White paper: value of specialty certification in pharmacy.
OBJECTIVE
To address the value of Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (BPS) certification, particularly as perceived by different stakeholders (pharmacists, employers, government, and academia), and to draw a parallel between specialization and certification in pharmacy and in medicine.


METHODS
Electronic databases (Medline, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts), associations/health care organizations Web sites, outside reports, and clinical pharmacists involved in certification processes.


METHODS
Studies and reports that addressed the value of specialty certification were selected by the authors.


METHODS
By the authors.


RESULTS
Pharmacists with specialty certification report enhanced feelings of self-worth, improved competence, and greater marketability. Other values of certification include increased acceptance by health care professionals, salary increases, and job promotions. Employers have acknowledged board-certified pharmacists through public recognition, increase in responsibility, and some types of monetary compensation. In some governmental organizations, certified pharmacists receive salary raises and are granted prescribing authority. However, the overall value of specialty certification in pharmacy as perceived by the public or payers lags behind when compared with the status of specialty certification in medicine.


CONCLUSIONS
Board-certified pharmacists appreciate the value of pharmacy specialty certification, and in a number of organizations and practice settings, board-certified pharmacists are perceived as valuable. Still, unlike board-certified physicians, board-certified pharmacists are not widely recognized outside or even within the pharmacy profession. To address this challenge, board-certified pharmacists ought to market their services to assure that other stakeholders recognize their value.
Pradel
Françoise G
FG
Center on Drugs and Public Policy, School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland, Baltimore 21201, USA. fpradel@rx.umaryland.edu
Palumbo
Francis B
FB
Flowers
Louis
L
Mullins
C Daniel
CD
Haines
Stuart T
ST
Roffman
David S
DS
D000068:Accreditation / Q000145:classification*; D002568:Certification / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000523:psychology; D010604:Pharmacy; D011361:Professional Competence; D012957:Societies, Pharmaceutical; D014481:United States