TEXAS PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION. The Texas Pharmaceutical Association is the statewide professional society that serves and represents the pharmacy profession. In May 1879 eighteen pharmacists met in the back room of a Dallas drugstore and formed the association for the purpose of improving the quality of drugs and pharmaceutical services in the state. In the early 1990s, the organization, headquartered in Austin, had sixteen staff and represented more than 5,000 individuals who practiced variously in community pharmacies, hospitals, nursing homes, academia, government agencies, and manufacturing and distribution. The 10,000-square-foot headquarters building was constructed in 1970. The association is a nonprofit organization supported by membership dues and by related non-dues sales, including an annual meeting, sales of publications and materials to members, and endorsed services. The association has established a nonprofit educational and research foundation, the Texas Pharmacy Foundation, and an insurance trust that self-administers group health insurance and other programs for association members. Active membership in the association is open to any graduate of a college of pharmacy residing in Texas. The association publishes a monthly newsletter, TPA SpeedLetter; a monthly journal, Texas Pharmacy; and other periodic reports and special news items. Association policy is set by a house of delegates, composed of representatives from the fifty local component associations across the state. Policies are implemented through councils and committees overseen by the board of directors, sixteen members elected by the membership. The mission of the association is to serve and represent pharmacy. To carry this out, it works with regulatory agencies, the state legislature, and Congress to express the views of its members and to affect public policy relating to health and pharmaceutical care.
