Consonus Healthcare Named One of the First Pharmacies for Age-Friendly Pharmacy Recognition

The American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) officially named Consonus Pharmacy and Siler City Pharmacy as the first recipients of the Age-Friendly Pharmacy (AFP) Recognition. This landmark announcement, made in partnership with the University of Maryland’s Peter Lamy Center, honors pharmacies that prioritize the 4Ms Framework: What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility. Siler City Pharmacy provides personalized care to its North Carolina community, and Portland-based Consonus Pharmacy specializes in long-term care and post-acute settings.

In a recent interview, Jessica Androff, PharmD, BCGP, FASCP, president of Consonus Pharmacy, explained that the certification aligns perfectly with their mission to help seniors live the "best rest of their lives.” She noted that the framework formalizes their daily operations, ensuring medication management is viewed as a vital part of a broader interdisciplinary team rather than a siloed task. According to Androff, what a pharmacist recommends—or chooses not to recommend—profoundly impacts a resident's mobility and mentation.

A significant requirement for this recognition is that at least 50% of a pharmacy’s pharmacists must be age-friendly certified. Androff highlighted that this is especially impactful for operational pharmacists. Though they may not have direct resident contact, the certification reinforces that the resident remains at the center of all pharmacy work, providing a meaningful connection to the clinical outcomes of their facility partners.

Androff believes this recognition signals that pharmacy is "more than just the price of the pill.” By focusing on whole-person health and clinical interventions like deprescribing, pharmacists are being recognized as valued clinicians capable of significantly improving outcomes for a rapidly aging and medically complex population. This movement marks a shift toward a more integrated, resident-centered future for the profession.

“We just continue to be focused on whole person health and outcomes, and age friendly is just one piece of that puzzle,” Androff said. “I just want to reiterate that the age-friendly framework has a lot of opportunities for us as clinicians, and I think it would be great for others to look into it if they haven't already.”