375 Disease State Management Credentials Are Awarded By NISPC
The National Institute for Standards in Pharmacist Credentialing (NISPC), a pharmacist credentialing organization composed of the American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA), the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), announced today that the Institute has awarded 375 National Disease State Management (DSM) Credentials.
The NISPC credential is conferred to pharmacists who pass a NABP DSM examination in one of the following areas: anticoagulation, asthma, diabetes, or dyslipidemia.
"We are extremely pleased with the response we have had to date from pharmacists to NISPC's National DSM Credential," said NISPC President Calvin J. Anthony. "The NISPC national credential confers uniform recognition on those pharmacists who provide disease-specific pharmacist care services and pass the DSM examinations. It also helps to build confidence in patients and payers that pharmacists are knowledgeable about the disease for which they are counseling and managing patients' therapy."
NABP administered the first national DSM examinations in October 1998. The exams also were offered in February and June of this year.
Through the June examinations, 522 pharmacists have taken 706 examinations resulting in 375 NISPC credentials being awarded. The breakdown of awarded credentials is as follows: 88 in asthma, 213 in diabetes, 40 in anticoagulation, and 34 in dyslipidemia.
The next national examination dates are scheduled for September 8 and 9. Pharmacists should contact their state board of pharmacy or NABP for details concerning testing in their state.
Pharmacist credentialing in disease state management is among the pharmacy profession's top priorities and prompted the formation of NISPC in June 1998. The Institute's efforts represent a coordinated approach to creating nationwide standards for examinations to credential pharmacists in specific disease states.
To date, NISPC has focused its attention on outlining disease state management standards for anticoagulation, asthma, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. Each set of disease state management standards is created by a panel of experts composed of practitioners, academicians, pharmacy benefits managers, and board of pharmacy members. NISPC will investigate the development of additional management standards based upon the needs and recommendations of practitioners, schools of pharmacy, payers, and the general health care community.