This research is devoted to the investigation of the general trends in the development of the pharmaceutical industry in the current conditions of economical socialization. The determination of the economic specificity of the modern operation of the pharmaceutical industry is the purpose of the research. It was found that pharmacy is a profitable…

Purpose: Medicare Part D provided 3.4 million American seniors with prescription drug insurance. It may also have had an unintended effect on pharmacy viability. This study compares trends in the number of pharmacies and rate of pharmacy closures before and after the implementation of Medicare Part D. Methods: This retrospective observational…

The progress of psychology toward the acquisition of prescriptive authority is critically reviewed. Advances made by other nonphysician health care professions toward expanding their scopes of practice to include prescriptive authority are compared with gains made by professional psychology. Societal trends affecting attitudes toward the use of…

The trend now driving American health care is that the payors are refusing to pay the true economic costs. Health care technology and the public's demand for it, the growth of managed care (Health Maintenance Organizations), and the need to increase the effectiveness of health care are affecting health care delivery. (MLW)

This paper looks at demographic and financial trends that can have an effect on the health care sector, the government reliance on projections of budget expenditures and the current budget deficit, and trends in health care expenditures and effects on the future of Social Security and Medicare. (MLW)

Statements from seven workshops given at the conference on Pharmacy in the 21st Century covered societal and public policy trends, emerging trends, economics, and health care systems delivery. (MLW)

This conference paper discusses seven trends with implications for pharmacy: changing demographics (to a more elderly population), setting limits (health care costs), wellness and health promotion, organizational and structural changes in the health care industry, driving diseases (mental health, heart disease, AIDS), driving discoveries, and…

A discussion of current changes in optometry looks at the expanding for-profit health sector, changing student characteristics and enrollment patterns, the changing scope of optometric care and technology, and the demise of professionalism and ethics. Implications for pharmaceutical education are considered. (MSE)

The dominate issue in pharmacy education has been which degree, BS or PharmD, should be entry-level degree for pharmacy. Data show that the number of BS degrees conferred has been decreasing while the number of PharmD degrees has been increasing. (Author/MLW)

As pharmacy seeks to attain professional recognition along with other professions within the health care system, it must seek to integrate the dissemination of drug knowledge along with its distribution functions and its educational system needs to produce pharmacists who can meet the drug information needs of society. (JMD)

Electronics, pharmaceuticals, and other industry programs to loan corporate employees to colleges and universities for short-term teaching assignments are discussed, including the advantages to both industry and the institutions and the conflicts in demand for specialists. (MSE)

Personal computer technology has arrived in health care. Specific technological advances are optical disc storage, smart cards, voice recognition, and robotics. This paper discusses computers in medicine, in nursing, in conglomerates, and with patients. Future health care will be delivered in primary care centers, medical supermarkets, specialized…

A discussion of sterile products in pharmacy looks at recent concerns in the health care community, action by professional associations, recommendations and guidelines for professional training of pharmacists and technicians, current and proposed curricula for undergraduate, graduate, continuing, industrial, and cooperative programs and…