APhA Academy of Student Pharmacists

American Pharmacists Month

DAILY APhM FACTS

Below, you will find a list of 31 facts pertaining to pharmacy. For each day of
American Pharmacists Month, we encourage you to copy and paste the fact onto
your Facebook status or include in your Twitter updates. This will allow your family
and friends to learn more about pharmacy as profession and what you especially,
can contribute.

1. Did you know that October is American Pharmacists Month? Know your
MEDICINE. Know your PHARMACIST.

2. Did you know that pharmacists can be board-certified in nutritional support,

nuclear pharmacy, oncology, psychiatry, pharmacotherapy, and ambulatory
care (2011)?

3. Did you know that nuclear pharmacists work with radioactive medications
that allow physicians to image various organ systems?

4. Did you know that Medication Therapy Management (MTM) is a service

provided by pharmacists to ensure you get the best possible medication for
your health needs?

5. Did you know that pharmacists can become Certified Diabetes Educators?
These educators teach patients how to self-manage their disease through
lifestyle modifications and appropriate medication use.

6. Did you know that pharmacists can administer vaccines (immunize) in all 50
states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico?

7. Did you know, after receiving their Doctor of Pharmacy degree, that
pharmacists can complete 1-2 year residencies for additional training in a
variety of settings from community to heath-systems?

8. Did you know that pharmacists provide anticoagulation services by

monitoring lab levels and adjusting medications to reduce the risks of
bleeding and clot formation?
9. Did you know that in 2009 student pharmacists participated in patient care
projects which educated more than 16.3 million people in communities across
the nation?

10.Did you know that poly-pharmacy means getting prescriptions filled at

multiple pharmacies? Avoiding poly-pharmacy helps to avoid drug
interactions.

11.Did you know that pharmacists and student pharmacists communicate with
legislators and regulatory agencies, like the FDA, to provide them with the
most recent information concerning the profession of pharmacy?

12.Did you know that side effects of medications can sometimes be lessened or
avoided if you ask pharmacist how to manage them?

13.Did you know that when Benjamin Franklin founded the Pennsylvania
Hospital, he appointed an apothecary and this underlined the separate
‘entities’ of physician and pharmacist?
(Halioua, Bruno. Ziskind, Bernard. Translated by M. B. DeBevoise. Medicine in
the Days of the Pharaohs. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
2005.)

14.Did you know that the earliest known records for the practice of the art of the
apothecary originate from Ancient Babylonia (c. 2600 BC)? Inscriptions
containing entire treatment plans have been discovered.
(Bender G, Parke, Davis & Company, Thom R. Parke-Davis's Pictorial Annals
of Medicine and Pharmacy. New York: Warner-Lambert, Co; 1999.)

15.Did you know that in 1931 National Pharmacy Week was promoted through a
national window display competition? Currently, the entire month of October
(American Pharmacists Month) is dedicated to promoting the role of the
pharmacist in improving medication use and advancing patient care.
(the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy Website)
(www.pharmacy.wisc.edu/aihp/)

16.Did you know that Pharmacist Eugene V. White of Berryville, VA pioneered

pharmacy consultation by creating a patient care area in his store in 1960?
The patient care based model was inspired by White’s design and is currently
used in today’s American pharmacies.
(American Pharmacy, A Collection of Historical Essays. Edited by Gregory
Higby and Elaine Stroud, 2005.)

17.Did you know that since 1997, student pharmacists have helped vaccinate
720,600 patients?
(pharmacist.com)
18.Alexander Fleming discovered the first antibiotic, penicillin, in 1927. After the
first use of antibiotics in the 1940s, the medicine transformed health care and
dramatically reduced illness and death from infectious diseases.
(www.cdc.gov)

19.Since 2001, student pharmacists have screened 77,633 patients, and have
referred 7,247 patients to their physician for follow up care. (pharmacist.com)

20.Did you know that the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) was the first
established national professional society of pharmacists? Founded in 1852 as
the American Pharmaceutical Association, it remains the largest association
of pharmacists in the United States, boasting more than 60,000 practicing
pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, student pharmacists, pharmacy
technicians, and others interested in advancing the profession.
(www.pharmacist.com)

21.Did you know aspirin was originally discovered in 1853 by Charles Frederic
Gerhardt? Gerhardt abandoned his discovery and in 1899, a German chemist
named Felix Hoffmann, who worked for a German company called Bayer,
rediscovered Gerhardt's formula and gave it to his father who was suffering
from the pain of arthritis. (www.inventors.about.com)

22.Did you know that you should give your pharmacist a specific description of
the type of reaction you’ve had to a medication (rash, difficulty breathing,
etc..)? Sometimes it is not a true allergy, and you may be able to continue
taking the medication.

23.Did you know a law enacted by the city council of Bruges, Belgium in 1683
forbade physicians to prepare medications for their patients? This was now
stipulated to be the prerogative of the pharmacist only.
(Timetables of Medicine. Introduction by Roy Porter. Black Dog & Leventhal
Publishers. 2000.)

24.Did you know that Bartholowmew Browne of Salem, Massachusetts is

considered the earliest practicing pharmacist? It is significant that in 1698, he
described himself as a “pharmaceutical chemist” rather than an apothecary,
the first evidence that a new profession was emerging.
(Images of Healing: A Portfolio of American Medical & Pharmaceutical
Practice in the 18th, 19th, & early 20th Centuries. Edited by Ann Novotny &
Carter Smith with an introduction by William Sharpe, M.D. MacMillan
Publishing Co., Inc. 1980)

25. Did you know that health care teams that include pharmacists can help to
reduce health care cost and improve outcomes through better medication
management?
26.Did you know that medications bought without a prescription may interfere
with prescription medications you are already taking? Ask your pharmacist
for a medication check-up.

27.Did you know that pharmacists in many states may practice “collaborative
care”? This term defines a partnership where health care professionals
contribute to the decisions concerning patient care and selection of
medications.

28.Did you know that only 65% of pharmacists work in a traditional community
setting? Other settings include hospital, mail-order, long-term care facilities,
federal government positions, managed care organizations, and physician
offices.
(www.bls.gov/oco/ocos079.htm)

29.Did you know that pharmacists are part of the Indian Health Service (IHS)
healthcare team? The IHS provides services to approximately 1.5 million
American Indians who belong to 557 federally recognized tribes.
(www.pharmacy.ihs.gov)

30.Did you know that the presence of a pharmacist on rounds as a full member
of the patient care team in a medical Intensive Care Unit was associated with
a substantially lower rate of Adverse Drug Events?
(Lucian L. Leape, MD, et al. Pharmacist Participation on Physician Rounds and
Adverse Drug Events in the Intensive Care Unit. JAMA. 1999;282:267-270.)

31.Developing good communication between the Pharmacist and the Patient can
lead to better health outcomes. Know your MEDICINE. Know your
PHARMACIST.