The mission of the Texas Pharmacy Congress is "to facilitate discussion on professional, technological, legislative, and regulatory issues through exchange of views, interpretation, and analysis of matters of common interest to Texas pharmacists, Texas pharmacy organizations, and the constituencies they serve."

The Texas Pharmacy Congress (TPC) is a coordinating body designed to serve as a forum on matters of common interest to its members. The Congress is patterned after the Joint Commission on Pharmacy Practitioners (JCPP). For 15 years, it has provided a common ground on which leaders in Texas pharmacy can meet to ensure, to the extent that consensus can be reached, unity for the profession in Texas. Even when consensus cannot be reached on a particular issue, the discussions that occur during each meeting allow for a better understanding of each member organization's viewpoint on matters of importance to Texas pharmacists. Several other states have followed Texas in forming similar organizations. The Congress as a unit will not take action on any particular matter without the unanimous consent of each Congress member present, although members may pursue that matter further within their respective organizations. This consensus is obtained through the nodding of heads; no official vote is taken.
The Texas Pharmacy Congress has met quarterly since its inception in August 1988.

Membership
Two representatives from each of the following organizations serve as members of the Congress:

• Texas A&M Kingsville School of Pharmacy (2001)
• Texas Federation of Drug Stores
• Texas Pharmacy Association
• Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists
• Texas Southern University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
• Texas State Board of Pharmacy
• Texas Tech Health Science Center School of Pharmacy
• The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy
• University of Houston College of Pharmacy

Membership changes with each organizational year of the professional associations and State Board, and periodically with faculty turnover at the colleges of pharmacy. Additional "resource persons" who have contributed to the Congress' activities are also invited to meetings and kept abreast of Congress activities.

Since its inception, the Congress has:

• Committed members and financial resources to provide the organizational structure for Texas Pharmacists United in Patient Care, a group dedicated to enhancing the public image of the profession in Texas through patient and pharmacist education;
• Suggested enhancements, during several legislative sessions, to the Texas Pharmacy Practice Act;
• Responded to critical professional issues on an ongoing bases;
• Developed a strategic plan, or "vision", for pharmacy in Texas;
• Proactively addressed professional issues such as pharmacist certification and entry-level degrees for pharmacy students;
• Successfully sought approval for, developed, and implemented TxPHARM, a cooperative effort among the four colleges of pharmacy in Texas which offered a non-traditional Pharm.D. degree program to BS-licensed practitioners in Texas; and
• Provided input to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board on the topic of pharmacy education, specifically addressing the possible need for enrollment increases to meet the demand for pharmacists in the state.

Each meeting of the Congress is a significant event in its own right, bringing together some of the most innovative, inspiring, and energized figures in Texas pharmacy to discuss issues of importance to the pharmacists of Texas. Through this forum, the mission of the Congress is fulfilled and the profession of pharmacy is advanced.

For additional information concerning The Texas Pharmacy Congress write:
Texas Pharmacy Congress
College of Pharmacy
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas 78712-1074
or send email to: Jennifer Myhra