Wed 28 August 2024
SHPA now Advanced Pharmacy Australia
SHPA today re-enters the health care landscape with a new identity in response to the increasing needs of patients and a pharmacy profession outgrowing traditional workplace boundaries.
With more Australians taking more medicines than ever before, Advanced Pharmacy Australia is a new trading name for an organisation committed to enriching patient care by extending advanced pharmacy from hospitals to everywhere medicines are needed.
AdPha President Tom Simpson FANZCAP (Lead&Mgmt) says the organisation continues its eight-decade legacy as the progressive voice of Australian pharmacists and technicians, but is now more inclusive, reflecting the rapid pace of change.
‘Hospital pharmacy is no longer contained by the four walls of our hospitals. Our members are on the forefront of innovation providing acute and urgent pharmacy care across care settings.
‘The last decade has seen growth in pharmacy expertise in areas such as medicines regulation and digital health while pharmacogenomics and advanced therapeutics will continue to change the way we care for our patients.
‘Our membership reflects these changes – not all members are pharmacists and many do not work in hospitals – and from today, our name reflects these changes too.
‘As AdPha, we are stepping up to support a profession that continues to expand in scope, by representing and advocating for the many thousands of practitioners providing in hospital-led or hospital-informed pharmacy care, wherever it is delivered.
‘AdPha is committed to forging stronger connections between hospitals, transitions of care, aged care and general practice by fostering a culture of recognition, innovation and collaboration, with the patient at the centre of everything we do.’
With a striking fresh new look drawing on the imagery of four intersecting circles, Mr Simpson says the visual identity perfectly captures the essence of collaboration and inclusivity at the heart of Advanced Pharmacy Australia.
‘The circles are a metaphor for what we pride ourselves on: inclusivity, networks, collaboration, and patient-centred care.
‘What it seeks to evoke - simply and elegantly I believe - is our purpose: leading pharmacy, enriching care; from hospitals to everywhere medicines are needed.
‘The circles also reflect the value we place in our many partnerships and our strong belief in the power of complementary pharmacy organisations in Australia.
‘As the home of advanced pharmacy, our aim is to ensure voices from across our profession and broader healthcare work together to optimise care for all Australians.’
Mr Simpson says while the trading name of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia may have changed, its commitment to its members and the patients in their care is unwavering.
‘As AdPha, we will continue to deliver everything our members expect from us including our leading education program, our huge annual Medicines Management conference, Specialty Practice, our recognition program through ANZCAP, publications, standards of practice and advocacy. And hospital pharmacy will always be the core focus of what we do, and why we do it.
‘At the same time, we will lift the ceiling on what is possible for any pharmacy practitioner, based on their passion, potential and the care they can provide, beyond the building they work in.
‘We are no longer about where we work, but about what we can do.
‘This change is about setting us up for our next era leading pharmacy innovation to empower members and the Australians in their care.’