January brings us a new session of Congress as well as optimism to our profession’s pursuit of federal provider status legislation. We ended the last session of Congress with 123 cosponsors for pharmacy provider status legislation—H.R. 4190—which we expect to be reintroduced soon, thus receiving a new bill number. With your enthusiasm and engagement, we believe that we can quickly meet and exceed the number of cosponsors achieved in 2014. To continue and build on the engagement in provider status efforts by pharmacists everywhere, we have made exciting updates to PharmacistsProvideCare.com—APhA’s website dedicated to the campaign for pharmacists’ provider status.

PharmacistsProvideCare.com is a resource for pharmacists and others to obtain information and resources regarding state, federal, and private-sector provider status efforts. Although targeted to pharmacists, the site is a place where anyone can go to learn more about pharmacists, their services, and the value they provide to patients and the health care system. Although APhA has been sharing provider status–related news and events over the last 2 years, we relaunched PharmacistsProvideCare.com to provide you with even more information and to make it even easier to find. In fact, the site now includes state-specific resources, compiled in collaboration with the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA), on the impact that pharmacists can have on access to health care, and advocacy tools. These resources will help arm pharmacists with the most effective information to influence their policy makers, such as Members of Congress. But we’re just getting started! In the coming months, we’ll add even more state-specific information and a robust legislative action center.

Once federal provider status legislation is reintroduced, we’ll need pharmacists and student pharmacists across the nation ready to take action. I encourage you to explore all that PharmacistsProvideCare.com has to offer, and to check back often for campaign updates. If there is additional information or resources that we should consider adding to help you be an effective advocate, let us know. As our Annual Meeting theme this year says, “Advancing As One” will help us move closer to our goal of increasing consumer access to, and coverage for, pharmacists’ patient care services. We can’t do this without you!