American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) is a professional organization representing the interests of pharmacists who practice in hospitals, health maintenance organizations, long-term care facilities, home care, and other components of health care systems.

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As of 2006, ASHP has 30,000 members, a staff of more than 200 and a budget that exceeds 34 million dollars. Previously it was known as the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists.

Mission

The mission of the society is to advance and support the professional practice of pharmacists in hospitals and health systems and serve as their collective voice on issues related to medication use and public health. ASHP provides legislative advocacy on health system pharmacy issues, partly to achieve public policy that helps people make the best use of medicines. ASHP attempts to assure that there enough competent pharmacists in hospitals and other health care facilities to improve the safety and accessibility of medication to patients.

ASHP provides professional advocacy on health system pharmacy issues to government agencies, such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and healthcare organizations like Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and Institute of Medicine (IOM).