SOP’s Rodriguez de Bittner Installed as Trustee for American Pharmacists Association

New role offers opportunity to help the association achieve its mission to lead the pharmacy profession and equip members for their role as the medication expert in team-based, patient-centered care.

By Malissa Carroll
April 11, 2018

Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner, PharmD, FAPhA, 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 installed to serve a three-year term on the American Pharmacists Association’s (APhA) Board of Trustees. She will collaborate with fellow board members on broad direction setting for the association, helping to ensure that APhA continues its mission to lead the pharmacy profession and equip members for their role as the medication expert in team-based, patient-centered care.

“Dr. Rodriguez de Bittner has a long history of service to the pharmacy profession,” says Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, FCP, FAAPS, dean and professor of the School of Pharmacy. “As an educator, practitioner, and advocate for her profession, she has developed and implemented numerous programs and initiatives aimed at transforming the way in which pharmacists’ services are incorporated in health care delivery. We are proud to have her represent our School at the national level with this new appointment, and are excited to support her continued work to advance pharmacy practice not only in the state of Maryland, but also across the United States.”

Established in 1852, APhA is the largest professional association of pharmacists in the United States, with more than 62,000 practicing pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians serving as members. Members of the APhA Board of Trustees are highly accomplished practitioners who are nationally recognized for their efforts to advance the pharmacy profession. They lead the association in developing new policies and programs that advance pharmacists’ optimal roles in team-based, patient-centered care; provide opportunities for professional development, recognition, differentiation, and leadership; disseminate timely, relevant information and state-of-the-art tools and resources; raise societal awareness about the role of pharmacists as essential in patient care for optimal medication use; and create unique opportunities for members to connect and share with peers across practice settings.

“Although it is an honor to serve on the APhA Board of Trustees, it is important to understand that my service extends beyond my own needs as a practicing pharmacist,” says Rodriguez de Bittner. “Because I now have a seat at the table where some of the most important decisions regarding the future of pharmacy practice will be made, it is crucial that I use this visibility to bring awareness to the voices and needs of my students and colleagues. These voices, combined with my expertise and experience, will be critical in helping to inform new policies, procedures, and programming, and ensuring that any new initiatives developed by the association are relevant and important to the advancement of our profession.”

After receiving her Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from the School of Pharmacy, Rodriguez de Bittner joined the faculty as an assistant professor in 1984. She has held numerous leadership positions in the School, including associate dean for academic affairs, chair of PPS, executive director of the Center for Innovative Pharmacy Solutions (CIPS), and director of the award-winning Maryland Patients, Pharmacists, Partnerships (P³) Program. A nationally recognized pharmapreneur who has dedicated her career to developing and implementing new health care delivery models across a variety of practice settings, Rodriguez de Bittner has received many awards in recognition of her achievements, including the APhA 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. She is a past-president of both the Maryland Pharmacists Association and the APhA Foundation.

She will maintain her faculty appointment at the School of Pharmacy during her service on the APhA Board of Trustees.

“I am excited to have this opportunity to collaborate with other members of the APhA Board of Trustees to address some of the most important challenges facing our profession today,” says Rodriguez de Bittner. “I cannot wait to share the innovative programs that we have developed at our School with others across country, as well as learn about the initiatives implemented by those practitioners at their practice sites, to gain a better understanding about which health care delivery methods might be most effective for practitioners and patients alike.”

She adds, “By working together, I am confident that we will be able to continue moving the profession forward for future generations.”

Rodriguez de Bittner was officially installed as a member of the APhA Board of Trustees during the APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition held March 16-19 in Nashville, Tenn.

Related News Stories

More Stories About: Center Center for Innovative Pharmacy Solutions CIPS Faculty Appointments Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner PPS