Brentwood, Tenn. (February 13, 2020) – LifePoint Health®, a leading healthcare company dedicated to Making Communities Healthier®, today announced that its pharmacy informatics residency program – a collaboration between LifePoint and the Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences – has been awarded an eight-year accreditation by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). The accreditation is effective through 2027, representing the maximum timeframe a residency program can be accredited by the organization.
Developed in 2016, LifePoint’s pharmacy informatics residency is a 24-month program that combines participants’ postgraduate year one (PGY1) and postgraduate year two (PGY2) residencies, and is one of the few programs of its kind in the U.S. It provides advanced postgraduate training to prepare pharmacist candidates for career opportunities in the healthcare informatics and pharmacy informatics sector. The program’s first year focuses on foundational areas of pharmacy practice, including clinical pharmacy experience at a LifePoint Health facility, as well as core pharmacy informatics principles and best practices. Second-year residents can apply principles and best practices within numerous health information systems and automation solutions available across LifePoint’s network.
“Receiving this accreditation is a testament to the quality of our program and the distinctive experiences our residents are able to gain over the course of their postgraduate studies,” said Christopher Rehm, MD, senior vice president and interim chief medical officer for LifePoint Health. “Our strong organizational focus on quality and patient safety, centrally-managed medication management infrastructure and the ability to expose residents to a wide spectrum of care sites – from academic tertiary medical centers to critical access hospitals – uniquely positions our residents to solve real-world challenges and thrive in a variety of care environments.”
The program was required to meet a rigorous set of standards to receive the eight-year accreditation from ASHP’s Commission on Credentialing. ASHP has been the sole accrediting body for pharmacy residencies since 1962. The organization boasts nearly 50,000 member pharmacists, student pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, and has been at the forefront of efforts to improve medication use and enhance patient safety for more than 75 years.
“Our program combines the practice opportunities of a large, quality-driven health system like LifePoint with the academic opportunities at Lipscomb to offer residents valuable first-hand experience in applying pharmacy informatics principles and leading practices in a real-world setting,” said Thomas Campbell, dean of the Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy. “We are thrilled that it has earned this prestigious accreditation, and I am so proud of the hard work our team and residents have put into making the program such a success.”
Program residents obtain a teaching certificate and have the option to earn a master’s degree in Healthcare Informatics from the Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences through the program.
Candidates who are interested in learning more about the program are encouraged to visit https://www.lifepointhealthpharmacyresidency.com/residency-information.html or contact Paige Porter, AVP of medication management informatics and pharmacy informatics residency program director at LifePoint Health, for additional details.
About LifePoint Health
LifePoint Health is a leading healthcare company dedicated to Making Communities Healthier®. Through its subsidiaries, it provides quality inpatient, outpatient and post-acute services close to home. LifePoint owns and operates community hospitals, regional health systems, physician practices, outpatient centers and post-acute facilities across the country. It is the sole community healthcare provider in the majority of the non-urban communities it serves. More information about the company can be found at www.LifePointHealth.net.
About Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
Lipscomb University’s College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences is the home of Middle Tennessee’s first College of Pharmacy. The college offers undergraduate programs in nursing, kinesiology and nutrition; graduate programs in exercise and nutrition science and health care informatics; and a Doctorate of Pharmacy degree. This fall, the college launched its new School of Physician Assistant Studies that offers a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies and an RN-to-BSN program in its School of Nursing. For more information, visit www.lipscomb.edu/cphs.
