JOHNSON CITY, N.Y. — This fall, pharmacy automation provider Innovation will begin offering Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) to students enrolled in the Binghamton University School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences (SOPPS).

Innovation said Thursday that BU students selecting this elective rotation will spend six weeks working side by side with the company’s senior team members. Students will focus on learning effective management and leadership skills in an outpatient pharmacy operational environment.

“We’re honored to become an advanced pharmacy practice site and to offer Binghamton University pharmacy students the opportunity to learn about the many complexities of today’s ever-evolving pharmacy operations. This is a unique APPE offering for students that truly differentiates Binghamton University SOPPS from schools of pharmacy around the country,” stated Phil Samples, vice president of professional and government service at Innovation and a member of the BU School of Pharmacy Dean’s Advisory Council.

“We’re looking forward to sharing our in-depth knowledge and experiences with BU students, and we’re dedicated to helping them prepare for their careers in pharmacy and for improving patient outcomes,” Samples added.

Students also will learn best-practice tools and techniques to analyze, interpret, model, simulate and predict operational performance under relevant workload, workflow and process options, according to Innovation, the maker of PharmASSIST pharmacy automation solutions. In addition, the company’s pharmacy professionals will teach students about Lean Six Sigma and how to apply the methodology to pharmacy operations.

“By exposing our prospective pharmacists to the future of pharmacy, our students will be both well-versed in the various technological advancements in today’s pharmacies and be immersed in problem-solving methodology that can be applied to critically assessing patients,” commented Angela Riley, assistant dean of experiential education at Binghamton University.

“Innovation has created strong relationships with various schools from Binghamton University to develop pharmacy intelligence to improve outcomes in pharmacy practice,” Riley noted. “The next best step is to create a strong relationship with the SOPPS, as these students will be the practitioners implementing and managing such technological advancement.”

Binghamton University’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences will begin on BU’s campus in August and later relocate to a newly constructed building on a new, eight-acre health sciences campus in Johnson City, N.Y., Innovation said. The new building is slated to open in 2018.