WASHINGTON — Elizabeth Keyes, chief operating officer of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), has been named as interim executive director of the APhA Foundation with the departure of Mindy Smith.

APhA said this week that Smith is joining the executive team at PrescribeWellness, a provider of community pharmacy and patient care solutions. Keyes is slated to take the reins as interim executive director of the APhA Foundation on Aug. 14.

During her four years as the foundation’s executive director, Smith developed and directed research initiatives, projects and programs that improved consumer health outcomes by using pharmacist collaborative practice models, APhA noted.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to direct APhA Foundation. I am especially excited to see Patient-Self Management (PSM) Solutions is now available to payers, providers and patients across the U.S.,” Smith stated. “The innovation and models of care developed from the foundation’s research are invaluable, and I will continue to support the foundation and APhA as a pharmacist, member, donor and patient care advocate.”

APhA said the recent launch of PSM Solutions marked a milestone for the foundation. PSM Solutions provides a proven model that can reduce overall annual cost of diabetes care by about $1,000 per patient, improve health outcomes and increase patient satisfaction, according to the association.

“Under Mindy’s leadership, APhA Foundation strengthened its visibility and recognition as a national leader in practice based research and demonstrated that a collaborative care model for patients with chronic conditions can improve health outcomes by empowering patients to become actively involved in their health care,” commented APhA Foundation board president Ed Hamilton. “The foundation looks forward to continuing our track record of providing credible evidence about the value of the pharmacists as a key member of the health care team.”

A search for a new executive director is under way, according to APhA executive vice president and chief executive officer Thomas Menighan. “As APhA Foundation begins its search for a new executive director, we will look for a strong leader to build upon our previous successes and meet our mission to improve people’s health through pharmacists’ patient care services,” Menighan stated.