Associate Dean Honored with National Creativity in Practice and Education Award

Dr. Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner recognized for her dedication to fostering interdisciplinary team programs, projects, and models that focus on the improvement of health care.

By Malissa Carroll
April 5, 2019

Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner, PharmD, FAPhA, FNAP, professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science (PPS) and associate dean for clinical services and practice transformation at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, has been named the 2019 recipient of the National Academies of Practice’s (NAP) Creativity in Practice and Education Award. The award is presented each year to a health care professional who has dedicated his or her career to developing and fostering interdisciplinary team programs, projects, and models that focus on the improvement of health care.

“The School of Pharmacy was excited to learn that Dr. Rodriguez de Bittner was selected to receive the NAP Creativity in Practice and Education Award,” says Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, FCP, FAAPS, dean and professor of the School. “Throughout her distinguished career, Dr. Rodriguez de Bittner has spearheaded numerous clinical, service, and scholarly initiatives designed to advance the adoption of interprofessional care across local, national, and international health systems. Her endeavors have not only highlighted the expertise that pharmacists can bring to the health care team, but also demonstrated the tremendous impact that team-based care can have on patients’ health outcomes. We congratulate her on this outstanding achievement.”

Rodriguez de Bittner received her Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from the School of Pharmacy in 1983. She joined the faculty at the School in 1984, where she has held numerous leadership positions and pioneered the development of many nationally and internationally recognized innovative programs and patient care models. As the executive director of the School’s Center for Innovative Pharmacy Solutions (CIPS), she oversaw the launch of the Maryland Patients, Pharmacists Partnerships (P³) Program – an award-winning pharmacist-delivered comprehensive medication management program for individuals with chronic diseases – and the e-Health Center, which allows the School to participate in telehealth initiatives such as the Mobile Integrated Healthcare – Community Paramedicine (MIH-CP) program.

In addition, Rodriguez de Bittner serves as the director of the Interprofessional Care Transitions Clinic (ICTC) at the University of Maryland Prince George’s County Hospital Center, which employs interprofessional teams of pharmacists, nurse practitioners, social workers, and lawyers to help patients succeed in their transitions from the hospital or emergency department to home by addressing circumstances that could harm their health and lead to readmissions. She has received numerous awards in recognition of her work, including the American Pharmacists Association Foundation Pinnacle Award for Individual Career Achievement, Maryland Innovator of the Year Award, and University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Founders Week Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

“While I am humbled and honored to have received this year’s NAP Creativity in Practice and Education Award, it is important to understand that this award does not belong to me alone,” says Rodriguez de Bittner. “It also belongs to all of the colleagues, peers, and mentors, who have been instrumental in helping me advance interprofessional education and patient care through the many programs and initiatives that we have implemented at the School of Pharmacy and beyond. By receiving this award, I hope that I am able to bring even more attention to the all of the wonderful innovation taking place at the School.”

Founded in 1981, NAP is a non-profit organization that aims to advise governmental bodies on the health care system. Distinguished practitioners and scholars are elected by their peers from 14 different health professions to join the only interprofessional group of health care practitioners and scholars dedicated to supporting affordable, accessible, coordinated quality health care for all.

Rodriguez de Bittner received her award at the 2019 NAP Forum on March 10.



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