| This research sought to ascertain, "How and why consultant pharmacy began." Furthermore, the relationship between pharmacy education and consultant pharmacy along with what was the present state of consultant pharmacy were also explored by the researcher.;The researcher interviewed 12 consultant pharmacist practitioners who traced their backgrounds to the formative years of consultant pharmacy. Oral history interviews were conducted which were tape recorded and used to collect the data. Comments from the practitioners, which contained the subtleties and nuances of an oral history interview, described the circumstances and conditions related to the research questions.;Results from this research indicated that laws, rules, and regulations provided the impetus for how consultant pharmacy began. The consultant pharmacists affirmed that the deplorable conditions which existed in nursing homes, including inappropriate medication practices, contributed to why consultant pharmacy began. The 12 practitioners concurred that consultant pharmacy's present state demonstrated a need for it, but there were concerns about adequate reimbursement. The consultant pharmacists related the lack of geriatric pharmacy education at the university level during the time of their education and the present.;The responses of the 12 consultant pharmacists validated and augmented previous research which had been conducted on how and why consultant pharmacy began, its present state, and its relation to pharmacy education. Consultant pharmacy had indeed evolved into a specialty which had a substantial effect on certain segments of the population. |
