HOPA Publications Committee

Ashley Glode, PharmD BCOP, Editor

Megan Bodge, PharmD BCOP, Associate Editor

Christan Thomas, PharmD BCOP, Associate Editor

Edward Li, PharmD, Board Liaison

Lindsey Amerine, PharmD MS BCPS

Brandi Anders, PharmD BCOP

Lisa M. Cordes, PharmD BCOP BCACP

Morgan Culver, PharmD BCOP

Karen Fancher, PharmD BCOP

Craig W. Freyer, PharmD BCOP

Robert Mancini, PharmD, BCOP

Sarah Newman, PharmD BCPS

Sarah Ussery, PharmD BCOP

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Board Update: HOPA Strong

From Susannah Koontz, HOPA’s Outgoing President

“Earn it.” This was the motto of the 2017 Houston Astros baseball team. During my presidency I saw this motto everywhere: at baseball games at Minute Maid Park and all over Houston on T-shirts, banners, billboards, and bumper stickers. It was not merely a motivational slogan but a reminder of what a team culture of hard work and collaboration (along with determination and grit) can achieve—in this case, a World Series championship. Even when facing significant obstacles—like being displaced from their home park during Hurricane Harvey—the Astros, supported by their fans, remained “Houston Strong.”

Although HOPA didn’t hoist the Major League Baseball Commissioner’s Trophy at the end of our “season,” we too have a great deal to be proud of. I detailed many of our accomplishments in the March 15 HOPA Member Update e-blast (hoparx.org/2017accomplishments). Once again, thank you for your steadfast support and unwavering commitment in ensuring HOPA’s vitality and growth this past year.

As I mentioned during my President’s Welcome at the 2018 Annual Conference in Denver, I’m grateful to you for electing me to lead our association this past year—a role that has proved to be the professional opportunity of a lifetime. In my remarks, I also harked back to my election statement from 2015, where I made a commitment to you to strive to establish HOPA as a leader in oncology education and a model for other organizations advocate passionately for our members and profession build relationships with other organizations to both maximize our resources and ensure that pharmacists are key members of the healthcare team as new payment models evolve continue HOPA’s commitment to promote and improve professional certification of oncology pharmacists responsibly expand and improve HOPA’s educational activities, training programs, leadership development opportunities, practice standards, and professional tools increase the use of technology to serve all members expand HOPA’s resources for supporting pharmacy research and mentoring young investigators ensure an open-door policy of accessibility and accountability to HOPA members.

I think you will agree that, by working collaboratively, we have met or are well on our way to meeting each of these objectives.

I now pass the presidential baton to Ryan Bookout, our 15th president. As I take up my new role as immediate past president, I’m eager to see how HOPA’s next chapter unfolds. I leave the presidency having helped us make marked improvements in our operations, introduce innovative programs, strengthen our external stakeholder relationships, and solidify our finances. We are “HOPA Strong,” and I hope I’ve earned your respect as I take my place among the illustrious past presidents who have come before me.

From Ryan Bookout, HOPA’s Incoming President

Sitting back in Tampa, FL, 2 weeks after the 14th Annual HOPA Conference in Denver, CO, I am wondering how all of you are feeling about the year ahead. Many of you have probably fallen back into the usual routines: answering the hundreds of e-mails that arrived in your inbox while you were away, doing the accumulated piles of laundry, getting hellos and hugs from the people dearest in your life. As the normalcy of April begins to seep in, I want to take a moment to distill some of the energy and excitement from our time together at the conference.

Who are we? HOPA is an inclusive association embracing all pharmacists who participate in or support oncology patient care: community oncology pharmacists, inpatient pharmacists, decentralized pharmacists, clinical specialists, research pharmacists, oncology faculty members, pharmacy administrators, insurance providers, health outcomes pharmacists, specialty pharmacists, retail pharmacists, pharmacists in industry roles, pharmacy technicians, and more.

What is our future? HOPA’s future is to be the association that is all these things: the educator of all oncology pharmacists, the advocate for all oncology pharmacists, the research driver for all oncology pharmacists, and the professional home for all oncology pharmacists.

How do we get there? Your volunteerism, your ideas, your energy, and your experience and expertise are the means by which HOPA will achieve our dreams and goals. Our members are the heart and soul of this organization. Without you, there is no HOPA. Without you, there is no future.

HOPA’s mission is clear, and our goals are lofty, covering a wide range of areas:

Research

• Expansion of grant funding in basic science and translational research, workforce metrics and benchmarking, health economics, and the quality and value of oncology (and oncology pharmacists)
• Providing HOPA seed grants and building a strong support network for HOPA researchers

Advocacy

• The Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas
• Enhancement Act
• Oral chemotherapy parity
• 340B drug pricing
• Patient advocacy with outreach for collaboration and inclusion of our patients’ voices
• The opioid crisis and protection of our oncology patients
• Efforts to strengthen external relations and build strong collaborative partnerships

Education

• Combinations of Board Certified Oncology Pharmacist programs with other Board of Pharmacy Specialties programs
• Combined educational offerings for practitioners: advanced practice professionals, nurses, case managers, and social workers
• Educational partnerships with Industry Relations Council participants
• Educational opportunities for residents, students, and technicians

Standards

• HOPA publications and statements: Scope of Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Practice, Part 2; oral oncolytics
• Specialty pharmacy accreditation standards
• United States Pharmacopeia Chapter <800>: Hazardous Drugs—Handling in Healthcare Settings

HOPA is your association. Your drive, energy, ideas, and work are what make HOPA. Please seize the opportunities available through HOPA’s Volunteer Activity Center. This vehicle is not just for committees and subcommittees that already exist. It is also used when volunteers are needed for newly developing task forces, member representatives on national committees and in national groups, reviewers of national guidelines and federal mandates, and other work that you have told us HOPA should be involved in. Be the change makers for your association and our profession. Engage in your area of oncology practice, your city, your state, and our nation. You are the drivers of HOPA’s future, a bright future rich with opportunity, and I look forward to partnering with you in this important work!