At this year's International Society of Heart and Lung Transplant (ISHLT) conference in San Diego, pharmacists have continued to make their mark. This is a society for all health professionals working in thoracic transplant, heart failure, advanced lung disease (particularly pulmonary hypertension (PH)) and mechanical cardiac support. What makes the ISHLT special for pharmacists is that not only is there is a pharmacist council for networking and sharing practice, but also pharmacists are totally integrated into the programme so that, at any educational session where medications are being discussed, pharmacists, as the recognised experts, are presenting evidence-based therapeutics to a multidisciplinary audience. This exciting model of collaboration means that pharmacists work with their peers (medical, nursing, scientists) to develop the overall programme, and that cross-discipline learning is the norm.

The pharmacy council did not shy away from tackling controversial topics at this years’ conference. Among many highlights was the latest instalment in the hugely successful ‘lifecycle journey’ series, which this year featured a case of decompensated PH in the setting of HIV. Dr Jean-Luc Vachiery presented the updated clinical classification of PH. This classification is essential reading for pharmacists involved in decisions regarding appropriate use of expensive targeted therapies for PH. Patricia Ging and Dr Patty Uber gave pharmacist-focused insights into management of the patient, considering therapeutic targets ranging from a simple assessment of compliance …