PCOM School of Pharmacy Student Advocate Visits Congressmen in Washington, D.C.

Student pharmacists with hometowns in Georgia gather with William Dent (center), legislative correspondent to Senator Johnny Isakson. (From left) Melissa Bien-Aime of Union University, Sarah Clements and Dustin Orvin of The University of Georgia, and Christopher Pitts of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine discussed pharmacy issues with staff members of five Georgia congressional offices. (Photo courtesy of Bien-Aime)

(Suwanee, GA – March 13, 2015) Christopher Pitts, a third year pharmacy student at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Pharmacy, Georgia Campus, recently attended the first American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) advocacy congress in Washington, D.C.

For more than 70 years, the ASHP has represented pharmacists who serve as patient care providers in acute and ambulatory settings, and has worked to improve medication use and enhance patient safety, according to the ASHP website. Pitts, who resides in Lawrenceville, has been involved with the ASHP during his time as a pharmacy student and is currently serving his second term as vice president of the student organization at GA-PCOM. This past summer he was appointed to the ASHP’s Policy and Legislative Advisory Group, where he works to connect with national leadership and promote student involvement.

Through the ASHP Advocacy Program, pharmacy students from across the country gathered in Washington, D.C. recently to urge their representatives in Congress to co-sponsor the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act. This legislation would amend the Social Security Act “to provide for coverage under the Medicare program of pharmacist services.” The Act would produce an increase in access to healthcare through pharmacist patient care services.

“This is a major issue currently facing pharmacists,” Pitts explained and noted that obtaining provider status under the Social Security Act will provide access to services for medically underserved areas. He added, “Pharmacists are in an important position to offset some of the future strain on the healthcare system by improving health outcomes and decreasing costs.”

The trip also served to help students develop advocacy skills necessary to effectively inform and educate congressmen on issues relating to pharmacy practice.

Pitts and three other Georgia student representatives visited with five Georgia congressmen to share their views. He encourages citizens to become active in advocacy and the political process – “Being able to see firsthand the change and impact a single individual can have by simply informing our elected representatives was very rewarding.”

The ASHP noted that the legislation has gained at least three new co-sponsors due to student pharmacists visiting congressional offices.

About GA-PCOM

Georgia Campus – Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (GA-PCOM) is a private, not-for-profit branch campus of the fully accredited Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, a multi-program institution with a 116 year tradition of educational excellence. Located in Suwanee, GA-PCOM offers the doctor of osteopathic medicine degree, the doctor of pharmacy degree and a master’s degree in biomedical sciences. The campus includes the Georgia Osteopathic Care Center, an osteopathic manipulative medicine clinic, which is open to the public by appointment. For more information, visit www.pcom.edu or call 678-225-7500.

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