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Objective: The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy's Social and Administrative Sciences Section and the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Science's Economic, Social and Administrative Sciences Section formed a Gender Equity Task Force to determine if there is evidence to suggest that there is gender disparity in pay; responsibilities; treatment by peers/colleagues, students, and administration; leadership opportunities; and rank, tenure status, and career advancement for Section members; and to develop recommendations to address existing disparities., Methods: A Qualtrics survey was emailed in December 2020 to all American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy's Social and Administrative Sciences and American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Science's Economic, Social and Administrative Sciences Section members. The questionnaire included items regarding favorability toward men or women in various academic domains (research, teaching, service, recruitment, mentoring, and advancement). Participants were asked if they had experienced gender inequity, and if so, at what type of institution and academic rank. The χ 2 tests of independence and post hoc comparisons were used to assess item responses according to gender., Results: Of the respondents, 72% indicated that they had experienced gender inequity. Women and persons of color were more likely to do so. Women commonly reported that men received more favorable treatment in nearly all academic domains, whereas men reported that women and men were treated equally., Conclusion: Pharmacy faculty specializing in social and administrative sciences reported experiences of gender inequity and perceptions of gender inequity. Perception gaps existed between male and female faculty in numerous academic domains. Colleges and schools of pharmacy should increase awareness of, and strive to self-assess, gender inequity in their institutions., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest T.S.M. is the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Vice President and Chief Strategy and Diversity Officer. L.P. reports nonfinancial support provided by American Pharmacists Association. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective. The majority of practicing pharmacists and student pharmacists are women. However, instruments to assess perceptions of gender equity within pharmacy academia are not available. The objective of this research was to describe the psychometric analysis of a questionnaire developed to assess gender equity by a Gender Equity Task Force and to report reliability and validity evidence. Methods. A questionnaire with 21 items addressing the teaching, research, service, advancement, mentoring, recruitment, and gender of college leaders was created. The survey was distributed via email in December 2020 to all social and administrative science section members of two professional associations. Rasch analysis was performed to evaluate the reliability and validity evidence for the questionnaire. Results. After reverse coding, all items met parameters for unidimensionality necessary for Rasch analysis. Once adjacent categories were merged to create a 3-point scale, the scale and items met parameters for appropriate functionality. Items were ordered hierarchically in order of difficulty. The modified instrument and scale can be treated as interval level data for future use. Conclusion. This analysis provides reliability and validity evidence supporting use of the gender equity questionnaire in the social and administrative academic pharmacy population if recommended edits such as the 3-point scale are used. Future research on gender equity can benefit from use of a psychometrically sound questionnaire for data collection., (© 2023 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.)

Background: Anecdotal evidence suggests that gender inequity persists in academic pharmacy. To date, there are limited published data about the perception of gender inequity in academic pharmacy., Objective: The objective of this project was to determine themes associated with gender inequity perceptions in social and administrative science faculty from 2 national pharmacy organizations., Methods: A gender equity task force comprising 13 members from Social and Administrative Sciences (SAS) sections of the American Pharmacists Association and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy was formed. The task force designed a semistructured interview guide comprising questions about demographics and core areas where inequities likely exist. When the survey invitation was sent to faculty members of the SAS sections via Qualtrics, faculty indicated whether they were willing to be interviewed. Interviews were conducted by 2 members of the task force via video conferencing application. The interviews were transcribed. Topic coding involving general categorization by theme followed by refinement to delineate subcategories was used. Coding was conducted independently by 3 coders followed by consensus when discrepancies were identified., Results: A total of 21 faculty participated in the interviews. Respondents were primarily female (71%), were white (90%), had Doctor of Philosophy as their terminal degree (71%), and were in nontenure track positions (57%). Most respondents (90%) experienced gender inequity. A total of 52% reported experiencing gender inequity at all ranks from graduate student to full professor. Four major themes were identified: microaggression (57%), workload (86%), respect (76%), and opportunities (38%). Workload, respect, and opportunities included multiple subthemes., Conclusion: Faculty respondents perceive gender inequities in multiple areas of their work. Greater inequity perceptions were present in areas of workload and respect. The task force offers multiple recommendations to address these inequities., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Interchangeability between biological medicines and biosimilars, and subsequent substitution by pharmacists represent an important opportunity for costs savings for health care systems. Because biological medicines are complex products, the expert role of the pharmacist to inform patients and support physicians is indispensable. However, regulations on substitution of biosimilars differ around the globe, such that a substitution that is allowed in one country may be forbidden in another. Overall, pharmacists' knowledge of biosimilar medicines is incomplete and hesitancy to engage in substitutions is perceptible. As counter-balancing remedy, continued education about biosimilars is needed among practicing community pharmacists., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2021 The Authors.)

Background: Academic deadwood is a term used to describe certain faculty whose behaviors are counter to the organization's goals. Little is known about those behaviors and aspects of performance considered most problematic, nor how academic pharmacy is addressing the issue of these faculty. Objectives: (1) Ascribe the salience of various factors in defining deleterious, or so-called "deadwood" faculty and determine differences in these perceptions according to faculty institution, rank, discipline, years of experience, and other personal and work-related factors; (2) identify perceptions of what is currently done and what should be done in response to these faculty; and (3) discern differences among faculty and administrators in these perceptions. Methods: The study utilized a web-based survey of U.S. faculty in colleges/schools of pharmacy delivered to a census sample of 3378 members within 2018 AACP list-servs. Items were developed from the literature with the express intent of measuring various aspects of academic deadwood pertaining to the study objectives. Reminders were employed to maximize survey responses. Frequency distributions and chi-square statistics were conducted to describe the data. Results: The research found poor quality of teaching, poor citizenship behaviors, and lack of scholarly publications to be defining of deadwood. Responding faculty believed that there should be attempts to develop and rejuvenate these faculty, but also disciplinary actions and termination in some cases. The research identified a significant gap between the frequencies of actions currently being taken in response to these faculty versus the frequency with which actions should be taken. While there were differences of opinion in describing and recommending frequency of action in response to these faculty, respondents from different types of institutions and holding different administrative appointments and rank were largely in agreement. Conclusions: There was general agreement among faculty in varying positions, including supervisory ones, at different types of institutions on what is currently being done and what should be done in regard to deadwood faculty. The paper discusses implications for communication and academic governance, even within the boundaries of policies, rules, and regulations at the larger, institutional level., (© Individual authors.)

Objectives: To determine patients' willingness to receive and self-pay for medication therapy management (MTM) services and to examine factors that may influence willingness to pay., Methods: A self-administered, anonymous survey was given to a convenience sample of patients at grocery store chain pharmacies in the Chicago metropolitan area., Results: 683 patients completed the survey. The average price patients were willing to pay for MTM services was $17.57. The majority of patients felt that pharmacists should provide MTM services. No correlation was found between complexity of the medication regimen and willingness to pay. Presence of certain chronic conditions and insurance status appeared to have a correlation with willingness to pay., Conclusion: Patients were interested in MTM services and recognize pharmacists as potential providers. Prices patients were willing to pay are similar to many prescription copay amounts.

Objectives: To assess the level of caring ability of practicing pharmacists and to examine differences in caring ability by sex, degree earned, practice setting, years in practice, and whether the pharmacist provides clinical services., Design: Descriptive survey study., Participants: The survey was mailed to a stratified random sample of pharmacists registered in Illinois (n = 1,200)., Main Outcome Measures: Caring Ability Inventory (CAI) score. Information was also gathered regarding respondents' practice setting, number and types of clinical services provided, and demographic characteristics., Results: Of the 1,076 deliverable surveys, 323 were returned completed and used in the analysis (response rate = 30%). Mean CAI score +/- standard deviation was 203.0 +/- 17.7. Statistical analyses revealed no significant differences in CAI score by sex, degree earned, or practice setting. A significant and positive correlation was found between years in practice and CAI score. Pharmacists who provided disease management and other clinical services scored significantly higher on the CAI than pharmacists who did not., Conclusion: Pharmacists exhibit relatively high levels of caring ability as assessed by the CAI. Further inquiry into the nature of caring and its implications for pharmacy practice is needed.

Pharmaceutical prices in the United States are under evaluation as policy makers decide how to reduce health care expenditures and public subsidy of the pharmaceutical industry. Furthermore, evidence of higher drug prices in the United States, compared with those in other countries, fuels the prescription drug price debate. These issues are not new to the public forum and much can be learned from prior debates and policies. This paper begins by reviewing the pricing debate with the Kefauver hearings on monopolies held during the late 1950s and early 1960s and continues with the current price debate. Government reports and academic studies are discussed, addressing the methodological differences and their implications to policy makers. Finally, the literature review includes foreign government prescription drug programs with their respective prescription drug expenditures. Evidence provided by academics about the pricing practices of the drug manufacturers indicates product quality and price information would force firms to compete on the price level, thus reducing pharmaceutical product pricing to the "true" market price.