ALEXANDRIA, VA / ACCESS Newswire / October 24, 2025 / ASCP has introduced a new Age-Friendly Pharmacy (AFP) recognition, designed in partnership with the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy's Peter Lamy Center on Drug Therapy and Aging to provide pharmacies with acknowledgment, support, and educational services to assert their leadership in meeting the needs of older adults by providing age-friendly 4Ms care.

"We are pleased to introduce the AFP recognition and this new opportunity to acknowledge and support pharmacies that are committed to providing age-friendly care," said ASCP CEO Chad Worz, PharmD, BCGP, FASCP. "This is an excellent opportunity to integrate the expertise of pharmacies and their teams into the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement, which seeks to provide reliable and person-centered care for older adults."

In 2024, with a grant from The John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF), ASCP introduced an Age-Friendly Pharmacist initiative aimed at enhancing the care of older adults through specialized recognition for pharmacists. Practitioners had an opportunity to obtain an Age-Friendly Digital Badge that recognizes their commitment to medication management for people as they age. The Age-Friendly Pharmacist initiative is designed to acknowledge the skills pharmacists have in managing the 4Ms Framework - What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility - as part of the interprofessional team.

"The AFP recognition celebrates the heart of what we do as pharmacists - helping people age with dignity, safety, and support," said Nicole Brandt, PharmD, MBA, BCGP, FASCP , executive director of the Lamy Center and the Parke-Davis Chair of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy at the School of Pharmacy. "It's an exciting step forward in recognizing pharmacies that put older adults and person-centered care at the center of clinical services they provide to achieve 4Ms care."

The new AFP recognition for pharmacies has three core components:

• Age-Friendly Pharmacy Recognition. Consistent with the 4Ms Framework established by the Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative of JAHF and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)[ME1], pharmacy and its pharmacists will be acknowledged for delivering better care to the increasing medically complex and aging population across all settings, including the home and community. This recognition also helps the public immediately recognize the services offered to help them age gracefully in place, wherever they are. Qualification criteria will be based on self-attestation alongside ASCP verification.

• LTC Pharmacy Performance and Service Criteria: Recognized pharmacies will join a growing network of pharmacies delivering care to older adults beyond traditional care settings. Qualification criteria will be based on self-attestation, alongside ASCP verification, that pharmacies are implementing the 4Ms Framework and comply with the full Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) definition of long-term care pharmacy services.

• The ASCP Age-Friendly Clinically Integrated Network through CPESN: AFP pharmacies will be able to participate in an enhanced pharmacy services network, working directly with insurers to provide opportunities for pharmacists to deliver clinical services with fair and reasonable reimbursement. The network incorporates innovations and technology to empower its group of pharmacies and pharmacists to succeed in an evolving outcomes marketplace. Transparency in value contracting ensures sustainability and independent community pharmacies as they leverage local trust for new provider and payer partnerships.

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ASCP: The American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) is the only international professional society devoted to optimal medication management and improved health outcomes for all older persons. ASCP's members manage and improve drug therapy and improve the quality of life of geriatric patients and other individuals residing in a variety of environments, including nursing facilities, sub-acute care and assisted living facilities, psychiatric hospitals, hospice programs, and home and community-based care.

The University of Maryland School of Pharmacy's Peter Lamy Center on Drug Therapy and Aging is dedicated to improving drug therapy for aging adults through innovative research, education, and clinical initiatives. The Center's mission is to improve the lives of older adults by optimizing medication safety and use.

ASCP Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization established in 1982. The mission of the ASCP Foundation is to carry out the charitable - including scientific, literary, and educational - purposes of ASCP.

Age-Friendly Health Systems is an initiative of The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the Catholic Health Association of the United States.

SOURCE: ASCP