If you’re a U.S.-licensed pharmacist, I’d prioritize CE that is ACPE-accredited, clinically relevant, case-based, and easy to complete on demand. Based on the current 2026 offerings, these are my top picks:
Platform
Best for
Why I’d choose it
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP)
⭐ Best overall for clinical pharmacists
Excellent depth in therapeutics, new drugs, antimicrobial stewardship, critical care, ambulatory care, patient safety, etc. Its CE Library offers 15+ hours of on-demand content, plus focused microcredentials.
Broad coverage including immunizations, diabetes, cardiology, infectious disease, pain/SUD, and pharmacy practice. Its library currently includes numerous free courses.
American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP)
⭐ Best for clinical depth/board-certified pharmacists
Particularly strong for ambulatory care, critical care, emergency medicine, geriatrics, oncology, pediatrics, and clinical reasoning.
Pharmacy Times Continuing Education
⭐ Best free/convenient option
Large catalog with hundreds of activities and many free programs; particularly useful for keeping up with new therapies and practical clinical topics.
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Microcredentials
Best focused learning
Short 2–6-hour programs designed around a specific skill/topic—great if you don't want to sit through long courses.
My recommendation
If you want one platform: go with ASHP. Its content is particularly strong if you're practicing in a hospital, health system, ambulatory care, or clinical role. The CE Library is self-paced, with activities generally ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours.
If you want to spend $0: combine APhA + Pharmacy Times CE. APhA currently lists free courses on topics such as influenza, COVID-19 vaccination, HIV therapy, CGM, and pneumococcal vaccination. learn.pharmacist.com Pharmacy Times has a particularly large free-CE catalog.
If you're trying to become a stronger clinical pharmacist: add ACCP. Its clinical sessions and case-based material are more specialized and are particularly useful for pharmacists pursuing or maintaining BPS specialty credentials.
A good ongoing CE strategy
Rather than trying to accumulate CE hours randomly, I'd do something like:
Monthly: 1–2 short ASHP/APhA courses on new guidelines or therapeutics
Quarterly: 1 deeper ACCP or ASHP clinical course
Annually: review new drug approvals, major guideline changes, immunization updates, antimicrobial stewardship, and medication safety
Before license renewal: verify your state's specific mandatory CE topics—requirements vary by state.
One particularly nice ASHP option is its Professional Certificates, which provide 12+ hours of structured, self-guided learning; current offerings include areas such as critical care, specialty pharmacy, and population health.
If you tell me your practice area (retail/community, hospital, ambulatory care, oncology, etc.) and state, I can narrow this down to the 5–10 best specific online courses available right now, including free options and approximate CE hours.
Several top-tier, ACPE-accredited platforms provide robust online continuing education (CE) and continuing pharmacy education (CPE) for pharmacists looking to stay current on clinical guidelines, pharmacology updates, and specialized care:
PowerPak : A widely used, comprehensive platform providing up-to-date courses, live webinars, and targeted certification programs tailored to clinical practice changes and professional requirements.[](https://www.powerpak.com/)
PharmCon freeCE : Known for offering a blend of free and subscription-based live and on-demand accredited sessions, making it a flexible choice for meeting annual state board compliance.[](https://www.freece.com/)
To help narrow down the best choice, what specific practice setting are you in (e.g., retail/community, health-system/hospital, specialty) or do you need credits for a specific board recertification (BCPS, BCOP, etc.)?
If you're a pharmacist looking to stay current, I'd prioritize online continuing education (CE) that is accredited, clinically relevant, convenient to complete, and aligned with your license renewal requirements.
For most pharmacists in the United States, the best approach is to combine a free or low-cost CE platform for routine credits with specialized courses for therapeutic updates, medication safety, new guidelines, and emerging treatments.
One important distinction: ACPE-accredited pharmacy continuing education is generally the best starting point for pharmacists seeking professional development and license-renewal credits. State boards may have additional requirements, so check your state's rules before choosing courses.
Best online pharmacy CE options
1. Pharmacy Times Continuing Education
(Best free starting point)
A practical choice for pharmacists who want to keep up with new therapies, disease-state management, immunization, oncology, and other clinical developments. Offers online educational activities and virtual programming.
2. American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP)
(Best for clinical depth)
Particularly strong for hospital and health-system practice, pharmacotherapy, medication safety, pharmacy law, antimicrobial stewardship, compounding, and new drug approvals. Its on-demand CE library includes activities ranging from 30 minutes to two hours.
Provides a broad selection of pharmacist CE in pharmacology, patient safety, pharmacy law, cardiology, women's health, and other practice areas. Its pharmacist library advertises at least 50 available CE hours and an annual subscription.
An excellent option for clinical pharmacists seeking specialty-focused learning, case-based pharmacotherapy reviews, webinars, and board-certification or recertification preparation.
This is a searchable catalog of continuing pharmacy education activities from accredited providers. Use it to find courses by topic and identify free activities. You can also use CPE Monitor to track eligible completed credits.
I'd focus on three types of learning rather than simply accumulating credits:
New evidence and guidelines: updates in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases, obesity, anticoagulation, and other high-impact therapeutic areas.
Medication safety: drug interactions, high-alert medications, prescribing errors, deprescribing, and transitions of care.
Practice-specific developments: pharmacy law, immunization, controlled substances, compounding, or prescribing authority as relevant to your role.
For ongoing tracking, verify that each course is ACPE-accredited, check its expiration date and credit designation, and confirm that it meets your state's requirements. ACPE-accredited courses do not automatically satisfy every state-specific requirement.
Let me narrow this down to your practice
The best selection will depend on what kind of pharmacist you are and whether your priority is clinical learning or license renewal.
1. What is your current practice setting?
Community or retail pharmacy
Hospital or health system
Ambulatory care or clinical pharmacy
Long-term care
Industry or managed care
Other or multiple settings
2. What's your main objective?
Meet license renewal requirements
Stay current with clinical evidence and new drugs
Both
Specialty certification or recertification
3. What's your budget?
Free only
Mostly free, with some paid courses
Open to a paid subscription
4. Where are you licensed?
Washington
Another U.S. state
Multiple U.S. states
Outside the U.S.
[Find my best CE options]
With those details, I can narrow this to a practical shortlist of the most relevant courses, including free options, current topics worth studying, and any jurisdiction-specific CE requirements to check.
Best For: Comprehensive, searchable CE across broad clinical and specialty topics.
Details: A staple in pharmacy education, PowerPak provides straightforward, accredited online courses, live webinars, and specialized CE packages designed to target specific state requirements or career tracks.[](https://www.powerpak.com/)
