Facilities for the preparation and dispensing of drugs.

The practice of compounding and dispensing medicinal preparations.

Formal instruction, learning, or training in the preparation, dispensing, and proper utilization of drugs in the field of medicine.

Educational institutions for individuals specializing in the field of pharmacy.

Total pharmaceutical services provided to the public through community pharmacies.

Educational programs for pharmacists who have a bachelor's degree or a Doctor of Pharmacy degree entering a specific field of pharmacy. They may lead to an advanced degree.

Hospital department responsible for the receiving, storing, and distribution of pharmaceutical supplies.

Educational programs designed to inform graduate pharmacists of recent advances in their particular field.

Laws and regulations, pertaining to the field of pharmacy, proposed for enactment or enacted by a legislative body.

Total pharmaceutical services provided by qualified PHARMACISTS. In addition to the preparation and distribution of medical products, they may include consultative services provided to agencies and institutions which do not have a qualified pharmacist.

Those persons legally qualified by education and training to engage in the practice of pharmacy.

Persons who perform certain functions under the supervision of the pharmacist.

The business and managerial aspects of pharmacy in its broadest sense.

The granting of a license to practice pharmacy.

Information systems, usually computer-assisted, designed to store, manipulate, and retrieve information for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling administrative activities associated with the provision and utilization of clinical pharmacy services.

The principles of proper professional conduct concerning the rights and duties of the pharmacist, relations with patients and fellow practitioners, as well as actions of the pharmacist in health care and interpersonal relations with patient families. (From Stedman, 25th ed)

The teaching staff and members of the administrative staff having academic rank in an educational institution.

A course of study offered by an educational institution.

The expected function of a member of a particular profession.

Insurance providing for payment of services rendered by the pharmacist. Services include the preparation and distribution of medical products.

Advanced programs of training to meet certain professional requirements in the practice of compounding and dispensing medicinal preparations.

Advanced programs of training to meet certain professional requirements in fields other than medicine or dentistry, e.g., pharmacology, nutrition, nursing, etc.

The assessing of academic or educational achievement. It includes all aspects of testing and test construction.

An advisory group composed primarily of staff physicians and the pharmacist which serves as the communication link between the medical staff and the pharmacy department.

Medicines that can be sold legally without a DRUG PRESCRIPTION.

Practical experience in medical and health-related services that occurs as part of an educational program wherein the professionally-trained student works outside the academic environment under the supervision of an established professional in the particular field.

Directions written for the obtaining and use of DRUGS.

The amount that a health care institution or organization pays for its drugs. It is one component of the final price that is charged to the consumer (FEES, PHARMACEUTICAL or PRESCRIPTION FEES).

Societies whose membership is limited to pharmacists.

Instruments used for injecting or withdrawing fluids. (Stedman, 25th ed)

Review of claims by insurance companies to determine liability and amount of payment for various services. The review may also include determination of eligibility of the claimant or beneficiary or of the provider of the benefit; determination that the benefit is covered or not payable under another policy; or determination that the service was necessary and of reasonable cost and quality.

Instructional use of examples or cases to teach using problem-solving skills and critical thinking.

Services providing pharmaceutic and therapeutic drug information and consultation.

Drugs whose drug name is not protected by a trademark. They may be manufactured by several companies.

The use of COMPUTER COMMUNICATION NETWORKS to store and transmit medical PRESCRIPTIONS.

Formal programs for assessing drug prescription against some standard. Drug utilization review may consider clinical appropriateness, cost effectiveness, and, in some cases, outcomes. Review is usually retrospective, but some analysis may be done before drugs are dispensed (as in computer systems which advise physicians when prescriptions are entered). Drug utilization review is mandated for Medicaid programs beginning in 1993.

Works about lists of drugs or collections of recipes, formulas, and prescriptions for the compounding of medicinal preparations. Formularies differ from PHARMACOPOEIAS in that they are less complete, lacking full descriptions of the drugs, their formulations, analytic composition, chemical properties, etc. In hospitals, formularies list all drugs commonly stocked in the hospital pharmacy.

Drugs that cannot be sold legally without a prescription.

Amounts charged to the patient or third-party payer for medication. It includes the pharmacist's professional fee and cost of ingredients, containers, etc.

Health insurance plans intended to reduce unnecessary health care costs through a variety of mechanisms, including: economic incentives for physicians and patients to select less costly forms of care; programs for reviewing the medical necessity of specific services; increased beneficiary cost sharing; controls on inpatient admissions and lengths of stay; the establishment of cost-sharing incentives for outpatient surgery; selective contracting with health care providers; and the intensive management of high-cost health care cases. The programs may be provided in a variety of settings, such as HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS and PREFERRED PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS.

Errors in prescribing, dispensing, or administering medication with the result that the patient fails to receive the correct drug or the indicated proper drug dosage.

The functions and activities carried out by the U.S. Postal Service, foreign postal services, and private postal services such as Federal Express.

Systematic gathering of data for a particular purpose from various sources, including questionnaires, interviews, observation, existing records, and electronic devices. The process is usually preliminary to statistical analysis of the data.

Certification as complying with a standard set by non-governmental organizations, applied for by institutions, programs, and facilities on a voluntary basis.

Pharmacy services accessed via electronic means.

The capability to perform the duties of one's profession generally, or to perform a particular professional task, with skill of an acceptable quality.

Control of drug and narcotic use by international agreement, or by institutional systems for handling prescribed drugs. This includes regulations concerned with the manufacturing, dispensing, approval (DRUG APPROVAL), and marketing of drugs.

The utilization of drugs as reported in individual hospital studies, FDA studies, marketing, or consumption, etc. This includes drug stockpiling, and patient drug profiles.

The interchange of goods or commodities, especially on a large scale, between different countries or between populations within the same country. It includes trade (the buying, selling, or exchanging of commodities, whether wholesale or retail) and business (the purchase and sale of goods to make a profit). (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed, p411, p2005 & p283)

The educational process of instructing.

Economic aspects of the fields of pharmacy and pharmacology as they apply to the development and study of medical economics in rational drug therapy and the impact of pharmaceuticals on the cost of medical care. Pharmaceutical economics also includes the economic considerations of the pharmaceutical care delivery system and in drug prescribing, particularly of cost-benefit values. (From J Res Pharm Econ 1989;1(1); PharmacoEcon 1992;1(1))

Voluntary cooperation of the patient in taking drugs or medicine as prescribed. This includes timing, dosage, and frequency.

Attitudes of personnel toward their patients, other professionals, toward the medical care system, etc.

The capability to perform acceptably those duties directly related to patient care.

Use of written, printed, or graphic materials upon or accompanying a drug container or wrapper. It includes contents, indications, effects, dosages, routes, methods, frequency and duration of administration, warnings, hazards, contraindications, side effects, precautions, and other relevant information.

The charge levied on the consumer for drugs or therapy prescribed under written order of a physician or other health professional.

Drugs manufactured and sold with the intent to misrepresent its origin, authenticity, chemical composition, and or efficacy. Counterfeit drugs may contain inappropriate quantities of ingredients not listed on the label or package. In order to further deceive the consumer, the packaging, container, or labeling, may be inaccurate, incorrect, or fake.

Containers, packaging, and packaging materials for drugs and BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS. These include those in ampule, capsule, tablet, solution or other forms. Packaging includes immediate-containers, secondary-containers, and cartons. In the United States, such packaging is controlled under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act which also stipulates requirements for tamper-resistance and child-resistance. Similar laws govern use elsewhere. (From Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 1 Section 210, 1993) DRUG LABELING is also available.

Interactions between health personnel and patients.

Knowledge, attitudes, and associated behaviors which pertain to health-related topics such as PATHOLOGIC PROCESSES or diseases, their prevention, and treatment. This term refers to non-health workers and health workers (HEALTH PERSONNEL).

The use of persons coached to feign symptoms or conditions of real diseases in a life-like manner in order to teach or evaluate medical personnel.

The process of formulating, improving, and expanding educational, managerial, or service-oriented work plans (excluding computer program development).

Educational programs designed to ensure that students attain prespecified levels of competence in a given field or training activity. Emphasis is on achievement or specified objectives.

The process by which the nature and meaning of sensory stimuli are recognized and interpreted.

Organized services for exchange of sterile needles and syringes used for injections as a potential means of reducing the transmission of infectious diseases.

Studies designed to assess the efficacy of programs. They may include the evaluation of cost-effectiveness, the extent to which objectives are met, or impact.

Agencies of the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT of the United States.

Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.

Directions written for the obtaining and use of PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS; MEDICAL DEVICES; corrective LENSES; and a variety of other medical remedies.

The preparation, mixing, and assembling of a drug. (From Remington, The Science and Practice of Pharmacy, 19th ed, p1814)

Provisions of an insurance policy that require the insured to pay some portion of covered expenses. Several forms of sharing are in use, e.g., deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments. Cost sharing does not refer to or include amounts paid in premiums for the coverage. (From Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed)

Systematic identification, development, organization, or utilization of educational resources and the management of these processes. It is occasionally used also in a more limited sense to describe the use of equipment-oriented techniques or audiovisual aids in educational settings. (Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors, December 1993, p132)

The use of DRUGS to treat a DISEASE or its symptoms. One example is the use of ANTINEOPLASTIC AGENTS to treat CANCER.

Overall systems, traditional or automated, to provide medication to patients in hospitals. Elements of the system are: handling the physician's order, transcription of the order by nurse and/or pharmacist, filling the medication order, transfer to the nursing unit, and administration to the patient.

A stand-alone drug plan offered by insurers and other private companies to beneficiaries that receive their Medicare Part A and/or B benefits through the Original Medicare Plan. It includes Medicare Private Fee-for-Service Plans that do not offer prescription drug coverage and Medicare Cost Plans offering Medicare prescription drug coverage. The plan was enacted as the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 with coverage beginning January 1, 2006.

The self administration of medication not prescribed by a physician or in a manner not directed by a physician.

Drugs intended for human or veterinary use, presented in their finished dosage form. Included here are materials used in the preparation and/or formulation of the finished dosage form.

The presence of organisms, or any foreign material that makes a drug preparation impure.

The services rendered by members of the health profession and non-professionals under their supervision.

Reductions in all or any portion of the costs of providing goods or services. Savings may be incurred by the provider or the consumer.

Professions or other business activities directed to the cure and prevention of disease. For occupations of medical personnel who are not physicians but who are working in the fields of medical technology, physical therapy, etc., ALLIED HEALTH OCCUPATIONS is available.

The interaction of two or more persons or organizations directed toward a common goal which is mutually beneficial. An act or instance of working or acting together for a common purpose or benefit, i.e., joint action. (From Random House Dictionary Unabridged, 2d ed)

Voluntary cooperation of the patient in following a prescribed regimen.

The use of one's knowledge in a particular profession. It includes, in the case of the field of biomedicine, professional activities related to health care and the actual performance of the duties related to the provision of health care.

Selection of a type of occupation or profession.

Health insurance plans for employees, and generally including their dependents, usually on a cost-sharing basis with the employer paying a percentage of the premium.

A self-learning technique, usually online, involving interaction of the student with programmed instructional materials.

The containment, regulation, or restraint of costs. Costs are said to be contained when the value of resources committed to an activity is not considered excessive. This determination is frequently subjective and dependent upon the specific geographic area of the activity being measured. (From Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed)

Organized systems for providing comprehensive prepaid health care that have five basic attributes: (1) provide care in a defined geographic area; (2) provide or ensure delivery of an agreed-upon set of basic and supplemental health maintenance and treatment services; (3) provide care to a voluntarily enrolled group of persons; (4) require their enrollees to use the services of designated providers; and (5) receive reimbursement through a predetermined, fixed, periodic prepayment made by the enrollee without regard to the degree of services provided. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988)

Drugs considered essential to meet the health needs of a population as well as to control drug costs.

The actual costs of providing services related to the delivery of health care, including the costs of procedures, therapies, and medications. It is differentiated from HEALTH EXPENDITURES, which refers to the amount of money paid for the services, and from fees, which refers to the amount charged, regardless of cost.

Extensive collections, reputedly complete, of facts and data garnered from material of a specialized subject area and made available for analysis and application. The collection can be automated by various contemporary methods for retrieval. The concept should be differentiated from DATABASES, BIBLIOGRAPHIC which is restricted to collections of bibliographic references.

Payments or services provided under stated circumstances under the terms of an insurance policy. In prepayment programs, benefits are the services the programs will provide at defined locations and to the extent needed.

Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons.

Relatively permanent change in behavior that is the result of past experience or practice. The concept includes the acquisition of knowledge.

Cultural and linguistic competence is a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals that enables effective work in cross-cultural situations. Competence implies the capacity to function effectively as an individual and an organization within the context of the cultural beliefs, behaviors, and needs presented by consumers and their communities.

Formularies concerned with pharmaceuticals prescribed in hospitals.

A systematic statement of policy rules or principles. Guidelines may be developed by government agencies at any level, institutions, professional societies, governing boards, or by convening expert panels. The text may be cursive or in outline form but is generally a comprehensive guide to problems and approaches in any field of activity. For guidelines in the field of health care and clinical medicine, PRACTICE GUIDELINES AS TOPIC is available.

Violation of laws, regulations, or professional standards.

Education via communication media (correspondence, radio, television, computer networks) with little or no in-person face-to-face contact between students and teachers. (ERIC Thesaurus, 1997)

Theoretical models which propose methods of learning or teaching as a basis or adjunct to changes in attitude or behavior. These educational interventions are usually applied in the fields of health and patient education but are not restricted to patient care.

Requirements for the selection of students for admission to academic institutions.

The giving of advice and assistance to individuals with educational or personal problems.

The exchange or transmission of ideas, attitudes, or beliefs between individuals or groups.

A loose confederation of computer communication networks around the world. The networks that make up the Internet are connected through several backbone networks. The Internet grew out of the US Government ARPAnet project and was designed to facilitate information exchange.

The degree of closeness or acceptance an individual or group feels toward another individual or group.

Disorders that result from the intended use of PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS. Included in this heading are a broad variety of chemically-induced adverse conditions due to toxicity, DRUG INTERACTIONS, and metabolic effects of pharmaceuticals.

Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.

The reciprocal interaction of two or more professional individuals.

That distinct portion of the institutional, industrial, or economic structure of a country that is controlled or owned by non-governmental, private interests.

Individuals enrolled in a school of nursing or a formal educational program leading to a degree in nursing.

Statistical measures of utilization and other aspects of the provision of health care services including hospitalization and ambulatory care.

Absolute, comparative, or differential costs pertaining to services, institutions, resources, etc., or the analysis and study of these costs.

Description of pattern of recurrent functions or procedures frequently found in organizational processes, such as notification, decision, and action.

Educational institutions providing facilities for teaching and research and authorized to grant academic degrees.

The branch of pharmacology that deals directly with the effectiveness and safety of drugs in humans.

Postcoital contraceptives which owe their effectiveness to hormonal preparations.

Federal program, created by Public Law 89-97, Title XIX, a 1965 amendment to the Social Security Act, administered by the states, that provides health care benefits to indigent and medically indigent persons.

The design, completion, and filing of forms with the insurer.

That segment of commercial enterprise devoted to the design, development, and manufacture of chemical products for use in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, disability, or other dysfunction, or to improve function.

The teaching or training of patients concerning their own health needs.

Compliance with a set of standards defined by non-governmental organizations. Certification is applied for by individuals on a voluntary basis and represents a professional status when achieved, e.g., certification for a medical specialty.

Means of postcoital intervention to avoid pregnancy, such as the administration of POSTCOITAL CONTRACEPTIVES to prevent FERTILIZATION of an egg or implantation of a fertilized egg (OVUM IMPLANTATION).

The remuneration paid or benefits granted to an employee.

Test designed to identify students suitable for admission into a graduate or undergraduate curriculum.

Small-scale tests of methods and procedures to be used on a larger scale if the pilot study demonstrates that these methods and procedures can work.

Systems developed for collecting reports from government agencies, manufacturers, hospitals, physicians, and other sources on adverse drug reactions.

The commitment in writing, as authentic evidence, of something having legal importance. The concept includes certificates of birth, death, etc., as well as hospital, medical, and other institutional records.

The formal process of obtaining a complete and accurate list of each patient's current home medications including name, dosage, frequency, and route of administration, and comparing admission, transfer, and/or discharge medication orders to that list. The reconciliation is done to avoid medication errors.

Geographic area in which a professional person practices; includes primarily physicians and dentists.

Health services, public or private, in rural areas. The services include the promotion of health and the delivery of health care.

Platforms that provide the ability and tools to create and publish information accessed via the INTERNET. Generally these platforms have three characteristics with content user generated, high degree of interaction between creator and viewer, and easily integrated with other sites.

Patterns of practice related to diagnosis and treatment as especially influenced by cost of the service requested and provided.

The purposes, missions, and goals of an individual organization or its units, established through administrative processes. It includes an organization's long-range plans and administrative philosophy.

The state of being free from intrusion or disturbance in one's private life or affairs. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed, 1993)

Abuse, overuse, or misuse of a substance by its injection into a vein.