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Rodriguez de Bittner Receives National Excellence in Pharmacy Practice Award |
 Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner, PharmD,
BCPS, CDE, FAPhA, of the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy has
been selected to receive one of the highest honors of the American
Pharmacists Association's (APhA) Academy of Pharmacy Practice and
Management.
The APhA awards and honors program is the most comprehensive
recognition program in the profession of pharmacy.
The 2013 Daniel B. Smith Practice Excellence Award cites Rodriguez de
Bittner's significant contributions to advance patient care services
within community and ambulatory pharmacy. Rodriguez de Bittner,
professor and chair of the School's Department of Pharmacy Practice and
Science, will be officially recognized during the APhA Annual Meeting
and Exposition in Los Angeles, March 1-4, 2013.
"Dr. Rodriguez de Bittner is a thought leader on innovation in
community pharmacy practice," says Natalie
D. Eddington, PhD, BSP, FAAPS, FCP, dean and professor of the
School of Pharmacy. "Through the numerous programs she has implemented,
she has revolutionized patient care in Maryland at the community
pharmacy level. The entire School of Pharmacy is proud of her efforts
and excited for her to receive this award."
Rodriguez de Bittner also is executive director of the School's Center
for Innovative Pharmacy Solutions and director of the Maryland
Patients, Pharmacists, Partnerships (P3) Program of specially trained pharmacist coaches who help reduce employer and employee health care costs while eliminating obstacles to chronic disease care for employees and their families, and improving health care outcomes. She also serves as a clinical pharmacist at the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Her practice interest areas are in the ambulatory care and community pharmacy practice sites, including the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative practice models in these settings.
The award nomination states, "Dr. Rodriguez de Bittner's career is a
model of innovation. She has established cutting-edge practices in
anticoagulation, diabetes, and general pharmacotherapy/medication
therapy management.
"She developed the first diabetes center in a chain pharmacy to achieve
provider-status recognition from the American Diabetes Association and
gain a Medicare provider number. She led the effort in Maryland as a
participant in the APhA Foundation's Diabetes Ten City Challenges, or
Maryland's P3 (Patients, Pharmacists, Partnerships) Program, which has
touched the lives of many families and caregivers, pharmacists, and
other health care providers."
Says Rodriguez de Bittner: "I am so proud that we have
implemented innovative programs that are unique and have advanced the
profession of pharmacy by bringing together all the key stakeholders
including government agencies, legislative bodies, universities,
businesses, and pharmacy organizations."
Rodriguez de Bittner earned her Bachelor of Science pharmacy degree at
the University of Puerto Rico and her PharmD at the University of
Maryland. She is past president and past chair of the board of the
Maryland Pharmacists Association and past president of the APhA
Foundation. She has earned numerous honors including the 2010 Pinnacle
Award from the APhA Foundation, the 2008 Distinguished Practitioner
Award from the National Academies of Practice in Pharmacy, the 2007
APhA Community Pharmacy Residency Excellence in Precepting Award, and
the 2005 Bowl of Hygeia from the Maryland Pharmacists Association.
Daniel B. Smith was the first president of APhA, a professional group
founded in 1852 and now representing more than 62,000 practicing
pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, student pharmacists, pharmacy
technicians, and others interested in advancing the profession. The
Smith award recognizes a pharmacy practitioner, in any practice
setting, who has distinguished himself/herself and the profession
through outstanding performance and achievements.
But Rodriguez de Bittner says the effort is ultimately all about the
patient's health. "I love the opportunity we have as pharmacists to
impact the lives of our patients, often right in their neighborhoods,"
she says. "Medications are critical in health care and we have the
knowledge and skills to help our patients achieve the best outcomes of
medication therapy, as well as prevent so many side effects and
unnecessary deaths."
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| Posting Date: 02/06/2013 |
| Contact Name: Steve Berberich |
| Contact Phone: 410-706-0023 |
| Contact Email: sberb001@umaryland.edu |
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