Albert R. Barber, PharmD, CGP, FASCP
Stow, Ohio

Current Employment:
Director of Pharmacy at Golden Living and owner of Clinical Rx Consulting in Stow, Ohio

Former Employment:
Consultant pharmacist and southeast regional clinical director, NeighborCare; consultant pharmacist and lead consultant, NCS Healthcare, Cleveland, Ohio

Education:
PharmD, Ohio Northern University; MA economics, Kent State University; BSPH, Ohio Northern University

ASCP Involvement:
Board of Directors Region III 2006-2008; ASCP Foundation Board of Trustees; Preceptor, ASCP Foundation Pain Management Traineeship since 2004; chair, Practice Development Council, 2003; SCAN/Practice Development Council, 2002; ALF/Community-Based SCAN, 2001; GCM-SCAN 2000; Professional Affairs Committee 1998, 1999

Awards:
Founder’s Award, NCS Healthcare; Pharmacist of the Year, Summit Pharmacists Association

Other Organization Involvement:
American College of Clinical Pharmacy, American Geriatrics Society, American Medical Directors Association, Ohio Pharmacists Association

Contributed to Publications:
“Monitoring and Evaluation: Demonstrating Improved Care Process and Patient Outcomes” chapter in Developing a Senior Care Pharmacy Practice, Your Guide and Tools for Success published by ASCP in 2004; “Outcome Identification Tools, Measuring the Impact of Your Professional Services,” chapter in the Senior Care Pharmacy Resource Guide published by ASCP in 2003; "Congestive Heart Failure: A Disease Management Approach in Long-Term Care Patients," Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy, Vol. 5, No. 6, 1999, pp. 516–520.

QUESTION 1:  While it has been almost seven years since the publication of the Institute of Medicine’s “To Err is Human”, there is still much progress that needs to be made regarding Medication Safety and Medication Errors.  What path should the society take in fostering and promoting safe medication use and administration?  What skills and/or new ideas would you bring to the issue?

ANSWER:  As the only professional society devoted to safe medication use in the elderly, we must take the lead to protect our patients from medication misadventures.  We must work with other health care providers and administrators to encourage medication error reporting within organizations by promoting a culture of safety to replace, in many cases, a culture of blame.  We need to promote investments in technology, training, and staffing focused on safe medication use in all settings.  As a director of pharmacy for a large nursing home owner, I am currently involved with such a culture change and safe medication use program.  Also, as a consulting pharmacist providing in-home comprehensive medication reviews, I focus on safe medication use and risk-benefit analysis for senior and frail patients.  Finally, as a preceptor for the ASCP Pain Management Traineeship, I focus on the recognition and prevention of medication-related problems including medication errors.

QUESTION 2:  Medication Therapy Management, in all its forms, has provided pharmacy with an unprecedented opportunity for recognition of the value of pharmacists in the health care system, and the establishment of a system for payment for clinical services.  Where do you see MTM going in the next two years?  Where should the Society focus its MTM efforts?  What skills and/or new ideas would you bring to this issue?

ANSWER:  ASCP and its members need to advocate for and help create a system in which health care payers and providers refer patients to qualified pharmacists for comprehensive or specialty medication consultations.  Such a system should include pharmacist-to-pharmacist referral.  Payment for these services must be based on complexity, time, and qualifications of the consultant.  ASCP should provide clinical and business education and training to consulting pharmacists, advocacy for adequate compensation for these services, and promote broad recognition by the public and other health care providers of our members as the recognized experts in geriatric pharmacotherapy.  As a fee-based consulting pharmacist to seniors and others in all living settings for over five years, I have a unique perspective on this issue.  I also serve on the national faculty of the ASCP-APhA MTM Certificate Program.