- Winter 2006-

Indian Health Service Pharmacist Receives 2005 Senior Pharmacy Award

CAPT Robert Pittman, a pharmacist with the Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), recently received the 2005 George F. Archambault U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Career Achievement Award in Pharmacy. This award recognizes a senior level pharmacist (civil service or commissioned corps), serving under the authority of the USPHS. The award recognizes Pittman’s outstanding career achievements and exemplary contributions to the pharmacy profession during his USPHS career. He received the award at the Commissioned Officer’s annual meeting in Philadelphia.

Pittman is member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe and has been an employee in the USPHS for 20 years. In November 2000, Pittman was selected for the position of Principal Pharmacy Consultant for the IHS in Rockville, Md. In this role, he serves as the director of the IHS Pharmacy Program. Pittman is responsible for providing performance improvement, risk management, cost containment, and professional pharmacy coordination, analysis, consultation, and collaboration with and for IHS, Tribal and Urban components nationwide. He provides leadership for over 600 IHS, Tribal and Urban Program pharmacists at 237 practice sites.

Pittman has served on the IHS Strategic Planning Committee developing the IHS 2003-2008 Strategic Plan, and as a member of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Drug Card - Tribal Issues Subcommittee. He currently serves as the co-project officer on a CMS and IHS Interagency Agreement to provide educational and outreach materials on the Medicare Drug Card to American Indians and Alaska Natives, and is the agency lead for Medicare Part D Drug Benefit planning. He also works on pharmaceutical procurement and formulary policies as a member of the Federal Pharmacy Executive Steering Committee, and consults with IHS, Tribal and Urban programs about pharmaceutical related issues including the Federal Drug Discount Programs. Pittman has also been involved in many Federal activities, including providing consultation on Global Fund pharmaceutical related issues to HHS and the U.S. State Department.

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