Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS) is found on the Board of Pharmacy Specialties.
Hospitals and health systems rely on the safe, appropriate and economical use of medications as part of interprofessional treatment teams.There are more than 27,600 Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialists.
The Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS) program is acredential for pharmacists who have met the eligibility criteria below and who in their unique practice ensure the safe, appropriate, and economical use of medications as part of interprofessional treatment teams in a variety of settings.
The purpose of the BCPS program is to show that the pharmacist has the advanced knowledge and experience to improve patient outcomes.
All applicants intending to demonstrate eligibility for the practice experience pathway must provide an attestation from their employer, on company letterhead, that proves this experience accurately represents 50% of time spent in some or all of the activities defined by the applicable certification content outline.The practice experience must have taken place in the seven years immediately preceding the application.Click here for more information.Here is a sample employer verification letter.
Prior to the candidate sitting for the examination, all practice eligibility requirements must be met.
50% or more of the time spent practicing in the domains described is included in three (3) years of practice experience.
Only residency programs accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and completed by applicants within the past 7 years are creditable for this purpose.
The requirements for the certification programs are based on the following rationale.
The Council on Credentialing in Pharmacy has a Resource Paper titled: Scope of Contemporary Pharmacy Practice: Roles, Responsibilities, and Functions.
The Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist® (BCPS) requires that pharmacists maintain their certification over a seven year period by completing one of the following professional development activities.
The continuing education option for recertification was implemented in 1994 with the designation of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy's Pharmacotherapy Self-Assessment Program as an acceptable professional development program.The Clinical Reasoning Series as well as the Pharmacotherapy Review and Recertification course were approved in 2011.The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists has been approved as a provider of professional development programs.The BCPS Recertification Literature Study is one of three components of the ASHP's approved program.
The annual certification maintenance fee is $125 each year for the first six years and $400 in the seventh year.The annual certification maintenance fee will only be assessed to individuals with more than one certification.
Hospitals and health systems rely on the safe, appropriate and economical use of medications as part of interprofessional treatment teams.There are more than 27,600 Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialists.
The Board of Pharmacy Specialties® is the gold standard for determining which pharmacists are qualified to contribute to advanced practice levels.Through the rigorous examination standards mandated by the Board of Pharmacy Specialties®, the board certified pharmacist is uniquely trained and educated to meet the continually expanding expectations of other healthcare team members and the specialized needs of the patients they serve.
The Board of Pharmacy Specialties is located at 2215 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC.