Board of Pharmacy Specialties
2215 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20037
(202) 429-7591
(202) 429-6304 FAX
www.bpsweb.org

BPS CONTACT
Steve Scarlatta
(202) 448-8721

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 25, 2012

American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Approved as a
Pharmacotherapy SpecialtyProfessional Development Provider

Washington, DC - The Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS)announced that the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) was named an approved provider of continuing professional development programs for the Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS). ASHP joins the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) as the second professional development provider for the Pharmacotherapy Specialty. ASHP will begin to provide BCPS continuing professional development programs in 2013.

BPS Executive Director, William Ellis commented; "Both ACCP and ASHP have many years of experience in the board certification process from developing BPS petitions, to conducting preparation courses and in providing professional development programs for other specialties. By approving two providers, Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialists will have access to a broad range of high quality programming, which will include live, print and electronic opportunities to maintain their certification."

Those pharmacists who earn the designation Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS) are required to maintain their certification over a seven year period.The BCPS will be able to participate in recertification offerings from either of the BPS-approved pharmacotherapy providers (ACCP and ASHP) and can mix and match credit hours to achieve the 120 hour recertification requirement.

For more information on BPS activities including applying for the 2012 examination visit www.bpsweb.org

About the Board of Pharmacy Specialties
The Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS), an autonomous division ofthe American Pharmacists Association (APhA), was founded in January 1976 to recognize specialties and certify pharmacists in specialized areas of pharmacy practice. Six specialties are currently recognized by BPS, including: 1) nuclear pharmacy, since 1978; 2) nutrition support pharmacy, since 1988; 3) pharmacotherapy, since 1988; 4) psychiatric pharmacy, since 1992; and 5) oncology pharmacy, since 1996. The latest BPS specialty, focused on ambulatory care pharmacy, was approved in June 2009, and the first examination was administered in 2011. Currently almost 13,000 pharmacist specialists are certified by BPS.