CPS Launches Public Health & Remote Care Certifications in Response to Global Needs

The past several months have tested our healthcare system, our communities, and our profession in ways few could have ever imagined. In the face of the immense challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmacy professionals across the nation have demonstrated breathtaking resilience, adaptability, and an unwavering commitment to patient care. You have been on the front lines in our communities, a trusted source of information in a time of fear. You have innovated at record speed, adopting new technologies and workflows to ensure continuity of care. You have reinforced, beyond any doubt, the essential and expanding role of the pharmacist in our public health infrastructure.

The Council on Pharmacy Standards (CPS) has been humbled and inspired by this extraordinary response. We believe this pivotal moment in history has not fundamentally changed our profession, but rather cast a brilliant spotlight on the critical skills and advanced competencies that have been evolving for years. In this moment, it is our duty to recognize and validate these skills.

Today, we are honored to announce the official launch of the CPS Public Health & Remote Care Portfolio—a new suite of four specialty certifications designed to recognize the essential expertise pharmacists are deploying every day to serve their communities through this crisis and beyond.

This portfolio includes:

• Certified Public Health Pharmacist (CPHP)

• Certified Telepharmacy Pharmacist (CTP)

• Certified Remote Order Verification Pharmacist (CROVP)

• Certified Transitions of Care Specialist (CTCS)

A Strategic Response to an Evolving Profession

The development of these four new certification programs was not born from the crisis, but their urgent relevance has been profoundly affirmed by it. Our strategic analysis, which began long before 2020, pointed toward a clear trajectory for the profession: a future with a greater emphasis on population health, telehealth, and integrated care models. The foundational work for this portfolio—including initial practice analyses and Subject Matter Expert engagement—was already underway as a proactive measure to meet the profession’s anticipated needs.

The events of 2020 served as a powerful accelerant. The pandemic did not create the need for expertise in telepharmacy or public health; it cast an undeniable spotlight on its urgency and brought the future of pharmacy rushing into the present. Our decision was to fast-track the development and launch of these programs to provide immediate support and recognition for the thousands of practitioners who are now defining best practices in these domains in real time. This portfolio is our commitment to ensuring that as the scope of pharmacy practice expands, the standards that define excellence expand right along with it.

A Deeper Look at the Public Health & Remote Care Portfolio

Each certification in this new portfolio is designed to validate a unique and critical skill set that has become central to modern pharmacy practice.

Certified Public Health Pharmacist (CPHP)

The pandemic has erased any doubt that every pharmacist, regardless of their practice setting, is a vital public health provider. The CPHP certification is designed to formally recognize pharmacists who possess specialized knowledge and skills in population-level health. It is ideal for professionals working in public health departments, managed care organizations, health systems, and community pharmacies who are actively involved in health screenings, immunization programs, emergency preparedness, and community health education. The CPHP examination validates expertise in core public health principles, including basic epidemiology, health literacy and cultural competence, disaster and pandemic response, and strategies for managing chronic disease at a population level. Earning the CPHP credential signifies a pharmacist’s ability to think beyond the individual patient and to effectively contribute to the health and resilience of their entire community.

Certified Telepharmacy Pharmacist (CTP)

In a matter of weeks, telehealth transformed from a growing niche into an essential pillar of care delivery. The CTP certification is the first of its kind, created to validate the unique competencies required to provide safe, effective, and empathetic patient care through digital platforms. This credential is for any pharmacist who provides direct patient care services, such as counseling, disease state management, and MTM, via telephonic or video-based technologies. The CTP examination assesses critical skills in virtual patient assessment, effective digital communication strategies (“webside manner”), navigating the complex legal and regulatory landscape of telehealth, and ensuring patient privacy and data security in a virtual environment. The CTP certification marks a professional as a leader in the digital transformation of healthcare, equipped to connect with patients wherever they are.

Certified Remote Order Verification Pharmacist (CROVP)

To ensure continuity of care and protect the pharmacy workforce, thousands of hospitals and health systems have transitioned their order verification processes to a remote model. The CROVP certification is designed to provide a national standard of excellence for this critical function. It is intended for hospital and health-system pharmacists who are responsible for reviewing and verifying medication orders from a location outside the physical pharmacy. The examination validates a pharmacist’s competence in utilizing remote pharmacy information systems, maintaining high levels of accuracy and patient safety in a non-traditional environment, and adhering to all compliance and security protocols required for remote work. For health systems, employing CROVP-certified pharmacists provides an added layer of assurance in the quality and safety of their remote pharmacy operations.

Certified Transitions of Care Specialist (CTCS)

Now more than ever, ensuring a safe and effective transition for patients moving between care settings—particularly from hospital to home—is critical to preventing readmissions and ensuring positive health outcomes. The CTCS certification recognizes pharmacists who specialize in this vital aspect of the care continuum. It is ideal for dedicated transitions of care pharmacists as well as those in hospital, ambulatory care, and MTM roles who manage patient handoffs. The CTCS examination validates expertise in comprehensive medication reconciliation, effective patient and caregiver education at discharge, and collaborative communication with outpatient providers to ensure seamless continuity of care. A CTCS-certified pharmacist is a recognized expert in mitigating one of the most significant risks in modern healthcare, serving as the crucial link that protects patients during their most vulnerable moments.

Accessible Certification for a Remote World

In May, we introduced Live Remote Proctoring (LRP) as a direct response to the closure of testing centers, promising a secure and accessible path to certification from home. We are proud to affirm that this commitment extends fully to our new portfolio.

All four of these new certifications—CPHP, CTP, CROVP, and CTCS—will be available for testing via our proven Live Remote Proctoring (LRP) platform from day one. This creates a seamless, end-to-end solution perfectly suited for the times. We are not just offering certifications relevant to public health and remote care; we are delivering them in a way that is immediately accessible to the very remote workforce they are designed to support. This synergy of relevant content and flexible delivery is central to our mission of serving the profession where it is, and where it is going.

Information for Inaugural Candidates

We invite the leaders, innovators, and front-line heroes of the pharmacy profession to become the inaugural class of certificants for this timely and essential portfolio.

• Registration Opens: The registration window for the first administration of all four certification examinations will open on August 1, 2020.

• Candidate Handbooks: The official Candidate Handbooks, containing detailed eligibility requirements, full content outlines, and sample questions, are now available for download on our website.

• First Testing Window: The inaugural testing window for the CPHP, CTP, CROVP, and CTCS examinations will take place from October 1, 2020, to November 15, 2020.

The pharmacy profession has risen to the challenge of this historic moment with unparalleled skill and dedication. These certifications are a tribute to the skills you are already demonstrating and the critical role you play in our healthcare system. Now is the time to earn the recognition you so richly deserve.

The Leadership Team, Council on Pharmacy Standards (CPS)