Every pharmacist and student pharmacist who isn’t yet an APhA member should consider this a personal message from me about what we are doing on provider status recognition—and a personal invitation urging each of them to join us in this quest. Every member of APhA strengthens our value, vision, and voice for you individually and for the profession.

Following is our message that I challenge you to copy, paste, and personalize in your e-mail to a colleague who’d benefit from membership. If every APhA member took the time to send this message to one colleague, we could double our voice.

Dear Colleague,

We are dedicated to achieving provider status recognition for pharmacists as part of our commitment to advancing the future of pharmacists in every practice setting, and at every stage of your career.

On Capitol Hill, APhA is leading the way by advocating collaboratively in support of H.R. 4190, a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would recognize the value of your patient care services making a difference in your patients’ lives and gain coverage and access for consumers to our services—like other members of the health care team.

Your APhA membership strengthens our combined efforts to gain provider status recognition for pharmacists as part of a long-range goal to improve patient care. In addition to serving as the voice for pharmacists, student pharmacists, and the pharmacy profession, APhA offers its members access to unparalleled education and training, critical tools and resources, specialty certification, and professional connections vital to success and career advancement.

A strong Association means a strong voice advocating on your behalf. We cannot make provider status recognition a reality without your support. Join me in being a proud member of APhA at www.pharmacist.com/join.

Sincerely,

Your Name

And by the way, I am so proud of our Government Affairs team and the literally thousands of members who have visited the Hill this past year. Meanwhile, the public news media are publishing an amazing number of positive stories about the benefits of having pharmacists on the team. That’s no accident, as we’re active not only on the Hill, but with the media and with state pharmacy associations to support the three pathways to success: federal, state, and private. Keep up the good work!