JOHNSON CITY — East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy was recently selected to be part of a regional group participating in a national movement to transform and expand the role of community pharmacy.

By joining the nationally sponsored “Flip the Pharmacy” initiative during the October launch, faculty and students at the college of pharmacy will serve area community pharmacies as they move from traditional point-in-time, prescription-level care processes to outcomes based, patient-level care models. Services will include one-on-one coaching, administrative support, research and innovation-inspired efforts.

“We are excited to join this nationwide initiative to expand the pharmacy profession,” said Dr. Debbie Byrd, dean of the Gatton College of Pharmacy. “Our goal is to help sustain community-based pharmacy practice and to elevate quality patient care in our region, as well as to prepare graduates who are able to provide contemporary services.”

Gatton College of Pharmacy has partnered with pharmacies in four clinically integrated community pharmacy enhanced services networks (CPESN) in Northeast Tennessee (NET), Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina, as well as pharmacy schools from across the region as part of the Greater Appalachian Transformation Effort (GATE) team. The team was selected for Flip the Pharmacy’s first cohort of the nationwide program, which will run for 24 months.

“Flip the Pharmacy equips community pharmacies with the training, tools and resources they need to become leaders in consistency of care and sustainable improvement in patient outcomes,” said Rebecca Wagers, Network Facilitator CPESN-NET and GATE Practice Transformation Team Lead. “The GATE leadership team is proud to represent the Appalachian community pharmacy industry in a project that understands that when the patient wins, we all win.”

Nationwide, 20 Practice Transformation Teams were selected to receive funding and resources to assist local community pharmacies in transforming their business model. The GATE team is notable, as it represents the highest number, nearly 20%, of the total pharmacies covered by the selected teams during the inaugural application period. Additionally, GATE is the only multi-regional awardee. The Flip the Pharmacy program is supported by the Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network (CPESN-USA) and the Community Pharmacy Foundation (CPF).

Over the next five years, Flip the Pharmacy plans to graduate more than 1,000 pharmacies from a two-year transformation process. Learn more at www.flipthepharmacy.com.