About the P&T Competition

Formulary management is an integrated patient care process that enables physicians, pharmacists, and other health care professionals to work together to promote clinically sound, cost-effective medication therapy and positive therapeutic outcomes. Formulary management systems are used routinely by health plans, pharmacy benefit management companies (PBMs), hospitals, and government agencies (including the Veterans Health Administration, Department of Defense, and Medicare and Medicaid programs). 

A drug formulary is a continually updated list of medications and related products supported by current evidence-based medicine and the judgment of physicians, pharmacists, and other experts in the diagnosis and treatment of disease and preservation of health. The overall goal is to develop a list of the safest, most effective medications that will produce the desired goals of therapy at the most reasonable cost to the health care system.

Primary responsibility for developing, managing, updating, and administering the drug formulary rests with the Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Committee. The P&T Committee also designs and implements formulary system policies on utilization and access to medications.

Pharmacists who serve on or provide support to P&T Committees must understand how to evaluate the best available scientific, clinical, and economic evidence on medication use. They also must be able to determine the impact of medication use on patient population outcomes, conduct cost/benefit analyses, and relate drug therapy choices to current practice guidelines. 

The P&T Competition was created to introduce student pharmacists to the skills necessary for effective formulary review and management. By participating in the P&T Competition, student pharmacists gain experience in gathering and critically analyzing scientific, clinical, and economic evidence in a systematic and rigorous fashion. They also hone written and oral communication skills that are increasingly important in today’s health care environment.

Why Participate in the P&T Competition from AMCP on Vimeo

All competing team members are expected to have a working knowledge of all deadlines, rules, requirements, and procedures for the P&T Competition. Failure to comply with any of these deadlines, rules, requirements, or procedures may result in school and/or team disqualification.

General Rules and Requirements

• P&T Competition teams usually are composed of four (4) student pharmacists. Teams ideally should include students in different years of the pharmacy curriculum.
• All members of competing teams must be active (paid) national AMCP Student Pharmacist Members.
• All members of competing teams must be enrolled full-time in a Doctor of Pharmacy program at a school or college of pharmacy accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). Dual-degree enrollment (e.g., PharmD/MBA) is permissible.
• Students enrolled only in programs other than a Doctor of Pharmacy program — for example, Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, or PhD programs — are not eligible to compete.
• Residents and fellows are not eligible to compete.
• Each pharmacy school/college may enter one team into the national competition. If more than one team is interested in competing, a single team must be selected (typically the winner of a local competition).
• Each pharmacy school/college must designate one student Competition Coordinator to serve as the primary contact person for all competing teams at the pharmacy school/college. The Competition Coordinator is responsible for disseminating important P&T Competition materials to all competing teams and keeping teams informed about P&T Competition news. The Competition Coordinator also is responsible for forwarding questions from individual teams or team members to AMCP Foundation and sharing responses with all teams.
• It is permissible for student Competition Coordinators, AMCP Student Pharmacist Chapter Presidents, and other student leaders to participate on P&T Competition teams.
• All members of competing teams, as well as judges for local competitions, must register for access to the student (Academia) version of FormularyDecisions in order to view the AMCP eDossier^® for the study drug.
• Materials for the current P&T Competition (e.g., Case Study and Team Assignments document, monograph template, judging criteria) are provided only to student Competition Coordinators and Advisors, and only by email.
• Individual teams or team members are not permitted to contact AMCP Foundation directly.

Requirements for Schools That Do Not Have AMCP Student Pharmacist Chapters

Students who attend a pharmacy school/college that does not have an AMCP Student Pharmacist Chapter are able to participate in the P&T Competition so long as all of the following conditions are met.

• The pharmacy school/college must provide a rationale for not yet seeking to establish a Student Pharmacist Chapter.
• Prior to the deadline for submitting entries to the national P&T Competition, a representative from the pharmacy school/college must meet with an AMCP staff member, Diplomat and/or member of the AMCP Schools of Pharmacy Relations Committee or Student Pharmacist Committee to discuss future chapter development.
• A pharmacy school/college cannot participate in the P&T Competition for more than 2 years without beginning the process of establishing an AMCP Student Pharmacist Chapter.

• Members of prior year competition teams may serve as mentors for the current year competition, provided that the mentor treats all teams equally (i.e., serves as a mentor for all teams, not just one).
• Teams may consult Competition Advisors regarding research resources and to verify or clarify information gathered through independent research. Competition Advisors may not suggest references that were not identified through independent research. For example, if a Competition Advisor reviews a written monograph and notices that the team did not identify a major resource, the Advisor cannot direct the team to that specific resource; the Advisor can only suggest that team members expand their search for resources.
• Team members may not contact the manufacturer of the study drug or any representative of the company (e.g., local sales representative or medical science liaison) to obtain additional information about the drug. Whenever possible, AMCP Foundation will arrange for a presentation by the manufacturer to all pharmacy schools/colleges that intend to compete.
• Competition Advisors may engage a knowledgeable clinician to educate all team members about the disease state addressed in the competition case study. Clinicians must refrain from any editorial comment (expert opinion) on the merits or lack of merit of the treatment options for the disease, so as to not unduly influence the student pharmacists’ decisions.
• Competition Advisors or other volunteers, such as Diplomats or local AMCP members, may provide guidance to teams on the usual operations and expectations of a P&T Committee. For example, if a team is missing a major section in the PowerPoint presentation, Competition Advisors may suggest that the team add that section. However, if the team were missing trial XYZ in the clinical trials section of the PowerPoint, competition Advisors may not suggest that the team add that trial to the PowerPoint; they can only suggest that team members expand their search for clinical trials.
• Competition Advisors are permitted and encouraged to provide general assistance with presentation and writing skills.

• Travel and registration expenses for attending AMCP Annual are the responsibility of each finalist team.
• Through the generosity of the P&T Competition funding partners, AMCP Foundation may extend honoraria to the pharmacy school/college of each National Finalist team and/or top teams. However, awarding of honoraria is not guaranteed.
• Please note that AMCP Foundation’s funding partners do not underwrite travel expenses for individuals. Accordingly, any awards to National Finalist teams may not be used to pay for travel or hotel accommodations. We suggest using the awards to support other expenses incurred by members of the finalist teams, such as AMCP membership, AMCP meeting registration, tuition, books, or other costs. Funds from AMCP Foundation also can be administered as scholarships by the school/college of pharmacy.