[beta]-lactamases are hydrolytic enzymes that inactivate the [beta]-lactam ring of antibiotics such as penicillins and cephalosporins. The major diversity of studies carried out until now have mainly focused on the characterization of [beta]-lactamases recovered among clinical isolates of Gram-positive staphylococci and Gram-negative…

Context: Past research has documented rural physician and health care professional shortages. Purpose: Rural hospital chief executive officers' (CEOs') reported shortages of health professionals and perceptions about recruiting and retention are compared in Illinois and Arkansas. Methods: A survey, previously developed and sent to 28 CEOs in…

Context: Timely access to emergency contraception (EC) has emerged as a major public health effort in the prevention of unintended pregnancies. The recent FDA decision to allow over-the-counter availability of emergency contraception for adult women presents important rural health implications. American women, especially those living in rural and…

The organizer of the conference, Pharmacy in the 21st Century, describes the two conferences, the first one in 1984 and the latest one in 1989. Issues in the 1984 conference that were not discussed in 1989 included pharmacy manpower, ethics in health care, wellness, informed consumers, etc. (MLW)

A lecture given in courses in applied pharmacokinetics at Wayne State University, Michigan, is presented. The definition of bioavailability is reviewed along with methods of calculation, bioequivalence, criteria for establishing bioequivalence of a new product, essentials of a bioequivalence study, and the relationship between bioequivalence and…

The author compares the merits and weaknesses of prepaid college pharmacy programs and prescription drug insurance plans. (MJB)

Describes compilation of data concerning pharmaceutical journal coverage in online databases which aid information providers in collection development and database selection. Methodology, results (a core collection, overlap, timeliness, geographic scope), and implications are discussed. Eight references and a list of 337 journals indexed online in…

A survey was sent to eighty-five American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy-member schools and affiliates to learn how many lectures are accorded to core sequences in pharmacology. The data were intended to provide a frame of reference for the University of Toledo College of Pharmacy. (Author/MLW)

Effectiveness of a new 72-hour delivery system (USXPRESS) for pharmaceuticals purchased by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from VA depots was evaluated by comparing 33 test sites with 11 matched sites using a pretest posttest quasiexperimental design. The USXPRESS system reduced inventory, decreased space needs, and satisfied service…

The mastery approach toward learning drug product information seems to be a useful method to improve a student's knowledge, but the approach requires more faculty time since it is geared toward the individual student. (LBH)

A survey of 70 Nebraska pharmacists examined the nature and frequency of ethical problems with patient confidentiality, especially specific contextual features of practice and community life that made maintenance of confidentiality difficult. Differences between rural and urban pharmacists were noted. Implications for pharmaceutical education are…

A survey to determine whether course offerings with an ethics component were different based upon the entry-level practice degree awarded by colleges of pharmacy is discussed. Comparison with an earlier survey demonstrated that the number of courses has increased since 1981. (Author/MLW)

It is shown that pharmacists in three types of pharmacies (discount, traditional, and service) displayed no significant differences in knowledge or attitude, although they did differ significantly in behavior. The results also indicated that more recent pharmacy graduates had greater drug knowledge as well as improved attitudes toward…

The curriculum of the Riyadh College of Pharmacy was compared with the pharmacy curricula of selected universities in the U. S., England, Egypt, and Ghana. A new curriculum based on the findings is described. (LBH)

In recent years the scope and application of intellectual property rights has been expanded remarkably in the area of medical research and development. This has strengthened the role of the private sector in developing and producing new medicinal drugs. However, medical research is usually close to a pure public good and thus not efficiently…