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In this article the design of three master programs (MSc in Pharmacy) and two postgraduate specialization programs for community or hospital pharmacist is described. After a preceding BSc in Pharmacy, these programs cover the full pharmacy education capacity for pharmacists in primary and secondary health care in the Netherlands. All programs use the CanMEDS framework, adapted to pharmacy education and specialization, which facilitates the horizontal integration of pharmacists' professional development with other health care professions in the country. Moreover, it is illustrated that crossing the boundary from formal (university) education to experiential (workplace) education is eased by a gradual change in time spent in these two educational environments and by the use of comparable monitoring, feedback, and authentic assessment instruments. A reflection on the curricula, based on the principles of the Integrative Pedagogy Model and the Self-determination Theory , suggests that the alignment of these educational programs facilitates the development of professional expertise and professional identity of Dutch pharmacists.

Objective: To describe the patterns of use of bupropion in daily clinical practice and factors which determine successful smoking cessation., Methods: Retrospective follow-up study in 36 pharmacies in the Netherlands. Patients who received at least one prescription for bupropion between January and April, 2000 were included. The pharmacists noted several characteristics relating to the patient, use of bupropion and co-medication. Patients were interviewed by telephone about their current and former smoking habits, the success of their smoking cessation and their experiences with bupropion., Main Outcome Measure: Abstinence rate and factors determining successful abstinence after six months., Results: 322 patients with a least one prescription for bupropion were identified. In 93.5% of patients bupropion was prescribed by the general practitioner. Half of the patients were dispensed 30 or fewer tablets. Pharmacists interviewed 215 (66.8%) patients by telephone. Of these patients 58 (27.0%) still did not smoke six months after the prescription for bupropion. The number of tablets used, lack of co-morbidity, less than two previous attempts to stop smoking and private-insurance were associated with a higher rate of successful abstinence., Conclusion: Most patients do not use bupropion in accordance with the recommended period and did not receive the same degree of additional support provided in clinical trials. Nevertheless 27.0% of patients reported to have stopped smoking six months after the prescription for bupropion. This self-reported abstinence rate is only slightly lower than is reported in literature. This might be partly related to the fact that we did not validate smoking cessation by carbonmonoxide monitoring. Bupropion is not reimbursed in the Netherlands. It is difficult to assess whether patients' self-payment has led to the selection of motivated patients, or has been a barrier to finishing using bupropion.

Objective: To examine the use of oral antithrombotics (i.e., antiplatelet agents, oral anticoagulants) after myocardial infarction (MI) in the Netherlands from 1988 to 1998., Methods: Retrospective follow-up of 3800 patients with MI, using data from the PHARMO Record Linkage System., Results: From 1988 to 1998, oral antithrombotic treatment increased significantly from 54.0% to 88.9%. In 1998, only 75.8% of patients who experienced a MI in the late 1980s received oral antithrombotic treatment compared with 94.4% of those who experienced a recent MI., Conclusions: Oral antithrombotics were considerably underused in patients with a past history of MI. Therefore, these patients should be reviewed for antithrombotic therapy to assess whether their failure to use oral antithrombotics was right or wrong, and whether treatment should be initiated if possible.