Earlier this month, preliminary requests were submitted to the Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS) for its consideration in 2012 and beyond regarding the development of new specialties in pharmacy practice in three areas. Depending on the proposed specialty, at least two national pharmacy organizations have joined together to submit the forms for each of the three proposed areas of specialized practice, which include:

• Infectious diseases – American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP); American Pharmacists Association (APhA); Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP); and American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP).
• Cardiology – American Pharmacists Association (APhA); American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP); and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).
• Transplantation – American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).

The areas of cardiology and infectious diseases are currently recognized by BPS as areas of “Added Qualifications” under the existing Pharmacotherapy specialty.

In accordance with its established processes, BPS is expected to review the requests and then consider which areas of potential specialization it will explore through its usual process for consideration of proposed specialties (www.bpsweb.org). To view the three request forms and learn more about ACCP’s ongoing efforts to expand specialty recognition, please visit www.accp.com/careers/specRecog.aspx.