July 2025
One Note at a Time: A Farewell Message from Your SACP Chair
As I reflect on my incredible year serving as chair of the ASHP Section of Ambulatory Care Practitioners (SACP), I am filled with deep gratitude and pride in all that we’ve accomplished together.
Over the past year, we have continued to elevate the voice and impact of ambulatory care pharmacists. We appointed 120 members to serve across five advisory groups and the educational steering committee for the 2024–2025 year, and this number has grown to an impressive 180 members for 2025–2026. Some of these appointments make up our newly established Ad Hoc Committee for Primary Care Transformation—a testament to the evolving needs and opportunities in our field.
Additionally, we have created a new advisory group focused on population health, which is set to launch in September—an important step toward aligning pharmacy practice with value-based care and advancing health equity.
Our section produced rich educational content and resources tailored to our priorities:
- Podcasts on critical and timely topics, such as:
- Optimizing Chronic Medications to Promote Weight Loss
- Precepting the Gen Z Learner
- Ambulatory Care Billing Updates for 2025
- Adult Immunization Updates (offering CE)
- Our members and leaders were featured prominently across ASHP’s podcast channels, including a Distinguished Service Award feature on Jessica Skelley, and a “We’re Your Pharmacist” episode with Tina Claypool.
- Our webinars tackled hot-button issues like:
- Diabetes Distress
- 340B for Ambulatory Care Pharmacists
- Updates to Atrial Fibrillation Guidelines (1 Hours CE)
- Ambulatory Care GEMs 2025 (1 hour CE)
Our virtual roundtable on prior authorizations in primary care drew over 220 attendees, proving how essential and relevant our topics are to practitioners.
Across Pharmacy Futures 2024 and 2025 Meetings, SACP members showcased thought leadership in:
- Advancements in Pulmonary Medicine: Navigating the Future of Biologics, Vaccines, and Innovations in Respiratory Care
- More Than “Equal”: Navigating the Changing Landscape of Diabetes Care to Promote Care Equity
- The Digital Connection: Leveraging Remote Patient Monitoring for Clinical Pharmacy Services
- Revolutionizing Ambulatory Care: Exploring Innovative Practice Areas
- Cracking the Code: Transforming Practice with Improved Billing Strategies
- Comprehensive Weight Management Workshop: A Multidisciplinary Approach for Pharmacists
- A networking and poster session on contemporary ambulatory care issues
- The inaugural Pharmacy Pop-Up in the Exhibit Hall at Pharmacy Futures, Building the Future: A Strategic Blueprint for Ambulatory Care Expansion
A powerful highlight was hearing from ASHP President Melanie Dodd, the first ambulatory care-based president, who artfully connected our clinical work to her passion for music. She reminded us that “one pharmacist FTE can open 1,900 patient visits per year,” a metric that reinforces our growing value in expanding access to care. Her message was simple yet profound: “We provide patient care, one note at a time.”
Equally inspiring was the Harvey A.K. Whitney Lecture, delivered by Richard Church, who echoed the sentiment that serving patients is the heart of our profession. I left both events energized and hopeful—ambitious for the future of ambulatory care pharmacy.
To all SACP members:
Thank you for your dedication, passion, and service. This space is growing, and so is our impact. As your chair, it has been the privilege of a lifetime to walk alongside each of you as we worked to push boundaries and elevate patient care.
Let us continue to strive for excellence, lean into innovation, and never forget the power of the pharmacist’s role in ambulatory care. The future is bright—and we are needed now more than ever.
With sincere gratitude,
Sara M. Panella
Outgoing Chair, ASHP Section of Ambulatory Care Practitioners
2024–2025
