Definition of clinical pharmacy as a specialty in clinical practice. Committee on Clinical Pharmacy as a Specialty. American Pharmacy Association

Specialty credentialing has been discussed extensively and debated within pharmacy for more than ten years. Within the profession, there now appears to be a consensus on the need for and appropriateness of acknowledging professional practice areas as unique, defined entities. However, there remain substantive differences on how the definition of specialty practice should be constructed. One approach is to identify practice areas by functional activity (e.g., nuclear pharmacy, drug information) and/or therapeutic focus (e.g., psychopharmacy, clinical pharmacokinetics). A second approach is to define clinical pharmacy as a specialty practice that would, at least initially, coalesce clinical practitioners with the common denominator of an active role in the therapeutic decision-making process. The following document was developed by the Committee on Clinical Pharmacy as a Specialty (CCPS). The CCPS is independent of any formal organizational affiliations. It will serve as the preface to a petition that will be submitted to the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties requesting recognition of clinical pharmacy as a specialty. The intention of the committee is to resolve the question of specialty status for clinical pharmacy through the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties' review process. It is then hoped that pharmacy can move forward on the important issue of specialty credentialing.