Before taking this class, I had never even heard of the Ohio Pharmacists Association, otherwise known as OPA. Because I didn’t know that much about the organization, other than the fact that it lobbied the Ohio state legislature on healthcare and pharmacy related legislation, I didn’t really know what to expect from their Student Legislative Night event. I knew that it was some sort of precursor event for their Student Legislative Day event that was apparently happening pretty soon, but since I couldn’t go to it, I also wasn’t too sure how this event would benefit or affect me too much. And to be completely honest, I chose to go to this event mostly because I didn’t really have any other choice due to my classes. Despite all of my doubts though, I can say it was definitely worth more than I had originally thought.
What is OPA?
Before I go into the actual event itself, I’d like to talk a little about OPA itself. The Ohio Pharmacists Association is exactly what it sounds like: it is an organization for pharmacists who live in the state of Ohio. They work to better the situation for all pharmacists in the state and like most organizations today, there are elected officers, a board of trustees, and different subcommittees. While they’re not a purely political group, as far as I’m aware, most of the change they do comes from working with the state legislature and the Ohio Board of Pharmacy to pass legislature and rules.
OPA Student Legislative Night
This event featured three keynote speakers: Dr. Cathy Kuhn (the current president), Dr. Megan Marchal (who was also a member of the Ohio Board of Pharmacy), and Antonio Ciaccia (OPA’s lobbyist and Director of Government and Public Affairs). They each spoke about their own experiences, starting from how they got into pharmacy in the first place to how they got involved with OPA and what they do. I was really surprised to learn Dr. Kuhn hadn’t really participated in advocacy during her time at pharmacy school but was still able to climb to such a high position in the organization. Her main message, which was reiterated by the other speakers, was that whenever life presents an opportunity, say yes!
From Dr. Megan Marchal, I learned more about the Ohio Board of Pharmacy. It was interesting to see how OPA’s work intersected with her job at on the board, since the board was in charge of enforcing regulations and deciding how such regulations would be enforced. By having OPA work to have Congress give more freedom to the board, it allows for their professional input and allows them to quickly adapt regulations, rules, and laws in a way that works well for other professionals. Even though we already heard from Antonio Ciaccia in class, he was asked about what he thought was the most important problem facing pharmacists right now and I found his answer very fascinating. He talked about how the pharmacy benefit management industry is a huge mess right now and costing retail pharmacists. Apparently, the reimbursement program is costing retail pharmacists money and are a major reason why independent pharmacies have been closing.
Final Reflection
To be honest, I don’t think I was really part of the direct audience for this event because it was for to-be pharmacists in pharmacy school. However, I still found it to be interesting and I learned quite a bit from it. I had hoped to hear a bit more than just personal stories and not just about OPA’s influence on retail pharmacies. However, I believe this will be a good opportunity for me to do some research and find my own opportunities.