AMCP Foundation Announces Recipients of 2016 National P&T Competition, Best Posters

San Francisco, April 22, 2016 — The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Foundation is proud to announce the recipients of its 16th Annual National Student Pharmacist Pharmacy & Therapeutics Competition (P&T) and 2016 Best Student Pharmacist Poster and Best Resident or Fellow Poster Contests. 

The awards were presented today at the AMCP Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

“These annual competitions provide an excellent opportunity for up-and-coming pharmacists to hone a variety of skills essential to the practice of managed care pharmacy,” said Susan A. Cantrell, RPh, CAE, AMCP’s Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the AMCP Foundation Board of Trustees. “The winners here in San Francisco are among some of the brightest minds entering the field today. We are delighted to honor them with these awards, and look forward to watching their careers blossom.”

The P&T competition gives student pharmacists the chance to experience firsthand the complex practice of managing the formulary process. The poster competitions, likewise, provide an opportunity for student pharmacists, graduate students, residents and fellows to demonstrate their scientific expertise along with presentation, poster development and technical skills. 

“These contests are central to our mission to support education and advance research,” said Paula J. Eichenbrenner, CAE, Executive Director of the AMCP Foundation. “Student pharmacists from across the country put a tremendous amount of time and effort into their presentations. These competitions allow us to recognize the best among them, while expanding the collective understanding of factors that affect patient care.”

The 2016 P&T Competition attracted 43 teams from AMCP Student Pharmacist Chapters nationwide. Eight finalist teams were selected from 17 AMCP Student Chapters that advanced to the second round of the semi-finals. The finalists represent Mercer University, Purdue University, University of California San Diego, University of California San Francisco, University of Colorado, University of Minnesota, University of Southern California, and University of Washington. 

The four-member teams worked through a case study involving a drug product dossier based on the AMCP Format for Formulary Submissions. This year’s competition drug was Ventavis, manufactured by Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc. Using available evidence, the teams presented their recommendations for formulary placement to a panel of judges representing a P&T committee. 

The 2016 winning teams are:

• First place: University of California, San Diego. The first place team’s school receives a $4,000 scholarship.
• Second place: University of Southern California. The second place receives a $3,000 scholarship.
• Third Place: University of California, San Francisco. The third place receives a $2,000 scholarship.

The P&T Competition is made possible through the generous support of Genentech, Amgen, Dymaxium, and AMCP/eDossier System.

This year’s Best Poster Competitions drew 114 participants, up from 66 last year. The posters were judged on criteria including the paper’s scientific merit, evidence that the research conducted was innovative and practical, the strength of the conclusions, the relevance of the study to managed care pharmacy practice, the clarity of the material, and the author’s knowledge of the subject matter during his or her presentation. 

The 2016 recipients are:

• Best Student Pharmacist Poster: Leann McDowell, MS, class of 2016, University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy. Her poster was “Cost-effectiveness of Nivolumab-ipilimumab Combination Therapy Compared to Monotherapy for Metastatic Melanoma from a U.S. Societal Perspective.”
• Best Graduate Student, Resident or Fellow Poster: Mi Jung Lim, PharmD, post-graduate year one resident in managed care at Anthem Pharmacy Solutions in Norfolk, Virginia. Her poster was “The Impact of a Proactive Pilot Program to Improve Adherence in Medicare Members.”
• Honorable Mention, Best Graduate Student Poster: Nathan Pauly, second-year PhD student, Institute for Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy. His poster was “Fifty State Analysis of The Impact of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs on Rates of Opioid Prescribing in The United States.”

Poster award recipients receive a $500 check, a one-year AMCP membership, complimentary registration to the AMCP Nexus 2016 this October in National Harbor, Md., and an engraved plaque.

For more information on the AMCP Foundation, please visit www.amcpfoundation.org.

About the AMCP Foundation 
Established in 1990, the 501(c)3 nonprofit AMCP Foundation exists to advance collective knowledge and insights on major issues associated with the practice of pharmacy in managed health care settings. By facilitating innovative research initiatives and providing educational opportunities to learn about managed care pharmacy, the AMCP Foundation invests in the future of managed care. The Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP).