What are the best online CE courses for a pharmacist to stay current?

To stay current on clinical guidelines, medication safety, and pharmacology, pharmacists rely on continuing education (CE) providers accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE).

The top online platforms and professional associations offering high-quality, accredited pharmacy CE courses include:

• Pharmacy Times Continuing Education (PTCE) : Offers a vast library of on-demand modules, live webinars, and specialized tracks covering everything from oncology and plaque psoriasis to travel medicine and anticoagulation strategies.
• PowerPak : One of the most popular go-to platforms for pharmacists, featuring extensive comprehensive libraries including medication safety, immunization updates, chronic pain management, and disease-specific certificate programs.
• American Pharmacists Association (APhA Education): Ideal for community and ambulatory pharmacists looking for evidence-based practice updates, immunization recertification, and comprehensive medication management (CMM) training.
• American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP eLearning): The premier source for clinical specialists and institutional pharmacists. They offer robust CE packages covering complex acute care, pharmacotherapy recertification, and institutional practice standards.
• American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP ): Excellent for advanced clinical practice, offering professional development programs and high-level pharmacotherapy updates tailored for board certification (BPS) maintenance.

If you want to narrow down your options, tell me:

• What is your primary practice setting (retail/community, health-system/hospital, ambulatory care)?
• Are you looking for free CE options , or do you need a subscription/certificate program?
• Do you have any specific therapeutic areas you need credits in right now?

If your goal is to stay clinically current rather than simply accumulate CE hours, I’d prioritize courses that are case-based, guideline-focused, and updated frequently.

My top picks

1. ashp.org — Best overall

• Excellent for practicing pharmacists who want broad, clinically relevant updates.
• Topics include new drug approvals, disease-state management, immunizations, pain/opioid stewardship, patient safety, law, and compounding.
• Offers short, on-demand activities (roughly 30 minutes–2 hours), making it easy to fit into a busy schedule.
• My pick if you want one dependable source.

2. ashp.org — Best for going deeper

• Much more substantial than ordinary CE.
• Current options include Diabetes Management (30 CE hours), Pediatrics (29), Oncology (21.25), Critical Care (23), Pharmacokinetics (16), Pharmacogenomics (19.5), Informatics (19.5), and Medication Safety (26.5).
• Particularly worthwhile if you're trying to strengthen a specific clinical area or move toward a new role.

3. medscape.org — Best free option

• Medscape has a large library of free CME/CE and lets you filter activities by specialty and credit type.
• Good for keeping up with new therapies, guidelines, safety issues, and emerging clinical evidence.
• I wouldn't make it your only CE source, but it's excellent for filling gaps without spending money.

4. ashp.org — Best for short, focused learning

• Designed around 2–6 hours of learning on a specific skill/topic.
• Current examples include ambulatory respiratory infections and biostatistics.
• Nice middle ground between a 1-hour CE activity and a 20–30-hour certificate.

5. accp.com — Best for clinical/case-based learning

• Particularly strong if you're interested in ambulatory care, pharmacotherapy, specialty practice, or board certification.
• For example, the 2026 ACCP/ASHP Ambulatory Care course uses 200+ patient cases and 200+ self-assessment questions.
• I'd put ACCP very high on the list for a pharmacist who wants to actually improve clinical decision-making rather than just check a CE box.

What I'd do personally

For a practicing pharmacist, I'd use a three-layer approach:

• Monthly: 1–2 short ASHP or Medscape activities on new drugs, guidelines, and important therapeutic updates.
• Quarterly: One deeper, case-based course in an area you practice heavily.
• Annually: One substantial certificate/microcredential in an area you want to develop.

Also, make sure the activity is ACPE-accredited and appropriate for your state's requirements. CE requirements vary by state, and CPE Monitor is used to track ACPE pharmacy credits.

If you tell me your practice setting (retail/community, hospital, ambulatory care, specialty, industry, etc.) and whether you want mostly free CE, I can narrow this down to the 5–10 best specific courses available right now for you.

If your goal is staying clinically current—not just collecting CE hours—I’d prioritize platforms with strong evidence-based content, regular updates, and case-based learning.

My top picks

1. ashp.org — Best overall for clinical practice

• Strongest choice for hospital/health-system and clinical pharmacists.
• Covers therapeutics, new drug approvals, immunizations, HIV, pain/opioid stewardship, compounding, pharmacy law, and patient safety.
• Offers bite-sized activities from about 30 minutes to 2 hours, plus more comprehensive material.
• ASHP also has microcredentials that take roughly 2–6 hours and focus on specific skills/topics such as CGM, physical assessment, HIV PrEP/PEP, and opioid overdose management.

2. accp.com — Best for deep clinical/therapeutic knowledge

• Particularly good if you're a clinical, ambulatory-care, or specialty pharmacist.
• ACCP's courses tend to be more rigorous and case-oriented than typical "check-the-box" CE.
• For example, its 2026 ambulatory-care review includes 200+ patient cases and 200+ self-assessment questions, with 23.75 hours of CPE available.
• I'd choose ACCP when you want to actually improve clinical decision-making.

3. medscape.org — Best free/convenient option

• Excellent for squeezing CE into a busy schedule.
• Pharmacists can earn ACPE contact hours, and Medscape allows you to search activities by topic.
• Especially useful for keeping up with new guidelines, emerging therapies, safety issues, and major disease-state updates.
• Medscape is ACPE-accredited for continuing pharmacy education.

4. elearning.ashp.org — Best source of free pharmacy-specific CE

• ASHP currently lists hundreds of free educational activities.
• Topics include things like immunization updates, ambulatory-care updates, pharmacy technology, and patient-care issues.
• Great option if you don't want another subscription.

5. acainfo.org — Best for compounding/specialty practice

• Particularly relevant if you work in independent, compounding, specialty, or nontraditional pharmacy practice.
• Offers live webinars, on-demand programs, home studies, and certificate programs.

What I'd actually do

Rather than picking one platform, I'd use a 3-layer approach:

• Monthly: 1–2 short Medscape or free ASHP courses to keep up with new developments.
• Quarterly: One deeper ASHP/ACCP course on a therapeutic area you routinely encounter.
• Annually: A substantial review of new drugs, major guideline changes, immunization updates, pharmacy law, and your particular practice specialty.

If you're a community/retail pharmacist, I'd lean more heavily toward new drug approvals, diabetes/obesity, cardiovascular disease, immunizations, infectious diseases, anticoagulation, women's health, and pharmacy law.

If you're a hospital/clinical pharmacist, I'd put ASHP + ACCP at the top.

One important point: check your state board's specific CE requirements before choosing courses—some states have topic-specific or live-CE requirements, so the "best" CE platform isn't necessarily the one that satisfies every requirement.

If you tell me what type of pharmacist you are (retail, hospital, ambulatory care, specialty, etc.) and what state you're licensed in, I can narrow this down to the 5–10 highest-value courses I'd take right now, including free options.

To stay current on clinical guidelines, law updates, and specialized therapeutic areas, pharmacists rely on ACPE-accredited (Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education) online platforms . Most of these platforms seamlessly sync your credits directly to your NABP e-Profile via CPE Monitor.

The top-rated online CE platforms for pharmacists, categorized by their strengths, include the following:

• PowerPak : One of the most widely used and comprehensive libraries available. It offers targeted libraries for medication safety, law, immunization, and chronic pain, alongside useful certificate programs (such as MTM and Managed Care). It features a mix of both paid and free modules.
• freeCE : Highly popular for pharmacists needing a mix of flexible, self-paced on-demand modules and regular live webinar credits . Their subscription model gives you unlimited access to knock out state-specific requirements (like live law or opioid credits).
• Pharmacy Times CE : Excellent for disease-state updates and cutting-edge clinical data. They offer a vast array of web-and-print-based supplements that break down recent FDA approvals and evolving treatment paradigms.
• APhA Education Center : Managed by the American Pharmacists Association, this is a gold standard for comprehensive professional development, immunization recertification, and evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. Membership often unlocks exclusive free or discounted modules.
• ASHP eLearning Portal : Ideal for hospital, health-system, and clinical specialists. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists offers robust, advanced-level pharmacotherapy updates, critical care modules, and board certification prep (BCPS) materials.
• Medscape Pharmacists : A great free resource for quick, bite-sized clinical updates, expert commentary, and rapid CME/CE credit tracking across diverse therapeutic categories.

To help narrow down the best choice for you, tell me:

• What state are you licensed in (to check specific live/law requirements)?
• Do you practice in a community, hospital, or specialized setting?
• Are you looking for free options or an unlimited subscription package?

If your goal is to stay clinically current—not just accumulate CE hours—I’d prioritize courses that are evidence-based, case-oriented, and regularly updated.

My top choices

If I were building a CE strategy

I'd do a mix rather than relying on one provider:

1. Weekly/biweekly:
Take short ASHP/APhA courses on new drugs, guidelines, safety alerts, and evolving practice areas.

2. Monthly:
Do one deeper ACCP clinical session or case-based course. ACCP's material is particularly useful for sharpening therapeutic decision-making.

3. Once or twice a year:
Choose an ASHP Professional Certificate in an area you want to become particularly strong in. For example, ASHP currently offers certificates in areas such as critical care, anticoagulation, pharmacogenomics, population health, and specialty pharmacy.

4. Don't overlook free CE:
ASHP has a selection of free live webinars, although some are member-only.

My ranking

If you asked me to pick just three:

🥇 ACCP — best for deep clinical knowledge
🥈 ASHP — best overall combination of clinical CE + practical pharmacy skills
🥉 APhA — best for breadth and convenience

One important caveat: make sure courses satisfy your state's specific CE requirements (including law, opioid-related education, live-vs-home-study requirements, etc.). ASHP and APhA both recommend checking state-specific requirements.

If you tell me whether you're community/retail, hospital, ambulatory care, specialty, or another setting, I can narrow this down to the 10 highest-yield online CE courses I'd take right now in 2026, including free options.

Finding the best online continuing education (CE) for pharmacists depends on whether you are looking for deep clinical updates, budget-friendly options, or live webinars to satisfy state-specific requirements. All reputable options below report directly to the CPE Monitor via NABP.

Top Comprehensive & Subscription Platforms

• freeCE : One of the most popular subscription models for pharmacists. It offers hundreds of self-paced home-study courses and frequent daily/monthly live webinars. It is ideal if you need to knock out live CE credits conveniently from home or your mobile device.
• PowerPak : A massive library covering everything from general pharmacotherapy and medication safety to specialized certificate programs (MTM, Immunizations, Chronic Pain). They offer a good mix of free individual modules and comprehensive paid packages.
• RxCE : Highly cost-effective subscription plans that include self-paced courses, certificate programs, and monthly/quarterly live webinar configurations. Credits are auto-submitted to CPE Monitor and CE Broker.

Best for Clinical Depth & Professional Societies

• ASHP (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) : Excellent for hospital, health-system, and clinical pharmacists. ASHP provides rigorous clinical updates, professional certificate training (like sterile compounding or perioperative care), and a mix of free and member-priced activities that seamlessly sync with your NABP profile.
• Pharmacy Times Continuing Education (PTCE) : Offers robust specialty pharmacy education, live symposia recaps, and practical therapeutic updates (oncology, cardiology, immunology). They also feature a user-friendly mobile app to track and complete modules on the go.
• TRC Healthcare (Pharmacist's Letter) : Highly respected for evidence-based, concise recommendations. Their platform includes advanced training like sterile compounding/hazardous drug eLearning aligned with USP <797> and <800> updates, alongside regular clinical CE.

Best for Free CE Options

• FreeCME : Completely free platform featuring modules on antimicrobial stewardship, chronic disease state management, new drug approvals, and MTM.
• AchieveCE : Hosts nationally accredited live webinars across multiple healthcare disciplines, allowing you to ask questions in real time and fulfill live credit needs.

Clinical Insight

“freeCE delivers a seamless learning experience. Train on your schedule, from any device. With fully online, self-paced training, you can build skills without putting your life on hold.”

To help narrow down the best choice, tell me:

• Do you need live credits or just home-study/on-demand hours?
• Are you looking for a specific clinical specialty (e.g., oncology, ambulatory care, sterile compounding) or general recertification?

When looking for the best online continuing education (CE) courses to stay current as a pharmacist, the key is finding platforms that are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) and seamlessly integrate with CPE Monitor.

The top online CE providers for pharmacists are organized below by what they do best:

Comprehensive & Clinical Libraries

• ASHP eLearning Center: The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists offers exceptional, highly clinical, and evidence-based education. It is ideal for institutional, clinical, and specialty pharmacists looking for advanced therapy updates, professional certificates, and robust disease-state management.
• PowerPak: One of the most widely used platforms, PowerPak features broad, practical topic libraries ranging from medication safety and immunizations to specialized certificate programs (like MTM and veterinary pharmacy).
• Pharmacy Times Continuing Education (PTCE): Offers a massive, user-friendly catalog of accredited CE modules focused on new drug approvals, specialty pharmacy, and targeted therapeutics. They also offer a convenient mobile app for on-the-go learning.

Budget-Friendly & High-Volume Subscriptions

• freeCE: A subsidiary of PharmCon, freeCE is popular for its subscription-based model that covers both home-study and extensive live webinar options. It is built for efficiency, offering short "micro-CE" formats and automated tracking to meet state requirements stress-free.
• RxCe: Known for affordable membership plans, RxCe provides self-paced courses, live monthly webinars, and specific state-mandated compliance or law packages with automatic credit reporting.

Specialty & Specialized Practice

• FDA Compounding Quality Center of Excellence: Offers free, self-paced, high-quality online training modules focusing on sterile/non-sterile compounding standards and best practices, complete with ACPE credit.
• FreeCME: Great for clinicians looking for cost-free options covering core topics like antimicrobial stewardship, anticoagulation, and chronic disease updates.

To help narrow down the best choice, tell me:

• Are you looking for free options or an annual subscription?
• Do you need specific state requirements like pharmacy law or live credit hours?

For pharmacists, the “best” online CE depends on your practice area (community, hospital, ambulatory care, managed care, specialty, leadership, etc.), but these are among the strongest options for staying clinically current and maintaining licensure. Prioritize ACPE-accredited providers so credits are tracked through CPE Monitor and generally accepted by state boards.

Best choices by goal

To stay clinically sharp

• ACCP
• ASHP
• APhA
• Specialty-focused CE from your state pharmacy association or national organizations

To prepare for board certification or maintain specialty expertise

• ACCP (clinical pharmacotherapy)
• ASHP (health-system specialties)
• Specialty organizations such as oncology, infectious disease, ambulatory care, psychiatric pharmacy, or managed care groups

For busy pharmacists who want efficient CE

• Medscape
• Pharmacy Times CE
• APhA self-paced courses
• Elite Learning

For Illinois pharmacists Since Illinois pharmacists often need state-specific content, consider adding Illinois-focused offerings from organizations such as the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists, which provides ACPE-accredited on-demand CE including Illinois-required topics.

A practical annual CE mix

A strong “stay current” portfolio might look like:

• 30–40% new drugs, guidelines, and therapeutics
• 20–30% your practice specialty
• 10–20% medication safety, quality improvement, or informatics
• Required state topics (law, immunization, controlled substances, etc.)
• A few certificate programs that build new skills (MTM, diabetes care, anticoagulation, vaccines, specialty pharmacy, leadership)

If you tell me your practice setting (community, hospital, ambulatory care, industry, etc.), state of licensure, and whether you want free CE vs premium subscriptions, I can narrow this to the best 5–10 options.

If your goal is not just to accumulate CE hours, but to actually stay clinically current, I’d prioritize platforms that combine current drug/guideline updates with ACPE-accredited CPE.

My top picks

If I were choosing just 3

1. Pharmacist’s Letter — for staying current week-to-week/month-to-month.
Its biggest advantage is that the content is concise and clinically actionable, rather than feeling like you're taking CE merely to satisfy a licensing requirement.

2. ASHP — for deeper clinical learning.
Particularly worthwhile if you work in a hospital, health system, ambulatory care, or want to strengthen clinical skills. ASHP's competency center, for example, currently has 115 modules and about 90.5 hours of CE, covering areas such as vancomycin, antimicrobial stewardship, anticoagulation, medication safety, and emergency preparedness.

3. UConn YAFI — for inexpensive/free supplemental CE.
This is probably the hidden gem. There are genuinely free pharmacist courses mixed in with paid ones, and the topics are quite current.

A better strategy than simply doing random CE

I'd build a yearly mix like:

• 30–40% → new drugs, FDA/guideline updates, and emerging therapies
• 20–30% → your primary practice area
• 10–20% → pharmacy law/regulatory requirements
• 10–20% → patient safety, immunization, public health, or an area outside your usual practice

For 2026, I'd particularly look for CE involving GLP-1/GIP therapies, obesity management, hypertension, antimicrobial resistance, new vaccines, anticoagulation, specialty drugs, pharmacogenomics, and AI in pharmacy. ASHP's current CE catalog, for example, has recently covered GLP-1 adverse effects/interactions, GLP-1s and muscle loss, DKA, emerging cancer therapies, and vaccine-preventable diseases.

One important caveat: before using any course toward license renewal, check your state's requirements for ACPE topic designations, law CE, patient-safety CE, live vs. home-study hours, and any special requirements. Don't assume every ACPE course satisfies every state requirement.

If you tell me what setting you're in (retail, hospital, ambulatory care, specialty, etc.) and what state you're licensed in, I can narrow this down to the 5–10 best specific courses to take right now, including free options.

Staying current with ACPE-accredited continuing education (CE) is essential for modern practice. The best platforms vary depending on whether you are looking for practical clinical updates, deep disease-state expertise, board recertification, or budget-friendly options that report directly to CPE Monitor.

Top online CE platforms for pharmacists, categorized by their primary strengths, include the following options:

Best for Practical Clinical Updates & Workflow Integration

• Pharmacist's Letter (TRC Healthcare) : Widely regarded as an industry standard for frontline clinicians. It provides concise, unbiased, peer-reviewed monthly recommendations paired with a robust CE library, interactive self-study modules, and practical clinical updates that answer everyday patient-care questions.
• CEimpact : Known for highly engaging, practical continuing education and microcredentials that focus on everyday practice, emerging pharmacology trends, and improving direct patient care.

Best for Broad Clinical Depth & Specialty Focus

• Pharmacy Times Continuing Education (PTCE) : Offers comprehensive learning centers (such as obesity, insulin care, and specialty pharmacotherapy) along with a user-friendly mobile app that allows you to read lessons, complete tests, and claim credit smoothly.
• PowerPak : Features a vast, structured library spanning medication safety, immunization, law, and chronic pain management. It is a reliable go-to for comprehensive disease-state updates and targeted certificate programs.

Best for Institutional Practice & Board Recertification

• American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) : The premier source for institutional and health-system pharmacists. ASHP offers exceptional, scenario-based continuing education, professional development, and robust board certification review and recertification courses.
• American Pharmacists Association (APhA) : Excellent for community and ambulatory care pharmacists, offering specialized learning libraries, point-of-care training, and advanced certificate programs.

Best for Budget-Friendly & Flexible Subscriptions

• freeCE : Popular for its cost-effective annual "Unlimited" memberships. It features a mix of on-demand and live webinars covering general pharmacology as well as specific state-mandated requirements.
• RxCE : Offers flexible pay-as-you-go or unlimited pricing structures, instant CPE Monitor and CE Broker reporting, and a selection of free foundational and compliance courses for every state.

To help narrow down the best choice for you, tell me:

• What is your primary practice setting (e.g., retail, hospital, specialty, or ambulatory care)?
• Are you looking to fulfill general CE hours , specific state mandates (like law or immunizations) , or board recertification credits?