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The experiences of a group of volunteer clinical pharmacists who provided pharmacy services as part of a disaster relief effort following a hurricane are reported. Hurricane Andrew left many people in southern Florida without shelter and other basic necessities, including health care services. A group of seven pharmacists volunteered to provide services at a temporary medical site set up in a community center. The pharmacy stock consisted of donated drugs. The pharmacists dispensed medications directly to patients and worked closely with other volunteer medical personnel to make sure proper medications were used. Because the pharmacy stock was limited, physicians relied upon the pharmacists for information about therapeutic interchanges, dosage conversions, and new medications. Prescriptions were often ordered and dispensed with only oral instructions. The pharmacists also provided patient counseling, although problems caused by inexperience with certain types of patients, a language barrier, and substandard living conditions after the hurricane made counseling more difficult. The contributions of seven pharmacists who provided services at an emergency medical site after Hurricane Andrew were well received by other health care personnel and by the community.

The stability of verapamil hydrochloride injection when mixed with a commercial product of premixed theophylline in 5% dextrose injection was studied. Solutions containing theophylline in concentrations of 4.0 and 0.4 mg/mL were used. Verapamil hydrochloride was added to each theophylline solution to produce final verapamil concentrations of 0.4 mg/mL and 0.1 mg/mL. Each admixture was prepared in triplicate, and samples were kept at room temperature in glass. Immediately after mixing and at 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours, samples were visually inspected, tested for pH, filtered, and assayed in duplicate by high-performance liquid chromatography for theophylline and verapamil concentrations. Control solutions containing only one of the two drugs were also tested. No visual changes were observed. The addition of the verapamil hydrochloride injection to the theophylline in 5% dextrose injection resulted in decreased mean pH values of 4.29 and 4.37 for all solutions compared with 4.80 and 4.90 for the verapamil control samples at concentrations of 0.4 and 0.1 mg/mL. These values did not vary significantly throughout the study period. Theophylline and verapamil concentrations did not change significantly compared with baseline or control solutions during the study period. Verapamil hydrochloride injection in final concentrations of 0.1 to 0.4 mg/mL can be added to a commercial preparation of premixed theophylline in 5% dextrose injection in concentrations of 0.4 to 4.0 mg/mL and administered intravenously within 24 hours of mixing without loss of potency of either drug.