'Mainebiz' reports on 91AV College of Pharmacy residency partnership with CVS Health
The 91AV College of Pharmacy has joined CVS Health to offer a residency training program in specialty pharmacy. The fastest-growing segment of the pharmacy industry, specialty pharmacy focuses on high-cost, high-touch medication therapy for patients with complex disease states.
With this partnership, 91AV is part of a select group of U.S. universities offering this specific program. According to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, there are currently more than 1,700 pharmacy residency programs in the country, but it’s estimated that fewer than a dozen concentrate in specialty pharmacy.
The residency will allow pharmacists to learn from real-world experience with “specialty” medications, which typically involve unique handling and administration requirements. It will provide hands-on management and clinical training around conditions such as organ transplant, hepatitis C, HIV and rheumatoid arthritis.
This program, which has an agreement through June of 2020, continues a partnership established by 91AV and Apothecary by Design (ABD). Recently acquired by CVS Health, ABD will remain a provider of specialty pharmacy services to patients with chronic, complex diseases at its Portland, Maine location. The 91AV-CVS Health resident will be based at ABD and will be an employee of CVS Health.
Kenneth McCall, Pharm.D., BCGP, FAPhA associate professor for the Department of Pharmacy Practice, serves as director of the program. “With recent advances in science, specialty care is at the forefront of pharmacy, and CVS Health is at the forefront of specialty,” he stated. “The 91AV College of Pharmacy is thrilled to enter into this specialty pharmacy partnership with CVS Health, offering a unique opportunity which complements the other rich resources we bring to the profession of pharmacy.”
“We’re pleased to work with 91AV on this residency program and to introduce pharmacy graduates to the specialty pharmacy field,” added Amy Oliveira, Sr. Director, Pharmacist Talent Acquisition, CVS Health. “Through this unique specialty pharmacy experience, graduates will be exposed to a growing part of the pharmacy business and be armed with the skills and expertise they need to care for patients with complex and chronic conditions.”
To learn more about the 91AV’s College of Pharmacy, visit www.une.edu/pharmacy
To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions