Council Members:

Barbara Giacomelli, PharmD, MBA, FASHP
VP Advisory
Pharmaceutical Solutions and Services
McKesson RxO 

Jessica Hill, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP
Corporate Assistant Director, Clinical Pharmacy
RWJBarnabas Health

Carlo Lupano, RPh, CCP, MBA, FASHP
Pharmacy Manager
Residency Program Director
Valley-Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Care
Robert & Audrey Luckow Pavilion

Neha Siddiqui, PharmD
PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Resident
The Valley Hospital Pharmacy Department
Valley Health System

The Council on Public Policy looks at what is going on in the local, state and national stage regarding any aspect of pharmacy. The members of this council are looking out for you and the profession.

To join this Council, please print and fill out the Council Involvement Form.

What is Advocacy?

Advocacy isn’t just about what happens in Washington, D.C. It’s about what you can do close to home as you build relationships with your elected officials. The council members represent you to elected officials as well as make it as easy as possible for you to connect with them. Sometimes it is writing a letter or signing a petition and sometimes it is attending a meeting.

Strong advocacy builds a strong profession.

Some of the topics the council is involved with are:

• Obtaining Provider Status
• Collaborative Practice regulations (aka Collaborative Drug Therapy Management (CDTM)
• Opioid epidemic and its laws and regulations
• Providing education on what Health System Pharmacists do
• UPS 797 and USP 800
• 340b

Public Policy Council Updates for January/February

The Council on Public Policy has had an active start to 2021. The Council met in both January and February. The Council drafted and sent a letter to the New Jersey Board of Pharmacy strongly supporting pharmacy technician certification in New Jersey. Of note this topic was discussed at the January Board of Pharmacy Meeting. The council will monitor board activity and share information about the public comment period with NJSHP membership when available.

Council members attended the virtual Board of Pharmacy Meetings and initiated planning and submitted the required paperwork for an Advocacy/Law CE program available to members of NJSHP in the spring of 2021.  Council Chair Dr. Julie Kalabalik-Hoganson attended the ASHP State Legislative and Regulatory Conference call.

Council Member Dr. Neha Siddiqui’s Pharmacist Provider Status survey was sent out to our members and the information obtained will help the council to design educational opportunities to support expansion of our colleagues knowledge and understanding of current state and potential future opportunities for pharmacists in New Jersey. The Council continues to explore various avenues to advocate for expansion of the Pharmacist’s scope of practice in New Jersey.

Members of the Council on Public Policy would also like to acknowledge the tireless work of all pharmacists in New Jersey as they participate in the COVID-19 vaccination efforts. It is so rewarding to see members of our profession recognized for the tremendous role that they play in helping New Jersey overcome the pandemic and keep all of our patients healthy.

Newly Approved ASHP Policies

Dear NJSHP Members,

On behalf of the New Jersey delegates, we would like to share the eight policy recommendations that were approved during the November ASHP Virtual House of Delegates. These policies will now become official ASHP policy. The full report is available on the ASHP HOD website and are attached here. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to any of the state delegates or the NJSHP Public Policy Council. 

Regards,
Julie Kalabalik-Hoganson
Director of the Council on Public Policy 

ASHP Policy Week

NJSHP leadership and the Public Policy Council participated in ASHP’s Policy Week last week, meeting with representatives of the offices of Menendez, Booker, and Sherrill on the following issues:

• 340B drug pricing program

• COVID-19 testing and vaccination reimbursement

• Telehealth services reimbursement
  

• Eliminating X-waivers to increase providers who can prescribe MAT for opioid addiction

CMS Should Make Virtual Supervision Flexibility Permanent

NJSHP members,

NJSHP partnered with health-systems and professional groups to demonstrate support of CMS making permanent the current temporary regulatory flexibility allowing physicians to provide direct supervision of clinical staff virtually, using real-time audio/video technology. Attached is the letter sent to Administrator Seema Verma.

Regards,
Julie Kalabalik-Hoganson, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Director, Public Policy
New Jersey Society of Health-System Pharmacists

Click here to view the letter

A Letter to Congressional Leaders on Medicaid Funding

As a part of our public policy advocacy efforts, NJSHP is one of 24 state affiliates who signed on to a letter drafted by ASHP to Congressional leaders requesting an increase in federal funding for Medicaid and other state-based safety net programs. The goal of this increase is to protect patients' access to care during the COVID-19 emergency. The letter asks that economic stimulus discussions include strategies to maximize the sustainability of Medicaid  so that patients may continue to seek the care they need. This letter is a direct result of feedback from state affiliates, including New Jersey, regarding the impact state budget cuts could have on the healthcare system.

The letter can be found by clicking here.

Yours in service, 

Daniel T. Abazia, PharmD, BCPS, CPPS

President | NJSHP

Policies Approved by the 2020 ASHP House of Delegates

To view the document with the updated policies, please click here to download