American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 2006; 70 (1) Article 12. not just present this philosophy; it provides evidence to the reader that this perspective is vital to taking good care of patients and the future of pharmacy. The second major strength is the large number of practical examples and cases presented as learning examples. Communication Skills for Pharmacists does not just present the skills needed; it also provides the theory and background for why these skills are important. This provides a solid foundation for pharmacists who need to understand these important theoretical concepts. This understanding will assist the reader in evaluating each skill, and incorporating these skills into their practice of pharmacy. There is a good balance between the discussion of the background theories and practice-related issues. Another important strength is that the text provides a method by which pharmacists can slowly begin to take small steps toward changing their own practices. The book suggests and encourages pharmacists to identify one or a small number of patients, provide excellent pharmacy care, then document, communicate, and bill for the services provided. A web site enumerating the experiences of others doing just that is provided. The only weakness in this text is that the examples do not focus enough on the need for, and skills to enable, pharmacists to practice efficiently. Time is a major barrier and more attention may need to be focused in this area. Future pharmacists will need to handle both the day-to-day dispensing functions as well as the advanced concepts of pharmacy care; thus, efficient use of time in the patient encounter will be essential. While this may not be the focus of this text, it is a practical issue that needs to be addressed. This book is well organized and easy to read. It is full of examples and motivation to improve one’s communication skills. It will be extremely useful to pharmacy students and practitioners alike. Implementation of the concepts in this book will benefit patients and the pharmacy practitioners who care for them.
BOOK REVIEWS BRUCE A. BERGER. Communication Skills for Pharmacists (second edition) McGraw Hill, 2005. 200 pages; $36.95 (hardbound). ISBN: 1582120803. Reviewed By: Matthew Perri, PhD College of Pharmacy, University of Georgia
Bruce Berger’s Communication Skills for Pharmacists is an important addition to the available texts on pharmacy communications and patient counseling. This clearly written text details the reasons why good pharmacy care and patient relationships are essential to the future of the profession. While the book will be extremely useful in the classroom to help students develop good patient, personal, and professional relationships, it is also a must read for every practicing pharmacist who is concerned about the future of pharmacy. The cases and examples in the text are gleaned from interactions with pharmacists locally, regionally, and nationally. Overall, the book’s 15 chapters provide the basis for developing the communication skills needed by pharmacists to deliver pharmacy (pharmaceutical) care and provides practical advice on building relationships between the pharmacists, patients, and physicians. The first chapter of this text may be the most important section of the book. Here, Dr. Berger effectively makes the case for caring enough about patients to change the way one practices pharmacy. The author suggests that through caring and developing relationships with patients, pharmacists will find the motivation to continue on into the text to learn the skills necessary to provide excellent patient care. This chapter challenges each pharmacist, present or future, to examine the kind of patient care that is the current standard, then to identify motivations and barriers to providing ideal pharmacy care, then to take personal responsibility for moving the profession forward. Subsequent chapters discuss: the need for relationships and why these relationships are essential to the provision of pharmacy care; the need to see our patients as people; listening and responding appropriately; nonverbal communication; effective patient counseling; supportive communication; managing conflict; persuasion and assertiveness. This all around guide to effective counseling features useful tips and suggestions for improving patient care through effective communication, and questions for reflection are provided at the end of each chapter. Each chapter has a succinct summary, questions for reflection, and references. This book has several key strengths. First, and perhaps most important, is the text’s forward-looking perspective on pharmacy care. However, the book does
Corresponding Author: Matthew Perri III, PhD. Tel: 706-542-5365. E-mail:
[email protected]
MI SMITH, AI WERTHEIMER, JE FINCHAM, Editors. Pharmacy and the U.S. Health Care System, Third edition. New York: Pharmaceutical Products Press; 2005. 476 pp; $49.95 (paperback), ISBN 0-7890-1876-4; $69.95 (hardcover), ISBN 0-78901875-6. Reviewed By: Kenneth A. Lawson, PhD College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin
Pharmacy and the U.S. Health Care System (third edition) covers various aspects of the US health care system with 1
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 2006; 70 (1) Article 12. an emphasis on pharmacists’ roles in the provision of health care products and services and pharmacy’s relationships to other components of the health care system. The book consists of 18 chapters, which may be categorized into 4 general areas with some overlap (although they are not grouped as such in the book). The first area, which could be labeled an overview of the US health care system, consists of 3 chapters covering a historical perspective of health care and organization of the US health care system, health care financing, and managed care and pharmacy services. The second area addresses various components of the US health care system; it consists of 7 chapters covering the health professions, pharmacists in the US health care system, pharmacy organizations, hospitals and health care institutions, long-term care, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and health care consumers. The third area addresses pharmacists’ roles, and selected processes and factors related to the provision of health care services; this area consists of 5 chapters covering emerging roles for pharmacists, political realities of pharmacy, the drug distribution process, the drug-use process, and cultural issues pertaining to the provision of health care services. The fourth area, perspectives regarding the future of pharmacy, consists of 3 chapters covering new technologies (biotechnology), unresolved issues in pharmacy, and the future of pharmacy (with discussion of possible future pharmacy practice models). The third edition of this book expands and updates the content of the second edition and adds chapters addressing political issues facing pharmacy and the future of pharmacy. It provides a good overview of the US health care system along with more detailed information regarding selected components of the system. The focus on how pharmacy and pharmacists fit into the US health care system is clear—pharmacists’ roles, the contributions of pharmacy, and the relationships between pharmacy and other system components are discussed throughout the book. Providing up-to-date information is important to the usefulness of health care system texts such as this, and the third edition has succeeded in providing timely information and references. This text and a similar text edited by McCarthy and Schafermeyer, Introduction to Health Care Delivery: A Primer for Pharmacists (third edition), complement each other well. The McCarthy and Schafermeyer text covers the health care system from a broader perspective while, as its title suggests, the Smith, Wertheimer, and Fincham text contains more pharmacy-specific information. Both texts provide good overviews of the US health care system including a historical perspective, coverage of managed health care, the health professions, pharmacists’ roles, patient-related issues, and organizational compo-
nents of the health care system. However, the texts differ in their scope and depth of coverage. Although many topics are addressed to some extent in both texts, the coverage is understandably more extensive when an entire chapter is devoted to a particular topic. For example, Pharmacy and the U.S. Health Care System contains entire chapters on pharmacy organizations, the drug distribution system, cultural issues, and biotechnology, while Introduction to Health Care Delivery devotes entire chapters to public health issues, health care ethics, mental health services, international health care, health care economics, Medicare, and Medicaid. As a course text, Pharmacy and the U.S. Health Care System would benefit from the inclusion of discussion questions for each chapter as contained in Introduction to Health Care Delivery. Pharmacy and the U.S. Health Care System provides a broad and current overview of the US health care system with particular emphasis on pharmacists’ roles and pharmacy’s relationships. This book is appropriate for an introductory course in health care systems or as a source for foundation information for graduate students who lack familiarity with the US health care system. It also may be helpful to those considering a career in pharmacy or health care practitioners who wish to learn more about the health care system, particularly from a pharmacy perspective. This book would make a nice addition to libraries in colleges of pharmacy and academic health centers. Corresponding Author: Kenneth A. Lawson, PhD. Address: College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas, 1 University Station A1930, Austin, Texas 78712. E-mail:
[email protected]
SHANE P. DESSELLE, DAVID P. ZGARRICK. Pharmacy Management: Essentials for All Practice Settings. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc; 2005. 597 pages, $49.95 (softcover). ISBN 0-07-141869-5 Reviewed By: J. Russell May, PharmD College of Pharmacy, University of Georgia
Pharmacy Management: Essentials for All Practice Settings is aimed at pharmacy students and provides a wellorganized approach to the various aspects of pharmacy management. The real value of the text is likely to come to those students who keep the text on their shelf after graduation. Several chapters could easily prove useful when the new graduate arrives in the workplace. The first section is appropriately titled, ‘‘Why Study Management in Pharmacy School?’’ The 2 chapters here provide the groundwork for the rest of the book. The 2
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 2006; 70 (1) Article 12. following 7 sections focus on managing something specific: yourself, operations, people, money, traditional goods and services, value-added services, and risks. Each section has 2 to 5 chapters that cover the topic well. Students should enjoy the consistent format of chapters. Each starts with learning objectives that are primarily written at the knowledge or application level. A ‘‘scenario’’ that breathes life into subjects many students consider boring follows the objectives. After the chapter’s material is covered, the author returns to the scenario for conclusions. Professors who teach a management course should find the authors’use of ‘‘chapter questions’’ helpful in guiding student learning. In addition to these preliminary questions, each chapter ends with ‘‘questions for further discussion’’ that could easily be developed into group
assignments. Chapters are well referenced and contain useful, easy-to-read tables and figures. The textbook concludes with a section on management applications in the following areas: chain community pharmacy, independent community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, and emerging pharmacy practice settings. Pharmacy Management: Essentials for All Practice Settings provides a good choice to those seeking a textbook for a pharmacy management course. Students will find the book to be a useful tool both in and out of the classroom. Corresponding Author: J. Russell May, PharmD, University of Georgia College of Pharmacy. Tel: 706-721-6493. Fax: 706-721-3994. E-mail:
[email protected]
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