should be logged into each officer’s OFRD web profile as well as sent into the Medical Affairs Branch

Clinical Subgroup – CDR Sc= ott Giberson

o = Developed 24 short and long-term objectives = for subgroup

o = 55 officers from eight different agencies ha= ve volunteered for the subgroup

o = Will schedule a teleconference for all membe= rs in January 2008 to reorganize and get all members involved and designate a co-lead

o = Currently two projects ongoing – two smaller subgroups formed to with leads to run each project

§§

Reminders – CDR Michael Sh= iber

o = December 31, 2007 is the close-out date for promotion year 2008. CDR Shib= er reminded officers to ensure their eOPF, Officer Statement, and Reviewing Official Statement are complete. CV should be current and use the pharmacy category format (example found on the PharmPAC website in the Career Development section)

o = Assimilation application deadline is Februar= y 1, 2008

Special Presentation: Ethics for Federal Employees (see attachment)= àMs. Catherine Hess

Ms. Catherine Hess works with HHS Ethics Council
PAC Chair requested this presentation to assist and remind pharmacists about ethics issues as pharmacists venture into expanded clinical roles and into more activity regarding requests and acceptanc= e of grants for immunization training, etc
Presentation can be found at http://ethic= s2007.cit.nih.gov/training/begin.htm
Focus of federal employee ethics training this year is financial issues
Brochure “Ethics and Procurement Integrity” is provided as an attachment
Officers must show impartiality and avoid conflicts of interest in professional financial dealings. Must provide financial disclosure to avoid conflicts of interest
Ignorance of the law and policies related to ethics is no= t an excuse for violation

Recruitmen= t à CAPT James Bresette (James.Bresette@ihs.gov ) / CDR Peter Vermilyea (peter.vermilyea@wihcc.org) (see attachment)

University Points of Contact (UPOC) – CDR Peter Vermilyea

o&nb= sp; CDR Beth Fritsch= is actively working on issuing some new appointment and award presenter acknowledgement letters

o&nb= sp; LCDR Brent Hobbs= is coming on-board the team as CDR Fritsch is completing her time with the UPOC project

Web Accessible Collaboration System (WACS) – LCDR Devvrat Patel

o = CDR Fritsch has updated all the UPOC data for the database in WACS – information will= be transferred into the database and then officers will be responsible for log= ging in and updating any information

o = Four standard re= ports are being developed from database – currently in draft format – once finalized, will be put on the website for utilization – goal is implementation by February 1, 2008

§List of officers= that are UPOC and AR

§List of officers= by duty station location

§List of officers= by assigned university for UPOC activities

§List of officer activity in database (log-in information, etc.)

§Other functional= ity in the future – how many officers have been visiting schools and have be= en logging their activity

o = CDR Vermilyea - = other functionality in the future – reports on how many officers have been visiting schools and have been logging their activity

o = CAPT Bresette &#= 8211; goal of knowing who is active is 1) easier for awards and 2) recruitment supplies can be sent to active locations.&= nbsp; Also recognize non-active schools to try to identify what can be don= e to get activity at those locations. Goal is to have recruitment activity at all schools of pharmacy=

Associate Recruiter Program (ARP) – LCDR Violette Ganoe (for LCDR Christine Bina)

o = APhA-ASP meeting= s are complete and we received a positive response from the field. LCDR Ganoe is working on recogniti= on letters to those that volunteered and will have them completed this week and forwarded to RADM Pittman

o = Pharmacy AR = List was updated on November 19, 2007

o = There was a PHS = booth at ASHP, December 3-5, 2007. = There were approximately 15 officers who had come forward on very short notice to help staff the booth, and their help is greatly appreciated. One problem noted that different agencies had booths and they were scattered throughout the convention cente= r

o = Recruitment sect= ion website – CDR McClain has posted a JOAG recruitment tool – excellent recruitment information for things to do when attending a recruit= ing event – still working out kinks of getting all documents to work on website. Great resource for A= Rs and UPOCs

Student Programs – CAPT James Bresette (for LCDR Larry Lim):

o = The deadline for Junior and Senior CO-STEP applications is December 31, 2007. However, even though there is this deadline applicants may also submit applications after December 31, 2007 but they may run the risk of not getting placed

Pharmacy's Best Kept Secret (PBKS) – CDR Patrick Marshall and CDR Peter Vermilyea

o = As noted last mo= nth, two versions of PBKS secrets will be released. A new look revised 2007 version wi= ll be placed on the PharmPAC site within the next few days. Once the 2008 Pay Tables are final= ized a 2008 version will be released

Communication àCDR Richard DeCederfelt (rdecederfe@nih.gov) / LCDR Patri= ck Romero (Patrick.L.Romero@u= scg.mil)

Public Health Pharmacy Workgroup; Officer Health – CAPT Sharon Gershon

o      = Ve= ry successful effort during month of October in presenting to elementary schools on injury prevention – photos and summaries can be found on the PharmPAC websit= e in the Communication section

o      = Fi= ve officers developing next presentation on healthy eating and healthy lifesty= le with focus on childhood obesity - Goal date for development is January 2008 – childhood obesity is a major focus for the current acting Surgeon General

o      = CA= PT Charlie Hoppes, CAPT Sharon Gershon, and CDR Beth Fritsch recently met with CAPT Robert Tosatto, Director of the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) program to discuss advancement of the PHS Youth Corps – CAPT Tosatto set up a January 2008 meeting with RADM Williams so the team can discuss this concept with him

o      = CA= PT Tosatto also spoke of the MRC partnership with Health Occupations Students = of America (HOSA) – a national student organization that promotes career opportunities in health care – CAPT Gershon will contact them to expl= ore setting up a partnership to deliver health care messages into the schools

o      = LC= DR Melaine Shin has developed a powerpoint presentation on the idea of outreach programs to minority communities – will present at January PharmPAC meeting

MTM Deployment Forms – LCDR Violette Ganoe

o      = A meeting took place with OFRD in which the MTM forms were discussed – = OFRD representative noted that the forms may be advantageous within the developm= ent of the electronic medical record that OFRD is pursuing

o      = An= other meeting with OFRD and the electronic medical record development personnel is scheduled for December 17, 2007

Website – CDR Richard DeCederfelt

o      = Cu= rrently transitioning PharmPAC website – all contents will transfer to another site to give a more universal look and feel than current format – CAPT Nick Quaglietta and CDR Richard Glabach are leading this project

PLANT – CDR Richard DeCede= rfelt

o&nb= sp;       LC= DR Irene Ahlstrom, BOP, profile recently published

o&nb= sp;       CDR Louis Feldman, IHS, profile to be published in January 2008

o&nb= sp;       Ga= ry Buehler, FDA, profile to be published in February 2008

Administra= tion à CDR Mary Kremzner (Mary= .kremzner@fda.hhs.gov) / CAPT Kimberly Zietlow (kimberly.zietlow@ihs.gov)

Responder of the Year – CDR Mary Kremzner

o      = Deadline was Dec= ember 3, 2007

o      = Summaries of nominations to be sent to PharmPAC members

o      = Only one nominee= , but it is an extraordinary responder

PharmPAC Membership Roster – CDR Mary Kremzner

o      = Listserv message= sent out looking to fill the vacant OS PharmPAC position

o      = One nomination received – will be sent to PharmPAC members for concurrence

o      = Filling this pos= ition will complete the membership roster

o      = Membership roste= r is on the PharmPAC website and has been updated to include section chairs and agency reps

o      = All PharmPAC members’ alternates’ information has been received

Open Liaison Position – CDR Mary Kremzner

o      = Listserv message= sent out seeking representatives for American Public Health Association (APHA) liaison

o      = No responses thu= s far

Liaison Reports à CAPT Kimberly Zietlow

&= nbsp;

American Pharmacists Association (APhA) – CAPT Kimberly Zietlow
o      = Grants with fast-approaching application deadlines (December 15, 2007) – geared toward federal pharmacists

o      = Annual Meeting is March 14-17, 2008 in San Diego, CA – early bird registration deadline is February 13, 2008

=
American College<= u> of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) – CAPT Kimberly Zietlow

o&nb= sp;       Parker Medal and ACCP Fellow nominations due February 15, 2008

o&nb= sp;       Nominations for 2009 spring awards due Febru= ary 15, 2008

o&nb= sp;       Spring meeting April 5-9 in Phoenix, AZ – call for abstracts from residents and fellows due December 14, 2007=

o&nb= sp;       Service award name changed to recognize foun= ding member

o&nb= sp;       ACCP Academy is kicking = off Spring Practice Forum meeting Saturday, April 5, 2008<= /b>

o      = New offer for focused investigator training program

o&nb= sp;       New directory for training programs on their website

=

Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMC= P) – CAPT Kimberly Zietlow

o      = Accepting applications and nominations for B= oard of Directors – on website

o      = Looking for committee volunteers

=

A= merican Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) – CAPT Kimberly Zie= tlow

o      = Call for nominations for ASCP Senior Care Pharmacists Award – deadline is December 31, 2007

o      = Call for nominations for 2008-2009 Board of Directors – deadline is December 31, 2007

o      = Geriatric 2008 Symposia application deadline= is January 17, 2008

o      = Accepting applications for an executive residency in association management – deadline is January 31, 2008

A= merican Society of Health System-Pharmacists (ASHP) – CAPT Kimberly Zietlow

o      = Recommend review of ASHP website – the= re are numerous deadlines approaching for various opportunities – leader= ship awards, research grants, etc.

<= o:p>

A= merican Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) – CAPT Kimberly Zietlow

o      = AACP News is now available online on their website

o      = Accepting applications for the Crystal Apple Award – deadline is January 28, 2008

o      = 2008 meeting registration is now open – online registration



American Public Health Association= (APHA)

o      = No report given – currently no PharmPAC representative

2008 COF Scientific Symposium Update à LCDR Violette Ganoe

CDR Laura Pincock, LCDR Christine Bina, LCDR Violette Ganoe, and CDR Beth Fritsch met and reviewed the proposed agenda

There is a diversified set of topics for category day

JOAG Report à LCDR Violet= te Ganoe

Listserv messages recently sent out regarding JOAG nominations

Next two regular JOAG meetings

Friday, January 11, 2008 = at 1300 – 1500 hours

Friday, February 8, 2008 at 1300 – 1500 hours

Call-in= Number: 888-322-1791

Passcod= e: 83301

Agency Reports

Ex-Minimus Agencies – CDR Chris Allen presented a report for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

o      = Three CDC pharmacists were awarded the 2007 Circle of Excellence Award from Henry M. Jackson Foundation for Advancement= of Military Medicine – this is the first time this award has been won by Commissioned Corps PHS officers

§CAPT Pat Riley

CAPT Rob Quick

LCDR Amy Parker

o      = Recently commemorated World AIDS Day

o      = Pandemic flu – a three-day on-line pan= el discussion and comment period on U.S. Government’s Pandemic flu vacci= ne program - comments can be fou= nd at www.pandemicflu.gov

National Institutes of Health (NIH) – CDR Richard DeCederfelt

o      = Vacancy exists for chief of pharmacy at NIH – interviews on-going

o      = Several upgrades being made to pharmacy facilities

Bureau of Prisons (BOP) – LCDR Jeffrey Newman

o      = APhA Immunization agreement has been signed<= /p>
o      = BEMR Rx – live at 33 institutions by e= nd of December 2007

Indian Health Service (IHS)

o      = No report given

Heath Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) – CDR Josephine Lyght

o      = Joined with the Department of Veterans Affai= rs (VA) to explore methods to improve health care for veterans – formed = in response to the need to improve care for those returning from the Global Wa= r on Terror

o      = November 30, 2007 – hosted first Commissioned Corps retirement ceremony – honored those that retired o= ver the previous 12 months

o      = At 90.2%, HRSA was second among agencies for basic readiness

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (see attachment) – CDR Matthew Tarosky (not present but written report sent out with agenda and summarized here)

o      = News

§§ Details for subscribing to FDA listservs can be found at http://www.fda.gov/emaillist.html

o      = Product Approval

§o      = Product Withdrawal

§o      = Proposed Legislation

§ Current authority resides with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

o      = Public Meeting

§ Pharm= acists supported the BTC category while various other groups including physicians expressed opposition indicating that a third class of drugs is unnecessary. Pharmacists indi= cated that the new BTC drug category will increase patient access, improve patient-pharmacist interaction, and have an overall positive impact on heath care. Critics voiced their co= ncern about possible misdiagnoses and mismanagement of BTC medications. Several experts urged FDA to move = very carefully if it attempts to develop the BTC drug category with possibly a p= ilot program in select states.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – LCDR Patrick Romero (USCG) & CDR Christine Yu (Immigration)

o      = Welcome aboard CDR Christine Yu, from Immigration – DHS now has two PharmPAC representatives

o      = Currently no pharmacist vacancies in the Coa= st Guard

o      = Immigration has recently transferred from HR= SA to the Department of Homeland Security – some administrative issues s= till need to be worked out – Immigration is still trying to bring on some = new facilities

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) – CAPT Lia Prela

o      = Announced new alternate member

Office of the Secretary (OS) - Vacant

o      = No Report

PAC Chair Report à LCDR Violette Ganoe (vganoe@bop.gov)

This will be combined with the CPO report – CPO report presented by L= CDR Ganoe in RADM Pittman’s absence

November 28, 2007 – White House and First Lady announced that the DHHS mission of fighting childhood overweight and obesity is a priority

o      = Acting Surgeon General will take the lead for DHHS and focus on existing programs and outreach through the Office of the Surgeon General

o      = Next step is setting up a coordinating counc= il with representatives from DHHS to create ideas and create energy

OCCO – waivers can be granted for entry into the Commissioned Corps f= or those with over 8 years of military service and those over age 44

o      = More than 8 years of military service – requires prior military time waiver – director of OCCO can approve wa= iver if military service time is less than 15 years

o      = More than 15 years of military service ̵= 1; request has to be sent to Surgeon General’s office for waiver

Transformation Update

o      = Commissioned Corps goal is 6,600 officers by= end of calendar year 2008

o      = OCCO and OCCFM Transformation officers have = been redirected to participate in recruitment

o      = Recruitment effort is seen as an emergency f= rom within

o      = Four CAM = teams have been formed

o      = Career and Assignment Manager (CAM) team representing pharmacy introduced themselves at the beginning of the meeting=

§§§
Electronic Call to Active Duty on-line application system

o      = Goal is to be online January 2008

o      = Appointment boards will begin meeting electr= onically sometime in 2008 – allows for more involvement by officers in the fie= ld and for faster processing of applicants

o      = Reviewing how and when applicants physical e= xams must be completed – will be finalized by OCCFM

OFRD Update

o      = No Commissioned Corps officers deployed as of the end of November 2007

o      = Officers may soon be required to have a maro= on official government business passport – no cost – five year expiration date – more information coming in future months

o      = Health and Medical Response Hammer Teams sti= ll waiting for a budget – not officially announced

o      = End of November 2007, 79.4% of Commissioned Corps officers are Basic Ready

CPO Board is recommending a third designation be available to promotion bo= ards when an officer is reviewed for promotion. Current two designations are recommended or not recommended. The proposed third designation is not ready

One new pharmacist call to active duty this month – currently 944 PHS pharmacists

Surgeon General’s office is having a holiday open house on December 13, = 2007 from 1100 to 1300 – contact is LT Joe Zagame

LCDR Ganoe is putting out a call for nominations for a new PharmPAC Executi= ve Secretary – please contact LCDR Ganoe as soon as possible if interested at vganoe@bop.gov = 211; it is an ex-minimus position and does require PharmPAC membership. LCDR Ganoe thanks LCDR Mosadd= egh for his service the past two months

Old/New Business:

LCDR Karen Williams, HRSA offered congratulations to the Anchorage Indi= an Medical Center on their recent award at the ASHP meeting for their telepharmacy innovation

CAPT James Bresette – during this meeting, the White House put out an Executive Order that the Federal Government will be closed on December= 24, 2007

The meeting w= as adjourned @1530.

Next Meeting Date:

03 January 2008, from 1300 to 1600 EST, Sur= geon General’s Conference Room; Agenda and call-in information will= be distributed prior to the meeting

Useful Links and Contact Info:

¨       Emails: = ;      PharmPAC@list= .nih.gov

PHS-Ph= armacists@list.nih.gov

PHS-RX-JOBS@list.nih.gov<= /o:p>

PHS-Rx-Students@list.nih.gov

¨       Listservs:&= nbsp; PHS Pharmacists      https://list.ni= h.gov/archives/phs-pharmacists.html

    PHS Rx Students   &nbs= p; https://list.ni= h.gov/archives/phs-rx-students.html

   OFRD        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p; https://list.nih.gov/archi= ves/ccrf.html

   RPh Job Vacancies https://list.nih.go= v/archives/phs-rx-jobs.html

   CCMIS            =            https://list= .nih.gov/archives/ccinformation-l.html

   CC Vacancies        &= nbsp; https://list.n= ih.gov/archives/ccvacancies-l.html

PHS Immunizing Pharmacists    https://li= st.nih.gov/archives/phs-immunizing-pharm.html

¨       Websites:       PharmPAC        &= nbsp;        http://hhs.gov/pharmacy

      CCMIS        &= nbsp;            http://dcp.psc.gov

      USPHS         &= nbsp;             http://www.usphs.gov

      OFRD        &= nbsp;                http://oep.osophs.dhhs.gov/ccrf

--Respectfully Submitted,

____________________________= ___________/__________________

LCDR Jeff Mallette, Executive Secretary     &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           Da= te

____________________________= __________/___________________

LCDR Violette Ganoe, Chair                =             &nb= sp;            =     Date

____________________________= __________/___________________

RADM Robert E. Pittman, CPO<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:3'>        &= nbsp;         =                  =         Date

Attachments:

Pharmacist Readiness Training Program Presentation<= /b>

Ethics and Procurement Integrity Brochure

Recruitment Section Report

FDA Agency Report

U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE

Pharmacist Professional Advisory Committee<= /o:p>

Department of Health and Human Service= s