may 2011 florida pharmacy journal

MAY 2011

Colleges of Pharmacy

FLORIDA’S

The Official PublicationOf The Florida Pharmacy Association

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M A Y 2 0 1 1 | 3

VOL. 74 | NO. 5MAY 2011the OfficiAL pubLicAtiON Of thefLOridA phArMAcY AssOciAtiONP H A R M A C Y T O D A Y

florida

Departments 4 calendar

4 Advertisers

5 president’s Viewpoint

7 executive insight

36 buyer’s Guide

Featuressupport of fp-pAcce is crucial to protecting Your profession

florida's colleges of pharmacy

11

13Florida A&M University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Pharmacy

Nova Southeastern University College of Pharmacy

Palm Beach Atlantic University Lloyd L. Gregory School of Pharmacy

University of Florida College of Pharmacy

University of South Florida College of Pharmacy

4 | f L O r i d A p h A r M A c Y t O d A Y

E-MAIL YOuR SuggEStIOnS/IDEAS tO

[email protected]

Mission Statements:of the florida pharmacy today JournalThe Florida Pharmacy Today Journal is a peer reviewed journal which serves as a medium through which the Florida Phar-macy Association can communicate with the profession on advances in the sciences of pharmacy, socio-economic issues bearing on pharmacy and newsworthy items of interest to the profession. As a self-supported journal, it solicits and accepts advertising congruent with its expressed mission.

of the florida pharmacy today board of directors The mission of the Florida Pharmacy Today Board of Directors is to serve in an advisory capacity to the managing editor and execu-tive editor of the Florida Pharmacy Today Journal in the establishment and interpreta-tion of the Journal’s policies and the manage-ment of the Journal’s fiscal responsibilities. The Board of Directors also serves to motivate the Florida Pharmacy Association members to secure appropriate advertising to assist the Journal in its goal of self-support.

AdvertisersABBOT................................................................ 36CVS........................................................................ 2CERNER-ETREBY............................................. 35EPC...................................................................... 15HEAlTHCARE.CONSulTANTS........................ 3KAHAN.◆.SHIR,.P.l.......................................... 12MCKESSON........................................................ 10PPSC.................................................................... 28Rx.RElIEf.......................................................... 12uNIVERSITY.Of.flORIdA............................. 12

2011

FPA Calendar MAY

14 Law and Regulatory Continuing EducationJacksonville

23-25 NCPA Legislative ConferenceWashington, DC

30 Memorial Day, FPA Office Closed

JunE

7-8 Board of Pharmacy Meeting Ft. Lauderdale

22 - 26 FPA Annual Meeting and Convention Aventura, Florida

JuLY

4 Independence Day FPA Office Closed

30 Legislative Committee MeetingOrlando, Florida

AuguSt

7-8 28th Annual Southeastern Gatherin

16-17 Florida Board of Pharmacy Meeting Orlando

27-28 FPA Committee and Council Meetings

SEPtEMBER

1 Deadline to receive nominations for FPA elected office

10-11 FPA Law ConferenceFt. Lauderdale

17-24 FPA CE at SEA

OCtOBER

8-12 NCPA Annual MeetingNashville Tennessee

15-16 FPA Midyear Clinical Conference

18-19 Florida Board of Pharmacy MeetingTallahassee, Florida

CE CREDItS (CE.cycle)The.florida.Board.of.Pharmacy.requires.10.hours.lIVE.Continuing.Education.as.part.of.the.

required.30.hours.general.education.needed.every.license.renewal.period.Pharmacists.should.have.satisfied.all.continuing.education.requirements.for.this.biennial.

period.by.September.30,.2011.or.prior.to.licensure.renewal.*for.Pharmacy.Technician.Certification.Board.Application,.Exam.Information.and.Study.

materials,.please.contact.Ranada.Simmons.in.the.fPA.office.for.More.Information.on.CE.Programs.or.Events:Contact.the.florida.Pharmacy.Association.at.(850).222-2400.or.visit.our.Web.site.at.www.

pharmview.com

COntACtSfPA.—.Michael.Jackson.(850).222-2400fSHP.—.Michael.McQuone.(850).906-9333u/f.—.dan.Robinson.(352).273-6240fAMu.—.leola.Cleveland.(850).599-3301NSu.—.Carsten.Evans.(954).262-1300

DISCLAIMER Articles.in.this.publication.are.designed.to.provide.accurate.and.authoritative.information.with.re-spect.to.the.subject.matter.covered..This.information.is.provided.with.the.understanding.that.neither.florida.Pharmacy.Today.nor.the.florida.Pharmacy.Association.are.engaged.in.rendering.legal.or.other.professional.services.through.this.publication... If.expert.assistance.or.legal.advice.is.required,.the.services.of.a.competent.professional.should.be.sought..The.use.of.all.medications.or.other.pharmaceutical.products.should.be.used.according.to.the.recommendations.of.the.manufacturers..Information.provided.by.the.maker.of.the.product.should.always.be.consulted.before.use.

For a complete calendar of events go to www.pharmview.com

M A Y 2 0 1 1 | 5

The Organizational Affairs Com-mittee has had a very busy year. Two years ago, the committee

embarked on a membership campaign due to the decreasing membership in the organization. Because part of the membership dues go toward retain-ing a professional lobbying firm and support our advocacy campaign, this would give FPA a prominent position before legislative and regulatory agen-cies in our efforts to advocate on the is-sues and challenges surrounding the profession of pharmacy. This member-ship drive was deemed to be a top pri-ority.

The committee decided that a mar-keting tool was needed to assist in showing the benefits of membership to non-members. The committee began by conducting a survey with pharmacists and pharmacy students around the state from all practice areas and stu-dent representation from the Florida Pharmacy Schools. The survey results were utilized to develop a member-ship awareness brochure. The brochure was approved this past year and is cur-rently being used by the FPA at various events around the state.

In addition, members of the FPA use them to recruit new pharmacist mem-bers to the FPA, and the brochure dou-bles as a membership application that can be mailed or faxed to the FPA of-fice. If you would like copies of the bro-chure to have available to you for mem-bership recruitment, please contact the Association office.

With the mandate of pharmacy tech-nician registration in Florida, the com-mittee also felt it necessary to reach out

to this group of individuals. The Flori-da Pharmacy Association is organized to preserve and advance the practice of pharmacy and to serve the profession-al needs of not only pharmacists but pharmacy technicians and students as well. Therefore, the membership drive targets pharmacy technicians and stu-

dents, too. Technicians now more than ever will need to consider legislative changes that will affect their profes-sion and livelihood. It is time for tech-nicians to consider joining this state as-sociation that will advocate for their career interests.

FPA also offers technician materials (including an employer-based techni-cian training program), continuing ed-ucation, and several other membership benefits in addition to the legislative representation. For the membership fee

of $30 per year, can pharmacy techni-cians afford not to join? The techni-cian brochure, once approved by the Board of Directors and printed, will be available as a membership awareness tool as well.

The student survey, conducted via Surveymonkey.com targeted first-year pharmacy students through gradu-ate students. The results were used by pharmacy student committee members to design the student brochure that will be used once approved by the Board of Directors and printed. The brochure in-cludes personal statements from differ-ent student members on the benefits of FPA membership. Brandon Huang stat-ed, “Participation in FPA has given me the tools and connections to shape my pharmacy future.” Some of the student membership benefits listed in the bro-chure include networking, Adopt-a-

Membership was Focus of FPA Organizational Affairs Committee

in 2010-11

The Florida Pharmacy Association is organized to preserve and advance the practice of pharmacy

and to serve the professional needs of not

only pharmacists but pharmacy technicians and students as well.

The President’s ViewpointguESt COLuMnISt KIM MuRRAY, RPh,

Kim Murray, RPhChair, Organizational Affairs Committee


The Florida Pharmacy Association gratefully acknowledges the hard work and dedication of the following members of the FPA leadership who work deligently all year long on behalf of our members.

Karen Whalen ......................................................................... Chairman of the BoardHumberto Martinez .................................................................................FPA PresidentRobert Parrado ....................................................................................... President ElectDon Bergemann ....................................................................................................TreasurerWilliam Riffee ............................................Speaker of the House of DelegatesSuzanne Wise ...........Vice Speaker of the House of DelegatesPreston Preston McDonald, Director ...........................................................................Region 1Marcus Dodd-o, Director .................................................................................Region 2Al Tower, Director .................................................................................................Region 3 Raul N. Correa, Director ...................................................................................Region 4 John Noriega, Director ......................................................................................Region 5 Chris Lent, Director ..............................................................................................Region 6Kim Murray, Director ........................................................................................... Region 7Raul Gallo, Director ................................................................................................Region 8Zachary Eisenman, Interim Director .......................................................Region 9Alissa Fuller ............................................................................................... President FSHPMichael Jackson .......................................Executive Vice President and CEO

Florida Pharmacy today Journal Board

Chair................................................................. Betty Harris, [email protected] Chair ..........................................Jennifer Pytlarz, [email protected] ...................Stephen Grabowski, [email protected] ..................................................................Stuart Ulrich, [email protected] ............................................................ Don Bergemann, [email protected] ................................................Joseph Koptowsky, [email protected] Editor ...............Michael Jackson, [email protected] Editor ..................Dave Fiore, [email protected]

2010/2011 FPA Board of Directors Student program, a subscription to the Florida Pharmacy Today Journal, com-munication skills development, and networking with state legislators and representatives at Legislative Days. FPA student membership is currently tied to the membership to American Pharma-cist’s Association for an additional $5.

Not only has the committee been fo-cused on the membership drive, but several bylaw changes were submitted to and approved by the Board of Direc-tors. Article XIII, Section 1; Article VII, Section 4; Article VII, Section VI A; and Article VII, Section 1 are among the sec-tions recommended for amending at the annual FPA meeting. In addition, the committee proposed Constitution changes to Article V, Section 2, to com-ply with the 990 IRS guidelines for in-come tax returns for associations. Plans are to place the proposed amendments to the bylaws and constitution on www.pharmview.com.

The committee has worked very hard over the past year. The member-ship awareness tools are available, and we ask that you please assist in this membership recruitment drive. It is imperative that we increase our mem-bership for the association to stay via-ble and effective in efforts of fostering pharmacist, patient and political advo-cacy in the state of Florida. Pharmacists, technicians and students are the foun-dation for the Florida Pharmacy Asso-ciation, and we urge every member to please not only advocate for the associa-tion, but also for your profession. n

Don't forget to register for the FPA annual

meeting in Aventura, Florida. The deadline for

preregistration is June 10, 2011.

M A Y 2 0 1 1 | 7

In the first half of 2010 alone, doctors in Florida

prescribed nine times more oxycodone than all

the other states during the exact same time frame.

The term “Flamingo Express,” coined by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), is a catchy

idiom used to describe the illegal trade of prescription medications that origi-nate in the state of Florida. These med-ications are being abused and sold all along the east coast of the United States.

Broward County has become the na-tion’s “pill-mill” capital, with 130 oper-ational pain clinics.1 The parking lots of these facilities are filled with cars displaying license plates from various states including Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, and many others. Ac-cording to Broward County Sheriff’s Office, there are more than 1 million oxycodone tablets prescribed monthly.1 In the first half of 2010 alone, doctors in Florida prescribed nine times more oxy-codone than all the other states during the exact same time frame.

Broward County Sheriff Al Lamber-ti says, “It used to be crack and hero-in, now it’s a war on pills and Broward County is ‘Ground Zero.’ There are more pain clinics than Starbucks. How can that be?”1 According to the Florida Medical Examiners Commission, from 2006 to 2009, the number of deaths from oxycodone overdoses more than dou-bled statewide. State records reveal that the total number of deaths from oxyco-done in 2009 totaled 1,185, which is an almost 26 percent increase from 2008.2

Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs nationwide

Prescription drug monitoring pro-grams (PDMPs) are databases that are being utilized by many states across

the nation to monitor the dispensing of certain medications (including con-trolled and some non-controlled sub-stances). Aside from monitoring for possible drug diversion, many of these programs also help healthcare profes-sionals determine the potential for ad-verse drug reactions, potential drug-drug interactions or drug-allergy

interactions, help determine the best possible therapy for a patient, and the patient’s compliance with their current therapy regimen.

As of April 2010, legislation support-ing PDMPs had passed in 43 states; of those 43 states, 34 states currently have operational programs.2 A total of 37 of the 41 state programs are authorized to monitor medications that are Sched-ules II, III, and IV with 23 programs also monitoring selected medications that are either non-controlled or Sched-ule V.2 These programs are important because they allow healthcare profes-sionals and law-enforcement agencies

to prevent diversion of prescription medications by determining if patients have duplicate prescriptions during a marked period of time. It also alerts

Pain Management Clinics + Florida Legislation against PDMPs =

PAIN FOR ALL

Executive InsightBY MIChAEL JACKSOn, RPhBY tEYShA RIChARDSOn, RECEnt PhARMD gRADuAtE AnD

MIChAEL JACKSOn, BPhARM, EVP & CEO, FLORIDA PhARMACY ASSOCIAtIOn

Teysha Richardson, Recent PharmD Graduate

Michael Jackson, B.Pharm


Executive Vice President/CEOMichael Jackson

(850) 222-2400, ext. 200Director of Continuing Education

Tian Merren-Owens, ext. 120Controller

Wanda Hall , ext. 211Membership Coordinator

Ranada Howard, ext. 110 Educational Services Office Assistant

Stacey Brooks , ext. 210

FLORIDA PhARMACY tODAY BOARDChair..................................Betty Harris, Lighthouse Point Vice Chair ................................. Jennifer Pytlarz, BrandonTreasurer ..............................Stephen Grabowski, TampaSecretary ........................Stuart Ulrich, Boynton BeachMember ................Don Bergemann, [email protected] .................................... Joseph Koptowsky, MiamiExecutive Editor ........Michael Jackson, TallahasseeManaging Editor ........................Dave Fiore, Tallahassee

This is a peer reviewed publication. ©2011, FLORIDA PHARMACY JOURNAL, INC.

ARTICLE ACCEPTANCE: The Florida Phar-macy Today is a publication that welcomes articles that have a direct pertinence to the current practice of pharmacy. All articles are subject to review by the Publication Review Committee, editors and other outside referees. Submitted articles are received with the understanding that they are not being considered by another publication. All articles become the property of the Florida Pharmacy Today and may not be published without written permission from both the author and the Florida Pharmacy Today. The Florida Pharmacy Association assumes no responsibility for the statements and opinions made by the authors to the Florida Pharmacy Today.

The Journal of the Florida Pharmacy Association does not accept for publication articles or letters concerning religion, politics or any other subject the editors/publishers deem unsuitable for the readership of this journal. In addition, The Journal does not accept advertising material from persons who are running for office in the association. The editors reserve the right to edit all materials submitted for publication. Letters and materials submitted for consideration for publication may be subject to review by the Editorial Review Board.

FLORIDA PHARMACY TODAY, Annual sub-scription - United States and foreign, Indi-vidual $36; Institution $70/year; $5.00 single copies. Florida residents add 7% sales tax.

Florida Pharmacy association

610 N. Adams St. • Tallahassee, FL 32301850/222-2400 • FAX 850/561-6758

Web Address: http://www.pharmview.com

FPA STAFF the necessary authorities as to wheth-er a patient is potentially “doctor shop-ping”, which occurs when a patient will visit various physician offices for mul-tiple prescriptions with the purpose of abusing or selling the medication. Flor-ida is currently the largest state without an active PDMP.

One of the most well-known PD-MPs is KASPER. Kentucky was the first state to use the KASPER (Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Re-porting, formerly ‘NASPER’) system. It is said to be the model state monitoring program, however in the past, Florida has met opposition with its implemen-tation due to problems associated with its structure. Some complain that the system itself has not been effective due to certain oversights. It has been stated that the governor of Kentucky has had to solicit a secondary system to help ful-fill the requirements of the initial pro-gram. Even with the secondary system, there still seem to be problems, or “gaps” with KASPER.8

Some issues with PDMP programs are that claims aren’t usually logged and posted in “real-time.” It may take up to 30 days for a report to appear in the system. With this information delay, practitioners may not have access to rel-evant, current information. In Florida’s current laws (unless changed by the 2011 Legislature and signed into law by the Governor), data has to be reported by dispensing practitioners within 15 days.

Because the implementation of PD-MPs in one state may increase the abuse of prescription medication in neighbor-ing states, it is believed that all states should participate in an interstate da-tabase to control prescription drug mis-use and abuse. The prescription Moni-toring Program Information Exchange (PMIX) is an interstate system that is currently being made available to states that wish to participate.2 Its use is still being implemented and reviewed.

the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program In the State Of Florida

Despite these opposing opinions on the logistics of the system, it is clear that the presence of PDMPs may be benefi-

cial and are seemingly necessary. A re-cent study sponsored by the Depart-ment of Justice (DOJ) confirmed that PDMPs successfully reduce the prob-ability of prescription drug abuse, as well as reduce the availability of illegal prescription medications.3 In 2009, legis-lators approved the creation of a PDMP for the state of Florida. The state govern-mental entity charged with managing this program is called the Electronic-Florida Online Reporting of Controlled Substances Evaluation program (E-FORCSE).5 Today, however, E-FORC-SE is not yet operable. It was supposed to begin December 1, 2010, but due to a bidding dispute among potential con-tractors, its implementation had been delayed. This dispute has since been re-solved. The prescription database will not receive state funding because law-makers earmarked no funds for the pro-gram when it was approved in 2009.

In a budget proposal that took place February 2011, Governor, Rick Scott proposed to repeal the PDMP for the state before it had been implemented. He stated that its execution has been obscured due to contractual challeng-es and that the state of Florida has no funding for the program.7 The database is expected to cost approximately $1.2 million dollars to initiate, and rough-ly half a million dollars to maintain an-nually. This is a large sum, however all of these funds have already been pro-cured through the 2009 and 2010 Har-old Rogers Prescription Drug Monitor-ing Program and Enhancements Grants, two private grants from the Nation-al Association of State Controlled Sub-stances Authorities, and donations by the Florida Prescription Drug Monitor-ing Foundation, Inc.5

Governor Scott also wanted to elim-inate the Office of Drug Control, which is the agency that was responsible for helping to raise private money for the database. Another reason the gover-nor wanted to eliminate the program is because he believed that it is unprov-en and that it could infringe on the pri-vacy of innocent people.7 The Florida PDMP, like other states, provides safe-guards to protect patient confidentiality and access to controlled substance pre-scription information through statute.

M A Y 2 0 1 1 | 9

The law prohibits unauthorized use and access to all confidential patient infor-mation. Anyone who willingly violates this law commits a felony in the third degree and could be charged as such.5

This information will be no more an in-vasion of privacy than are many of the operational databases that are current-ly located in the private sector, in each local pharmacy computer, or in every larger chain pharmacy’s national head-

quarters database. To completely eradicate the PDMP,

Governor Scott must get the approval of the Legislature. In February of 2011, four United States senators pleaded with Governor Scott to enact the PDMP in Florida, stating that lack of the pro-gram “…not only leaves Florida ex-posed to criminal elements in the busi-ness of trafficking controlled substances, but also has serious ramifications for the rest of the country battling abuse of prescription drugs.” These sentiments should not only be felt by those four senators, but by every pharmacist in the state of Florida.

The Governor’s Office has since re-versed its position on this issue and will be allowing the program to move forward. There were bills introduced during the 2011 Florida legislative ses-sion that sought to revise the current standards for pain management clin-ics. It seemed that legislators were fight-ing for more stringent policies, which is quite admirable. But are we sure that we are not exhausting all of our resources to try and control this over-whelming epidemic that is seeking to destroy more lives? Would it not be bet-

ter if stronger laws against regulating management clinics were coupled with a monitoring program to optimize our state’s outcome?

Despite the means by which our PDMP is initiated, the issues remain the same: Its implementation is vital here in Florida. Why? Because overwhelming-ly, prescription drug misuse and abuse is a HUGE problem that seems to thrive here in the “Sunshine State” and the

statistics are devastating. Prescription medications are the second most com-monly abused category of drugs behind marijuana. They are abused more than cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and all other classes of drugs. Up to 89 percent of abused medications are ob-tained and diverted from legally writ-ten prescriptions.9 Within any given year, an estimated 4.7 million Ameri-cans abuse prescription medications for the first time. According to the Sub-stance Abuse and Mental Health Servic-es Administration (SAMHSA), in 2009, 7 million Americans reported non-medi-cal use of prescription drugs. Of those reporting, 5.3 million used pain reliev-ers, 2 million used tranquilizers, 1.3 million used stimulants and 400,000 used sedatives.4 Each day, seven Florid-ians take a fatal overdose of a prescrip-tion medication.6

Whether you are a believer in the prescription drug monitoring program or not, change is needed to reverse the current trends in prescription drug abuse. In pharmacy we can be part of the solution to this problem in our state. The numbers speak for themselves. The question is, are we listening?

References1. Broward Sheriff’s Office. Web.

http://www.sheriff.org/about_bso/admin/sheriff/monthly.cfm? nyear=2011&nmonth=3&sspecial=N Accessed March 8, 2011.

2. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The Florida Medical Examiners Commission 2009 Report of Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons. Web. http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Content/ home.aspx Accessed March 8, 2011.

3. Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance. Web. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/ grant/ prescripdrugs.html Accessed March 8, 2011

4. National Institutes of Health National Institute on Drug Abuse: The Science of Drug Abuse & Addiction. Web. http://www.nida.nih.gov/tib/prescription.html Accessed March 8, 2011.

5. Florida Department of Health: Florida’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Web. http://e-forcse.com/funding.html Accessed on March 7, 2011.

6. The Alliance of States with Prescription Monitoring Programs. Web. http://www.pmpalliance.org/ Accessed March 9, 2011.

7. Gormley M. 4 Senators ask Florida to end ‘flamingo express’. The Associated Press. Web. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/4-senators-ask-florida-to-end-flamingo-express-1268688.html Accessed March 7, 2011.

8. Neff B. Florida Bill geared at monitoring Prescriptions for Narcotics. WiredPRNews.com. Web. http://www.wiredprnews.com/2009/04/22/florida-bill-geared-at-monitoring-prescriptions-for-narcotics_200904223292.html Accessed March 7, 2011.

9. Lessenger J, Feinberg S. Abuse of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Medications. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 2008; 21(1): 45-54.

Prescription drug misuse and abuse is a HUGE problem that seems to thrive here in the “Sunshine

State” and the statistics are devastating.


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M A Y 2 0 1 1 | 11

Support of FP-PACCE is Crucial to Protecting Your Profession

EDITOR’S NOTE: Members please be aware that this is only a brief syn-opsis of two of the many policy issues monitored by the FPA. A comprehen-sive report is being prepared for dis-cussion and distribution at the annual meeting of the Florida Pharmacy As-sociation in Aventura, Florida. It is not too late to register for that meet-ing. For more information go to our web site at www.pharmview.com.

To some extent, our call for support of the Florida Pharmacy Political Action Committee of Continuous Existence (FP-PACCE) has been phenomenal. Many of you have poured thousands of dollars into our campaign account. De-cisions and laws are made that deter-mine how you will practice your profes-sion of pharmacy, run your pharmacy business and care for your patients -- as well as how health care costs affect state budgets. Your contributions have a direct impact on these elected officials who represent you and make decisions affecting the future of your profession.

FP-PACCE is a means for us all to “pool” our resources and have a greater reach to political candidates who have or will have an understanding of what’s best for the practice of pharmacy and each aspect of patient care.

When the Legislature is in session, we are prohibited from making political contributions. When the session is over, this gives us all an opportunity to sup-port those campaigns that are friend-ly to pharmacy issues. So far in cal-endar year 2011, the PACCE has raised over $18,000. Much of that has come in within the last two months in response to some very onerous decisions under consideration here in Tallahassee.

The PACCE Board extends many thanks to those of you who are sup-porting this fundraising campaign. It is

not hard to do. Just think of it as mak-ing an investment in your profession. A bottle of water may cost around $1. If you buy two each week, that will add up to about $100 per year. Just imag-ine if all 25,000 Florida licensed phar-macists match what they pay for bot-tled water as a PACCE contribution. We would have a war chest of over $2.5 mil-lion, which could bring a tremendous amount of pharmacy political muscle to our state’s Capitol.

It would be difficult for those in poli-cymaking to ignore the challenges that you face in providing patient care ser-vices. Some of these challenges include abuses by pharmacy benefit manag-er auditors, outdated practice act stan-dards that restrict you from providing the care you have been trained for, and the pressure to increase volume driv-en by declining pharmacy reimburse-ments.

Where do your PACCE funds go? According to PACCE Treasurer Theresa Tolle, nearly all of it (about 90%) is used to support political campaigns. Of those political campaigns that we supported, over 80% were successful in their rac-es. Funds that are not used to directly support political campaigns are used to help raise additional money such as di-rect mailing expenses, PACCE brochure printing, post office box fees and the PACCE golf tournament and reception fundraising events.

Pharmacist Immunization Services HB585, SB1268 -- NOT ADOPTED By THE LEgISLATuRE

This legislation would have autho-rized pharmacy interns to administer the vaccines under certain circumstanc-es. The bill also would have granted au-thority for pharmacists and pharmacy interns to administer an epinephrine auto-injection under certain circum-stances. This bill passed one committee

in the Senate but was defeated by one vote in the House Health and Human Services Quality Subcommittee meet-ing on Wednesday, April 6. Testify-ing before the committee was Tallahas-see immunizing pharmacist Jonathan Hickman. Jon provided the committee with extensive and comprehensive tes-timony on the benefits of these services provided by pharmacists and how his practice has helped patients. You can see the video of his testimony by go-ing to the House Health and Human Services Quality Subcommittee web page. You can Google that web page by searching “Online Sunshine.” When you find the video link, advance the slide bar to 27.00 where you will see the HB585 being introduced and debated.

HOuSE BILL 7095 FOuND FAVORABLE By LEgISLATuRE

HB7095 contained a number of trou-blesome issues that prompted FPA's call to action. Countless hours were spent on this bill working with the sponsors to correct numerous problems. FPA was successful in fixing many of the bill's challenges to the business and practice of pharmacy. A full report will be available at the FPA convention and in Stat News.

FP-PACCE is a means for us all to “pool” our resources and have a greater reach to political candidates who have or will have an understanding of what’s best for the practice of pharmacy and each aspect of patient care.

By Michael Jackson, B.Pharm


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FLORIDA’S

florida A&M university college of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences

Lake erie college of Osteopathic Medicine school of pharmacy

Nova southeastern university college of pharmacy

palm beach Atlantic university Lloyd L. Gregory school of pharmacy

university of florida college of pharmacy

university of south florida college of pharmacy

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F l O r i d A ' s C O l l e g e s O F P h A r m A C y

The Florida A&M University (FAMU) PharmD/MBA de-gree is designed to shorten the time span necessary to earn both degrees independently, amplify graduate marketabili-ty in the workforce and galvanize graduates into positions of management. There are approximately 14 PharmD/MBA stu-dents in the program and persons interested in the dual de-gree program are encouraged to contact both departments for admission requirements that one attain prior to commencing with the requisite core courses.

The first cohort class started in the fall of 2010 and is ex-pected to graduate in the spring of 2017. Dr. Shawnta Friday-Stroud, dean and professor of the School of Business and In-dustry (SBI) said, “I am elated that the collaborative efforts of SBI and the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Scienc-es (COPPS) will capitalize on the strengths of both programs and that the PharmD/MBA has finally come to fruition. By integrating high quality clinical training and expertise with business competence and acumen, FAMU PharmD/MBA graduates will be well-equipped for boundless professional opportunities in the ever-evolving healthcare industry.” Dr. Seth Ablordeppey, interim dean of COPPS said, “This is one

more step to equip our students and make them more com-petitive in a dynamic healthcare environment. With the joint PharmD/MBA, our graduates should be well positioned to climb the corporate ladder with relative ease.”

Florida A&M university College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Building Phase II Breaks ground

Pharmacy Phase II of the New Pharmacy Building will be located north of the main campus at the corner of Bronough and Pershing streets. It involves the designing and construct-ing of a state-of-the-art 45, 000-square-foot research; graduate and professional study instructional space. The new complex will facilitate the College’s hiring of five endowed chairs in biomedical research, new animal research facilities, research libraries and cutting-edge research equipment that will allow the College to continue to be a leader in pharmaceutical re-search. Moreover, the 30 new research laboratories will allow expansion of the College’s graduate enrollment by more than 50 new students.

Florida A&M University: New Programs, Facilities, Highlight Exciting Change pharmd/MbA program in full swing

Pictured L. to R: Drs. Shawnta Friday-Stroud, Dean of SBI; Cynthia Hughes-Harris, Provost; Henry Lewis III, former Dean of COPPS; and Marlon Honeywell, Associate Dean, COPPS

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FAMu Receives Deed for Alatex Building from the City of Crestview

FAMU and the City of Crestview hosted a deed-sign-ing ceremony, Saturday, June 26, in an effort to turn the city’s historic Alatex Build-ing into a new satellite phar-macy school for the universi-ty. “Today we are reaching out and making dreams into re-alities,” said FAMU President James H. Ammons. “We must increase the number of people in the healthcare profession. I am looking forward to seeing what great things are in store

and I know the best is yet to come.”The major objective of the Crestview project is that grad-

uates of the program will be able to alleviate the increas-ing shortage of pharmacists presently being experienced throughout the Florida Panhandle. Currently, students seek-ing health education from the area are forced to drive to Tal-lahassee, and many travel to Auburn and Birmingham, Ala. Sen. Durell Peaden, Jr., R-Crestview, was the driving force behind the $8.5 million project. He said he believes the new school will bring growth to the town located in Florida’s Pan-handle. “This is not the destination — this is just the jour-ney,” said Peaden. “We need more pharmacists and they are going to be trained right here in Crestview. I knew we had to do something for the people in our little town.”

Students interested in the program will be admitted to FAMU. Lectures will be provided in real-time through video conferenc-ing between the FAMU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuti-cal Sciences in Tallahassee and the Crestview facility.

Citizens from all walks of life attended the high-spirited ceremony, which took place in front of the Alatex Building, a former garment factory. Crestview Mayor David Cadle, who

served as an honorary conductor for the Marching “100” dur-ing the event, said he is excited about the joint project. “This is really as much of an exciting day for me as it is for you,” said Mayor Cadle, a former band director at Crestview High School. FAMU’s College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is a leader in attracting millions of dollars for basic science and clinical research and competes nationally to at-tract industry and federal support for its many research and training endeavors.

Pictured L. to R: Sen. Durell Peaden, Jr., R-Crestview and FAMU President James H. Ammons

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“This is not the destination — this is just the journey,” said Peaden. “We need more pharmacists and they are going to be trained right here in Crestview. I knew we had to do something for the people in our little town.”



In just four short years, the Lake Erie College of Osteopath-ic Medicine School of Pharmacy in Bradenton, Fla., has made an impact on the health and well-being of the community. LECOM Bradenton students and faculty members have vol-unteered their time and shared their knowledge with local residents at numerous health events. The School has become an important health resource for the entire community.

This is an exciting year for LECOM Bradenton with com-mencement for the inaugural class of 77 pharmacy students at the Manatee County Convention Center on June 5th.

“On behalf of our superb faculty and staff, I can say that it is a great honor this year to grant the Pharm.D degree to our first class in Bradenton,” said Hershey Bell, M.D., M.S., Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the LECOM School of Pharmacy. “These future leaders will serve their communities with high quality, patient-centered care and ad-vance the LECOM mission by providing total-person health-care in the spirit of the osteopathic philosophy that serves as the foundation for all of LECOM’s activities.”

The mission of the LECOM School of Pharmacy mirrors the mission of the College of Osteopathic Medicine. LECOM pre-pares its students through programs of excellence in educa-tion, research, clinical care and community service to enhance the quality of life through improved health for all humanity.

Administrators, faculty, staff and students are committed to excellence and professionalism both at the school and in the community. Students in Erie, Pa., and Bradenton are lay-

ing the foundation for future gen-erations of pharmacists.

A Community ResourceSince its beginning at the Erie

campus in 2002, the LECOM School of Pharmacy has been a vi-tal source of health and wellness information, with students actively involved in service projects. They continued that spirit of community service when the Bradenton phar-macy school opened in 2007.

Pharmacy students at both cam-puses can be seen frequently vol-unteering at many local events with service and health care orga-nizations. LECOM students have taken important information to the public about prescription drug

abuse, the dangers of smoking, immunizations and poison prevention.

Shinelle Pierre, a second-year pharmacy student, summed up what this means to her. “By giving back to the commu-nities we serve, we are able to develop a sense of compas-sion, empathy and care that reminds us of the core reason we chose pharmacy as our profession,” she said. “The patient in-teraction provides students with a real-world experience that allows us to hone our communication skills, educate the pub-lic on health issues and promote healthy lifestyles.”

LECOM students have assisted the Gulf Coast South Area Health Education Center (AHEC) on tobacco cessation pro-gramming. Pierre and fellow second-year students Ezinne Anumudu and Melinda Buchanan, and third-year student Brian Welch participated in the health education center’s In-terdisciplinary Community Health Scholars (ICHS) program.

During this eight-week internship with AHEC, pharma-cy students educated the Bradenton community about the dangers of hookah use and how it can lead to Chronic Ob-structive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). A hookah is a tobac-co pipe that uses water to cool the smoke before being in-haled, and one session can have the same effect as smoking 100 cigarettes. Students gave presentations at schools, sum-mer camps, health organizations and senior centers. Along with these speaking engagements, students designed bro-chures, electronic presentations and a website at www.gsa-hec.org/hookah.

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Pharmacy Continues Excellence

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“These students have designed materials that can be used by others to continue this program,” said Gulf Coast South AHEC Executive Director Edna Apostol. “These projects are an everlasting educational tool.”

In Erie, second-year pharmacy students from the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) and the Men-toring Club visited the Impact Afterschool Program at the Ur-ban Erie Quality of Life Learning Center. They worked with 18 elementary school-aged children from low-income families and taught them about immunizations that will keep them healthy. Students explained how vaccines help the body fight off diseases and the importance of eating a healthy and bal-anced diet. They also donated hats, gloves and other cold weather items to the children.

Both campuses have programs demonstrating the dangers of prescription drug abuse through the Generation Rx pro-gram and showing children how easy it is to confuse med-icines and dangerous household products with candy and food.

the Community is Our CampusWhether it’s building a home with Habitat for Humanity

or providing healthcare services to the homeless, LECOM stu-dents have made the community their campus through their work and deeds.

In addition to actively participating in a variety of health and wellness fairs, students raise money for numerous non-profit organizations including: The American Cancer Society, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Manatee County YMCA and Meals on Wheels.

Because of its commitment to serving others, LECOM was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Ser-vice Honor Roll in 2010. Pharmacy and medical students con-tributed more than 20,000 hours of service to local commu-

nity agencies and nonprofit organizations despite the heavy academic schedule they endure.

LECOM School of Pharmacy faculty members also give back to the community. For example, Julie Wilkinson, Pharm.D., M.S., Associate Dean for Curriculum in Bradenton, volunteers her time at the Community Pharmacy of Sarasota County, which provides free medications and professional pharmaceutical care to the uninsured and working poor. The agency has dispensed more than $1.5 million worth of medi-cation and medical supplies to those patients.

Student AchievementsLECOM students have excelled and presented themselves

professionally in pharmacy skill competitions at local, state and national conferences. Second-year students Kim Thuc Pham, Kevin Long and Riley Williams won the Fifth An-nual Pennsylvania Student Pharmacists Self-Care Champi-onship sponsored by the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Asso-ciation (PPA). Second-year students Vanessa Ray and Shilo Godwin advanced from Erie and Bradenton competitions to the American Pharmacists Association’s (APhA) National Pa-tient Counseling Competition. Third-year students Lindsay Bouwkamp-Aldous and Beatrice Adams won the Bradenton Clinical Skills Competition in order to contend for the title at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) National Conference. Third-year student Rochelle Forsyth is currently representing the Florida Pharmacy Association as a trustee.

“For students, an incredible amount of extracurricular, leadership and community service opportunities are avail-able,” said fourth-year pharmacy student Michael Riner. “LECOM has sent fantastic student leaders to various confer-ences across the nation.”

Student OrganizationsLECOM School of Pharmacy students

have the opportunity to join several pharmaceutical clubs and organizations including:

Phi Lambda Sigma: The mission of Phi Lambda Sigma, also known as the national Pharmacy Leadership Society, is to promote the development of lead-ership qualities, especially among phar-macy students. By peer recognition, the Society encourages participation in all pharmacy activities.

The American Pharmacists Asso-ciation Academy of Student Pharma-cists (APhA-ASP): The student section of the American Pharmacists Associa-tion (APhA), represents more than 24,500 pharmacy students. It is the largest stu-dent pharmacy organization nationwide.



Its mission is to be the collective voice of student pharmacists, to provide opportunities for professional growth and to envi-sion and actively promote the future of pharmacy.

Rho Chi: An academic honor society established in 1922 that recognizes excellence in academic achievement and ad-vocates critical inquiry in all aspects of pharmacy.

Other student clubs available include: Kappa Psi Pharma-ceutical Fraternity, Florida Society of Health-System Phar-macists, Kappa Epsilon Professional Pharmacy Fraternity, Habitat for Humanity and Christian Pharmacists Fellow-ship International.

Choice Of PathwaysStudents in the School of Pharmacy can choose a tradition-

al four-year pathway in Bradenton or a three-year, year-round pathway at the Erie campus that allows students to enter the work force one year earlier. In either pathway, LECOM pro-vides a solid background in patient-centered care and pre-pares its graduates to become effective members of the health-care team for all areas of practice. Introductory and advanced experiential practice clinical experiences place LECOM stu-dents with pharmacists practicing in acute care, ambulatory care, institutional care and community care.

“We have affiliation agreements with hundreds of differ-ent sites,” said Bradenton campus Director of Experiential Ed-ucation Laura Stevenson, Pharm.D.

Administration And FacultyThe LECOM School of Pharmacy is led by Hershey S. Bell,

M.D., M.S. Dr. Bell became Vice President of Academic Af-fairs and Dean in August 2009. He previously served LECOM as a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Evaluation since 2004. Dr. Bell also teaches in the School of Pharmacy, College of Med-icine and the Master of Science programs. He has been ap-pointed to the American Association of Colleges of Pharma-cy 2010-2011 Special Committee on Student Professionalism.

Sunil Jambhekar, Ph.D., M.S. B. Pharm., is the Associate Dean for the School of Pharmacy in Bradenton. He oversees Distance Education Initiatives. Dr. Jambhekar has authored or co-authored many presentations at national and interna-tional conferences, peer-reviewed scientific publications and book chapters. He has written a textbook in Basic Pharmaco-kinetics. Dr. Jambhekar has also reviewed many books and scientific research articles for a number of professional jour-nals.

Julie Wilkinson, Pharm.D., M.S., Bradenton, is the As-sociate Dean for Pharmacy Curriculum. Naushad Ghilzai, Ph.D., Erie, is Associate Dean for Pharmacy Faculty. They oversee activities at both campuses.

Teresa Schweiger, Pharm.D. is the Assistant Dean for As-sessment, Lahku Keshvara, Ph.D., is the Director of Faculty, and Laura Stevenson, Pharm.D., is Director of Experiential Education at the LECOM School of Pharmacy in Bradenton.

LECOM School of Pharmacy emphasizes excellence in teaching. The faculty consists of leaders in the field of phar-macy, including a Fulbright Scholar. Eight faculty members have graduated from or enrolled in the Master of Science in Medical Education program. For faculty enrichment and de-velopment, LECOM offers this curriculum designed for clini-cian educators. Courses are available through distance learn-ing and at the Erie campus for D.O.s, Pharm.D.s, M.D.s and D.P.M.s.

AccreditationThe LECOM School of Pharmacy has received a full, six-

year accreditation from the American Council for Pharma-cy Education. This is the maximum recognition a pharmacy school can receive from the ACPE. The accreditation covers both the Bradenton and Erie, campuses. LECOM is also ac-credited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Edu-cation.

Enrollment The School of Pharmacy is at full enrollment with 807 stu-

dents; 401 at the Bradenton campus.

When: June 23, 2011

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Time: 7:00 P.M. - 10:00 P.M.

Cost: $50 per Person (You must be 21 years or older to attend)

A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE 1-800-435-7352 WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.

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Nova Southeastern Uni-versity College of Pharmacy (NSUCOP) opened its doors to a class of 49 students in the fall of 1987. Since that mod-est beginning, the college now admits more than 240 stu-dents each year into its doc-tor of pharmacy degree pro-gram and has graduated more than 2700 pharmacists. Today, over one-third of all practicing pharmacists in south Florida are NSUCOP graduates.

We conduct our programs of research and professional pharmacy education at three sites -- Ft. Lauderdale and Palm Beach in Florida, and Ponce in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. And, within the overall Nova Southeastern University structure, we are one of six colleges that comprise the Health Professions Divi-sion (HPD). At the main campus in Ft. Lauderdale, Pharmacy shares an extensive building complex of clinics, laboratories, classrooms, library and offices with its sister Colleges of Al-lied Health and Nursing, Dental Medicine, Medical Science, Optometry, and Osteopathic Medicine, a truly unique plan for the pursuit of interdisciplinary education and research op-portunities in healthcare.

Guided by our mission: To educate professionals to meet the pharmacy-related needs of society

NSUCOP strives to become a premier institution in phar-macy education. From a curriculum aimed at providing our students with the necessary competencies to meet the chal-lenges of tomorrow’s health care environment, through a rap-idly expanding research program, to our work with other health professionals in improving patient care, we are look-ing to an exciting future.

In addition to maintaining an exceptional Pharm. D. pro-gram, for example, we have just recently initiated a Ph.D. pro-

gram that centers on the study of various elements of drug discovery, development and utilization. And, an increasing involvement with pharmacy on the international scene con-tinues to be a very promising vista for our programs, facul-ty and students. Our ongoing program, in which some 150 outstanding pharmacists from foreign countries have come to our college to upgrade their own degrees to the Pharm. D., is but one example.

Continuing professional education is an important part of our present and our future. Our innovative, informative pro-grams are presented to a wide audience of pharmacy profes-sionals on an ever-increasing range of topics central to today’s multidisciplinary practice of pharmacy. In addition to the cus-tomary one-day presentations, we offer certificate programs requiring some 30 hours of internet and classroom activity. Courses such as “Emergency Preparedness: Pharmacists as First Responders,” “Pharmacy-based Immunization Deliv-ery,” and “Medication Error Awareness” have been present-ed for the past years with high praise from participants. The most recent programming includes Drug-Induced Disease, a course focusing on disease states resulting from treatment of other disease states; and “Integrative Medicine,” a course that combines treatments from conventional and complementary medicine for which there are safety and effectiveness issues.

Two new NSUCOP facilities point up our drive for prog-ress and innovation. The first is our new Educational Center in Palm Beach Gardens, which will open its doors to some 200

Nova Southeastern UniversityCollege of Pharmacy: Impacting the Profession

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pharmacy students this coming fall. The four-story building features classrooms of various size and settings, laboratories, study and conference rooms, faculty and administrative offices, a lounge area, and even an equipped exercise room for the students. With time, the building facilities will be shared with programs from other NSU educational centers.

The second new facility is a bit more ex-otic -- a medicinal / healing garden. Lo-cated in the heart of the Ft. Lauderdale campus, near the Alvin Sherman Library, the garden was built as a tool for our In-tegrative Medicine Studies. In addition to its various medicinal plants, the gar-den features the longest reflexology path-way in the country. What is a reflexology pathway? You’ll have to come to the gar-den and find out by learning how to walk the 66-foot path among the bamboo, rock seats, waterfalls, garden fragrances, and chimes, and to feel the wellness afforded by this ancient Egyptian, Indian, and Chi-nese science.

Plans for two additional major facilities in the HPD com-plex in Ft. Lauderdale have been approved, and their con-struction is awaiting an upturn in the economy. One will house specialized classrooms, particularly those that lend themselves to small group discussions and recitations. The other is an HPD research building that will contain 75,000 square feet of laboratories and offices designed in an “open space” layout aimed at encouraging interaction between re-searchers.

Our students are a particular source of our pride. Car-rying the heavy academic load that they do, it is amazing to watch these young people become involved in so many extra-curricular activities aimed at improving healthcare. Whether it’s touting preventative care and drug compliance at senior centers, shadowing and assisting pharmacists at hospitals and psychiatric care facilities, or helping to improve the study habits of first year students, these developing professionals seem tireless in their search for any knowledge or experi-ence relating to healthcare. Summer opportunities to partici-pate in faculty research projects and in our highly successful Study Abroad program are further enticements for the stu-dents.

The success of our achievements in educating pharmacists is seen in at least two measures. First, in the continually large, strong pool of applicants seeking admission to our entry-level doctor of pharmacy program each year. And, second, in the Licensure Board grades for our graduates, who regularly ex-ceed state and national averages.

From our faculty members, who not only teach, but con-

tribute to the reservoir of health care knowledge; through the students who do their academics well, yet find time to do such things as educate our state legislators; to the people of our community and institutional Pharmacy Services Divi-sion, who go beyond their academic responsibilities to pro-vide screening for a variety of health issues to more than 1,500 patients, the College of Pharmacy family is busy, ded-icated, and outstanding. To them all, we extend profound thanks and appreciation for a job well done.

To all our alumni and friends who have also contributed to the success of our College, thank you. Our pledge is to con-tinue striving for excellence as we continue our uncompro-mising approach to education, research and service. We in-vite you all to become a part of the upcoming activities and projects.

Our pledge is to continue striving for excellence as we continue our uncompromising approach to education, research and service.



As the Lloyd L. Gregory School of Pharmacy (GSOP) at Palm Beach Atlantic University embarks on its 10th year, its students and faculty continue to make an impact locally and internationally.

Since 2001, the GSOP has had a rich tradition of provid-ing spiritual and medical care to those in need around the globe. Last year alone, GSOP alumni, pharmacy faculty, pharmacy students and nursing students traveled to the Amazon River basin, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Haiti and Zambia. The medical mission trips—cooperatively led by GSOP fac-ulty, fourth-year pharmacy students and GSOP alumni—have become not only a tradition for GSOP but a distinction in service and outreach among other pharmacy schools and colleges. International trips planned for this year include Amazon River basin, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Guatemala.

Last summer, the pharmacy school received $111,000 through the Lazarus Foundation, a non-profit organiza-tion created by the founders of the GSOP, to provide medical and other supplies. The donation also covered half of the cost of each student’s trip. Upon return, many of the teams pre-sented their experiences and the impact of the trips during the school’s weekly Bible study. The experiences were excit-ing and inspirational with testimonies of compassion, culture and challenges in providing direct patient care.

The GSOP is expanding its mission outreach domestically to socioeconomically challenged areas of South Florida, spe-cifically in the Belle Glade and Lake Okeechobee region. This local medical mission trip is directed by Dr. Jamie Fairclough, assistant professor of administrative and social sciences and director of community programs. With the support of local churches, community pharmacies and government officials, Dr. Fairclough will organize free health care screenings in the heart of small cities in the Belle Glade area where help is most needed.

Annual Local health Fair

Domestic mission trips are only one way in which GSOP students impact the local community. Beginning in fall 2008, GSOP students organized a pharmacy health fair held in Ab-acoa, FL. In the fall of 2010, the American Pharmacists Asso-ciation GSOP student chapter collaborated with the student chapters of the American Society of Health-System Pharma-cists, the Florida Society of Health-System Pharmacists and

the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy to lead their fel-low classmates from all organizations to host the third annu-al health fair, themed “Prescription for Health,” in downtown West Palm Beach. More than 175 student volunteers orga-nized the health fair, which included entertainment provided by a local company. Also, a local radio station played music and provided coverage of the event.

Twenty-three booths distributed educational information targeting a variety of disease states, conducted screenings and immunizations and provided other health-related edu-cational services for more than 200 attendees. Health topics included: asthma/COPD, children’s health, cholesterol, dia-betes, heartburn, herbals, hypertension, immunization, med-ication disposal, men’s and women’s health, poison preven-tion, skin care, smoking cessation, the new American plate and veterinary pharmacy. The National Association of Com-munity Drug Stores (NACDS) Foundation provided a $5,000 grant to help fund this year’s event, and CVS, Walgreens and Wal-Mart also provided sponsorship.

Residency ProgramIn addition to community service and outreach, the GSOP

prepares pharmacists to be servant leaders within the profes-sion through its pharmacy practice residency program. The school established the pharmacy practice residency program Postgraduate Year One (PGY-1) in 2008 with funding pro-vided by the Quantum Foundation. Starting in 2010, a sec-

Palm Beach Atlantic University Lloyd L. Gregory School of Pharmacy providing spiritual and Medical care at home and Abroad

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ond residency position was added and both positions are now funded through the university.

The three distinctives of the pro-gram are indigent care (including medical mission experience), aca-demia with a teaching certificate provided, and faith integration. This program is designed to pro-vide a solid foundation in patient-centered care, while focusing on fostering personal and professional leadership. The program emphasiz-es critical thinking, pedagogy, time management, collaborative care, clinical site development, drug in-formation and communication.

The goal is to nurture residents in their knowledge, skills, commit-ment and insight while preparing pharmacy clinicians for positions such as patient care, academia and PGY-2 training.

The residency is divided into nine core-training tracks and provides opportunities to further develop competence in practice areas through the completion of various required and elective rotations. These training segments include, but are not limited to, internal (adult) medicine, family practice, HIV/AIDS, geriatrics, drug information, infectious disease, association management, administrative academia, research and a variety of teaching experiences. GSOP residency direc-tor Dr. Seena Haines, associate dean for faculty and professor of pharmacy practice, is in charge of the training program. The PGY-1 is accredited for six years by the accreditation divi-sion of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

new Administrative LeadershipThe school is now under the leadership of Dr. Mary J. Fer-

rill, who helped start the GSOP program in 2001. The other new appointees are Dr. Seena Haines as associate dean for faculty and Dr. Dana Brown as assistant dean for academ-ics. The new administrators join Thomas Robertson, assistant dean of students; Dr. Wagdy Wahba, director of spiritual pro-grams; and Dr. Jonathan Coffman, director of administration and planning. The team is dedicated to academic excellence and educating servant leaders in the profession of pharma-cy by combining the school’s mission, “pharmacy with faith,” and its vision, “excellence with character.”



ResearchA leading scientist in clinical pharmacology at the Food

and Drug Administration is taking a new academic role at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy to improve drug development and create tools and approaches to make sure new products are safe, effective and within FDA-regulated standards.

Lawrence J. Lesko, Ph.D., director of the Office of Clinical Pharmacology at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, will lead the college’s new pharmacometrics and systems pharmacology initiative in the interdisciplinary In-stitute of Therapeutic Innovation at the UF Research and Aca-demic Center, now under construction in Orlando.

With his July 1 appointment, Lesko looks forward to estab-lishing UF’s presence at Lake Nona Medical City, which he hopes will raise Florida into the national arena as a leader in drug development and regulatory science — the development of new tools, standards and approaches to assess the safety and performance of FDA-regulated products.

“What is exciting to me is defining a vision, setting up a strategic plan and implementing the tactics and actions that will lead to an entirely new academic model for advancing drug development and excellence in translational and regula-tory science,” Lesko said.

With the plans to add several faculty researchers and a dozen graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, the pro-

gram will provide a vital pipeline in training the next generation of scientists skilled in drug-mod-eling simulation and translational science.

AcademicsThe Helen and David Bean Campus of the

University of Florida College of Pharmacy, Or-lando, officially broke ground last October at the new UF Research and Academic Center. The UF College of Pharmacy Orlando campus will relo-cate there in 2012 from its present Apopka, Fla. location.

“At the UF Research and Academic Center, student pharmacists will learn from talented fac-ulty members at a state-of-the-art complex to pre-pare for the challenges and opportunities they will face during their careers and lifetimes,” said William H. Riffee, Ph.D., dean of the UF College of Pharmacy.

In addition to teaching pharmacy students in Orlando, the college also will advance its trans-

lational research in drug discovery and development, and its medication therapy management service to patients receiving Medicare prescription benefits, Riffee said.

The UF pharmacy programs in the UF Research and Aca-demic Center will join an emerging biomedical research com-munity in Lake Nona with institutions including the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, Nemours Children’s Hospital, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and the University of Central Florida College of Medicine and Health Sciences.

University of Florida Pharmacy Joins UF Research & Academic Center in Orlando

Architect’s rendering of the UF Research and Academic Center

Groundbreaking photo by Ray Carson/University of Florida

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uF RESEARCh hIghLIghtS

Medicinal ChemistryA chemical compound made from a type of bacteria dis-

covered in the Florida Keys by a University of Florida phar-macy researcher has shown effectiveness in fighting colon cancer in preclinical experiments. The compound — known as largazole because it was first found near Key Largo — in-hibits human cancer cell growth in cultures and rodent mod-els by attacking a class of enzymes involved in the packaging and structure of DNA.

More study is needed, but scientists hope that the discov-ery will lead to new treatments for the roughly 50,000 people struck with colorectal cancer each year in the United States. Researchers are enthusiastic because in addition to having the marine bacteria as a natural source of the chemical, they have been able to synthetically produce the active chemical com-pound extracted from the bacteria. The findings, released in fall 2010, were followed in February 2011 with new publica-tion of an additional potential benefit for the compound in treating serious fractures, osteoporosis and other bone dis-eases.

PharmacogenomicsA UF genetics researcher has received $9.8 million to fur-

ther a national effort of using genetic data to more effectively pinpoint what medications and treatments are best for indi-vidual patients. Julie A. Johnson, Pharm.D., the V. Ravi Chan-dran professor in pharmaceutical sciences at the UF College of Pharmacy, received a five-year award as part of the NIH’s Pharmacogenomics Research Network.

“Through these studies, we are moving closer to the goal of using genetic information to help prescribe the safest, most effective medicine for each patient,” said NIH Director Fran-cis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.

Johnson, who directs the UF Center for Pharmacogenom-ics, said the large award makes it possible to continue her on-going work to discover the genes that result in different re-sponses to blood pressure medications.

Johnson is looking at long-term implications of blood pres-sure drugs by using the genetic markers coupled with a spe-cific drug that leads to lower risk of heart attack and stroke. Her lab is also taking a look at adverse affects of some medi-cations. For example, in a small portion of the population, cer-tain blood pressure drugs can increase the risk of developing diabetes. By finding the genetic markers, doctors will be able to avoid those drugs, and prescribe other drugs instead.

“Our goal is to find the best medicine for a person from the beginning,” Johnson said. “Evidence shows that the sooner blood pressure is controlled, the less risk there is for other dis-eases such as heart attack, stroke and kidney failure.”

uF StuDEnt PhARMACIStS

uf Students take top Awards at national MeetingIn March, Gator pharmacy students traveled to the 2011

American Pharmacist Association Annual Meeting in Seattle just like hundreds of other U.S. student pharmacists – but the UF Academy of Student Pharmacists students returned home with three top awards.

The UF ASP students received the inaugural 2010 Nation-al Award for Generation Rx, an educational program, initiat-ed by a UF student pharmacist in 2008 that increases public awareness of prescription medication abuse and encourages health care providers, community leaders, parents, teens, and college students to actively work to prevent abuse.

The UF student pharmacists also received the 2010 Nation-al Professionalism Award and the 2010 Region 3 Operation Diabetes Award at the meeting.

The national APhA Academy of Student Pharmacists Chapter recognizes outstanding activities of APhA-ASP chap-ters across the nation, with its statement, “The awards ac-knowledge superior programming among chapters that en-vision the future of pharmacy by creating opportunities for student participation, leadership, professionalism, member-ship, patient care, and legislative advocacy among student pharmacists.”

Award Photo (l-r): Gloria Coltea, APhA-ASP president and Sharita Gosa, APhA-ASP executive liaison.



Professional Coating CeremonyMore than 200 first-year pharmacy students put on their

professional white coats for the first time in March during the college’s Professional Coating Ceremony. The student phar-macists, from four UF campuses across the state, gathered in Gainesville to confirm their commitment to becoming pro-fessional practitioners of pharmacy. Led by their professors, families proudly watched as Nicole Kitts, Pharm.D. candidate May 2011, led the students in a verbal pledge of their dedica-tion to pharmaceutical excellence.

uF hosts 1st national Compounding CompetitionThe UF College of Pharmacy hosted a national student

pharmacist compounding competition in March, which brought finalists from eight schools of pharmacy to UF’s state-of-the-art Carl & Joan Allison Skills Laboratory in the college’s CVS/pharmacy Education Center. MEDISCA, a dis-tributor of pharmaceutical compounding supplies, sponsored the event at UF, in a mutual goal to raise awareness and pro-vide a better understanding of the art and science of pharma-ceutical compounding.

The results were close, and scores were high among all the competitors, but UF congratulates the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy student pharmacists, who achieved top honors!

Pharmacy technician training Program Expands in Florida and nationally – Online

The University of Florida College of Pharmacy has devel-oped a 14-week training course offered in two formats, either in-class or online. UF’s course prepares students to take a na-tional certifying exam now required for all pharmacy techni-cians. The course has been approved by the Florida Board of Pharmacy.

The program’s first class was taught at the UF campus in

Gainesville by Judy Riffee, R.Ph., a program development coordinator in the Division of Continuing Education at UF College of Pharmacy. Expecting a class of young adults, she found many of her students to be 40- to 60-year-olds, well ed-ucated and anxious to get back into the job market — but in a meaningful way.

This year, beginning in February, online courses, and ad-ditional live classes, were added in Orlando and Tampa, with plans to add more Florida cities this summer. Subjects cov-ered in the course include pharmacology, pharmacy law, in-ventory management, prescription writing, pharmaceutical calculations and sterile compounding.

Phillip Lofthouse, recent graduate of the UF phamacy technician training program, working in the Shands at UF in-patient pharmacy (Photo by Jesse Jones/University of Florida)

Photo by Maria Belen Farias/University of Florida

M A Y 2 0 1 1 | 27


In the year 2009, the University of South Florida received approval to implement the USF Doctor of Pharmacy program. There is now genuine enthusiasm and expectations of inter-professional collaborations throughout USF Health that we believe will be the impetus for an outstanding USF College of Pharmacy. The inaugural pharmacy class is proposed to enroll August 2011. The first entering class will have 50 stu-dents, with eventual enrollment increased to a maximum of 100 students per class.

Description - the university of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is located in Tampa,

Florida, one of Florida’s largest metropolitan areas. USF is the ninth largest public university in the country, with a total stu-dent enrollment greater than 45,000. There are over 4 million people in the counties that USF serves, which is larger than the total population of numerous states just north of Florida. Geographically, this provides a very rich research and clini-cal learning environment for our students and faculty. USF is a nationally recognized research university and is desig-nated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a research university that is community engaged. The journal “Chronicles of Higher Education” has recognized USF as the fastest-growing research institution in the United States from the years 2000-2007. During this time period, fed-eral funds for academic research and development increased 213%. Strategically, the University of South Florida is posi-tioning itself to be recognized as an AAU institution, elevat-ing the University among the elite academic institutions in North America.

uSF healthUSF Health is a young, but mature health sciences com-

plex. The USF College of Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, the USF School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitative Sciences, and the School of Biomedical Sciences all comprise USF Health. All of the colleges and schools that comprise USF Health cur-rently enjoy uncommon interprofessional collaboration be-tween them. The faculty among all of the colleges recognized that pharmacy as a health discipline was a missing compo-nent of the academic and clinical profile at USF Health. Pres-ently, interprofessional interactions involving the pharmacy discipline occur regularly between all of the academic pro-grams. With this recognition, there is enormous support for the College of Pharmacy among students, faculty, and re-

searchers. Health, research, and education are of paramount importance to USF Health. With the addition of pharmacy faculty and staff, even greater health care, increased research, and outstanding education will be achieved.

uSF College of Pharmacy Program FocusRecognizing the rapidly evolving healthcare system, we

have been afforded the unique opportunity to create a dy-namic pharmacy program that will be adaptable moving for-ward. Recognizing that we will not graduate any students until the year 2015, and with changes in patient demograph-ics and emerging advanced technologies, we will provide an advanced pharmacy educational experience designed for fu-ture aspects of healthcare that involve an enahnced interpro-fessional team model that appreciates the contributions of the pharmacy profession. Our transformative curriculum will be built upon four pillars of pharmacy focused, patient-centered care:

n Geriatric Pharmacotherapy n Pharmacogenomics/ Individualized Medicine n Leadership/ Management, and n Informatics/ Advanced Technologies

Upon these foundational pillars, our curricular focus will match the vision statement set forth by the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners for the year 2015, which calls upon pharmacists to be engaged with patients as healthcare prac-titioners, beyond the traditional role of gatekeepers of phar-maceutical product. With USF Health already recognized as a leader in patient care, research, education, and technological innovations, the addition of our College of Pharmacy is a pru-dent, pragmatic, wise decision that is certain to pay health-care dividends by producing pharmacist practitioners with advanced patient care skills. Future employers for our phar-macy graduates will find an advanced pharmacy practitioner that is prepared for all aspects of healthcare involving phar-macists. We will challenge ourselves to create new opportu-nities for pharmacists with the ultimate goal of advancing our profession.

Student LifeStudents are our major priority. Our Office of Student Af-

fairs and Assessment will make decisions that begin by ask-ing the question “What will be the biggest benefit to our stu-dents?” We will provide students with the necessary tools to interface with the school outside of academics such as ad-

University of South Florida College of Pharmacy Joins Prestigious USF Health Network



missions, records and registration, financial aid, assessment of student learning outcomes and student services such as ad-vising, tutoring, career services, counseling, student organi-zations and disability support. One of the wonderful things about being a new school of pharmacy is that we have the unique opportunity to create from scratch an innovative pro-gram that utilizes best practices in student affairs and phar-macy education. We will develop a program with a strong culture of assessment from the onset of the program.

Already, the Office of Student Affairs and Assessment has begun to lead the way. Members of the student affairs team have developed holistic admissions practices utilizing multi-mini interviews with diversity in mind, objective standard-ized evaluations for approval of prerequisite courses, and advising and tutoring programs utilizing an early-warning referral system. Key characteristics for students admitted into the program will be humanism, compassion for patients, and respect for the pharmacy profession. Most importantly, the Office of Student Services and Assessment is taking an inter-professional approach with the collaboration of other profes-sional degree programs in the delivery of state-of-the art stu-dent affairs programming.

The ultimate goal is student success. The Office of Stu-dent Affairs and Assessment is committed to helping stu-dents to develop a well-rounded career as a future pharmacist

through implementation of a comprehensive career develop-ment program and the encouragement of participation in professional student organizations. We have already accept-ed our first students into the program and within days they were enthusiastically inquiring about opportunities for devel-oping a student chapter of the American Pharmacists Associ-ation on campus.

Our vision in student affairs is to provide state-of-the-art delivery of students services such that USF becomes recog-nized as a leader, the benchmark in the delivery of student

The USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS)

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services among pharmacy schools and beyond.

Academic and Clinical AffairsDedicated interprofessional edu-

cational (IPE) models will be a major strength of our curriculum, and offer a truly enhanced patient-centered ed-ucational experience for our students and faculty. Plans for upcoming simu-lation facilities will create an environ-ment that will allow a clinically focused curriculum to thrive. Recent pharma-

cy accreditation guidelines updates are calling for enhanced interprofession ed-ucation throughout the curriculum, and we are well prepared to meet this chal-lenge. We are preparing to create an interprofessional student council at USF Health that will be comprised of stu-dents from all colleges and schools. The deans of all of the colleges are complete-ly dedicated to developing an IPE mod-el that is nationally recognized for its interconnected focus and learner-based outcomes. Already plans include hav-ing pharmacy faculty as major champi-ons of an IPE curriculum that has phar-macy in a leadership role within USF Health.

Among the more exciting projects for the College of Pharmacy will be our dedicated participation in the Cen-ter for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS). The virtual hos-pital will house a skills pharmacy that contains both inpatient and outpatient components. Students from pharma-cy, medicine, and nursing will inter-act in standardized clinical scenarios, strongly augmenting the clinical expe-riences of our students. Student IPE

teams are already being discussed for CAMLS, and we will engage our Con-tinuing Professional Development Of-fice (which offers ACPE approved CE) to develop skills-based competency programs for existing registered phar-macists. CAMLS is being designed as one of the first simulation centers built directly for patient safety and skills competency assessment of clinicians. We are especially excited to be a central player in this project.

Research EndeavorsFaculty in our College of Pharma-

cy have already published 12 papers in peer-reviewed journals since August 2010, all with USF College of Pharma-cy as the home institution. There also have been four national and interna-tional presentations. Our inaugural pharmacy faculty are already conduct-ing meaningful research, especially in the area of Alzheimer’s Disease. We are participating in creating a medicinal garden at the USF Botanical Gardens to assist faculty goals of creating interdis-ciplinary neutraceutical research. We have scheduled an International Phar-macogenomics Conference September 22-24, 2011, solidifying our commitment to this new and emerging science. And, in early 2011, we will join with the USF Health Center for Nanotechnology on numerous research projects involving faculty with joint appointments. Dean Kevin B. Sneed will be appointed to the USF Nanomedicine Research Cen-ter (UNRC) Board of Directors, continu-ing to foster relation-building with oth-er existing successful research entities at USF and USF Health.

Final Message from the DeanAs the healthcare needs of Floridi-

ans, the nation, and the world continue to grow, the escalating demands on the healthcare system will require increas-ing participation of pharmacists to as-sist healthcare teams and health-sys-tems provisions. With special clinical emphasis placed upon caring for elderly populations, individualized medicine, emerging health information technol-ogies, and building future healthcare leaders, the USF College of Pharmacy is excited to move the pharmacy profes-sion toward the year 2015 and beyond. If I were an aspiring student, I would want to be a student in this program. The future begins now! I look forward to our future students, faculties, and partners as we transform the DNA of healthcare!

Among the more exciting projects for the College of Pharmacy will be our dedicated participation in the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS). The virtual hospital will house a skills pharmacy that contains both inpatient and outpatient components.


PhARMACY RESOuRCES

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McKesson Drug CompanyJim Springer(800) 804-4590 FAX: (863) 616-2953

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buYer’s GuideADVERTISERS: This is a special section designed to give your company more exposure and to act as an easy reference for the pharmacist.

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Advertising in Florida Pharmacy todayDisplay Advertising: please call (850) 264-5111 for a media kit and rate sheet. Buyers’ guide: A signed insertion of at least 3X per year, 1/3 page or larger display ad, earns a placement in the Buyers’ Guide. A screened ad is furnished at additional cost to the advertiser. Professional Referral Ads: FPA Members: $50 per 50 words; Non-members: $100 per 50 words; No discounts for advertising agencies. All Professional Referral ads must be paid in advance, at the time of ad receipt.

AHCA MEDICAID PHARMACy SERVICES2727 Mahan DriveTallahassee, FL 32308(850) 487-4441www.fdhc.state.fl.us/medicaid/pharmacy

AMERICAN PHARMACISTSASSOCIATION (APhA)Washington, D.C. (800) 237-2742www.pharmacist.com

AMERICAN SOCIETy OF HEALTH SySTEM PHARMACISTSBethesda, MD (301) 657-3000www.ashp.com/main.htm

DRug INFORMATION CENTERPalm Beach Atlantic University(561) [email protected]

FLORIDA BOARD OF PHARMACy4052 Bald Cypress WayBin #C04Tallahassee, FL 32399-3254(850) 245-4292www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa

FLORIDA POISON INFORMATION CENTER NETWORK(800) 222-1222www.fpicn.org

NATIONAL COMMuNITy PHARMACISTS ASSOCIATION 100 Daingerfield Road Alexandria, VA 22314703.683.8200703.683.3619 [email protected]

RECOVERINg PHARMACISTS NETWORK OF FLORIDA(407) 257-6606 “Pharmacists Helping Pharmacists”

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April 2011.

may 2011 florida pharmacy journal

Documents

journalthe florida pharmacy

sciences of pharmacy

florida pharmacy association

board of directors

o r i d

best pharmacists

rma c y t o d

peer reviewed journal