Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Holds AMCP Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy Annual Meeting in San Francisco

San Francisco, Calif., April 20, 2016 — More than 4,200 managed care pharmacists and other health care professionals from across the country are gathered in San Francisco, Calif., this week to attend the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy Annual Meeting. The meeting runs through Friday, April 22 at the Moscone West Convention Center. 

For the first time, this year’s spring event includes “Specialty Pharmacy” in the name to reflect not only the growing importance and challenge of managing specialty medications, but also the expanded educational programming in this area. 

“The Annual Meeting is the only event that brings together all the voices and visions of managed care pharmacy, health care and breakthrough drug therapies,” said AMCP Chief Executive Officer Susan A. Cantrell, RPh, CAE. “It has become a must-attend event for managed care professionals operating in the specialty pharmaceuticals marketplace, as well as for all professionals dedicated to delivering pharmacy benefits to more than 200 million Americans.”

Meeting attendees include managed care pharmacists, physicians, nurses, formulary decision-makers, health plan administrators, medical directors, and Medicare Part D and Medicaid administrators. 

Kicking off the event was Specialty Pharmacy Connect, which convened national health care thought leaders to examine topics such as the future of specialty pharmacy; technology-supported medicine and its impact on specialty pharmacy; and strategies to maximize patient outcomes and affordability for rare and specialty conditions. The event featured keynote speaker Joan Lunden, an award-winning journalist, bestselling author and woman’s health and wellness advocate. Lunden, who is a breast cancer survivor, underscored the patient’s perspective in delivering medication therapy and health care.

The Annual Meeting included nearly 40 education sessions in six topic tracks:
 

• Business Trends in Managed Care: Industry and marketplace factors affecting the practicality and practice of managed care pharmacy.
• Current Affairs in Specialty Pharmacy Management: Groundbreaking advances and new options available in specialty pharmacy.
• Research and Its Practical Application: The latest managed care pharmacy research and how it is being used to make both every day and long-term decisions.
• Spotlight on Formulary Management: Best practices and problems in overseeing formularies, along with brand and generic drug pipeline sessions.
• Staying on Course with Legislative and Regulatory Issues: The latest relevant federal and state legislation.
• The Landscape of Contemporary Managed Care Pharmacy: Controversies, niche issues and notable developments within the managed care pharmacy arena.

The General Session included speeches by outgoing and incoming AMCP Presidents and featured a keynote address by Jim Craig, goaltender of the legendary 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that upset the Soviet Union in one of the most extraordinary and memorable sports victories of all time.

The Expo hall featured nearly 200 exhibit booths from industry, along with seven Science and Innovation Theaters that presented the latest industry breakthrough products and services. In addition, the Expo hall was the site of the annual poster program, which attracted a record 394 abstracts this year. The professional and student posters describe the latest research on new and innovative roles or services in the practice of managed care pharmacy.

In addition to formal programming, the AMCP Meeting included nine independent satellite symposia covering a wide range of topics, including benefit designs for multiple myeloma, emerging therapies and benefit designs for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, and insights on the management of multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, bowel disease and newer insulins to treat diabetes.

The Annual Meeting also offered AMCP the chance to install its new board of directors and honor individuals at a gala awards dinner who have made a lasting contribution to the managed care pharmacy field.

For more information, visit www.amcp.org. 

About AMCP 
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) is a national professional association of pharmacists and other health care practitioners who serve society by the application of sound medication management principles and strategies to improve health care for all. The Academy's 8,000 members develop and provide a diversified range of clinical, educational and business management services and strategies on behalf of the more than 200 million Americans covered by a managed care pharmacy benefit. www.amcp.org.