September 2025
Dear Colleagues,
Happy September– this year is passing by so fast! I hope that your 2025 has held meaningful progress and been enriched with mostly good things. The Section of Specialty Pharmacy Practitioners started in August 2019. Since then, Specialty Pharmacy has continued to evolve and ASHP continues to be a central source of knowledge and community for health system specialty pharmacy. I am grateful to ASHP and ASHP staff, particularly Gabby Pierce, David Chen, Jessie Hipple Rosario, and Karly Low, for providing the framework for this community and network of colleagues and friends where I have learned so much. Soon, I will have the privilege of representing the section at ASHP Policy Week. I will do my best to advocate for specialty pharmacy and learn as much as I can about how we can further advocacy efforts within our section.
In the coming year, I look forward to experiences that spark joy and illuminate the meaningful work we do for patients, by learning and trying new things with new colleagues and friends. We are not forging this path alone, and to move forward, we can and should learn from those before us. In that spirit, I would recommend you visit the ASHP Health System Specialty Pharmacy Resource Center page to see what this Section has produced over the years. Here are a very few highlights of the amazing work from last year:
- Creating a 340b Impact Report for Your Health System [resource from the Business Development Section Advisory Group]
- Unlocking Insights into Specialty Pharmacy Outcomes Research: Filling the Prescription for Effective Research [webinar from the Outcomes and Value Section Advisory Group]
- 2024 ASHP Survey of Health System Specialty Pharmacy: Key Takeaways from the Authors [podcast]
The energy and effort that we bring together is a driving force for the continued growth and evolution of health system specialty pharmacy. Like every year, there will be challenges, and like every year, we will be here to support each other as we learn and grow and overcome obstacles. We are lucky because there are so many ways to do it right and so many friends to help us find the way.
I am eager for us all to work together and find joy and satisfaction in the process as we contribute to our profession. I am so glad you are part of our community – let’s meet up and share ideas! In addition to serving on the section advisory groups, we have all sorts of opportunities to connect; at a virtual roundtable, on the Section of Specialty Pharmacy Practitioners Connect community, or in person at the 2025 Midyear Clinical Meeting or 2026 Pharmacy Futures meetings.
Have a great day,
Karen C. Thomas