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Excerpts of Remarks by Clifton J. Latiolais at the Remington Medal Dinner
Although much progress has been made in physician! pharmacist relations, _the fact remains that few pharmacists are comfortable in discussing the drug therapy of a patient with the prescriber. Even when it is necessary to question a dose that appears to be too high or too low, or to bring a possible drug-drug interaction to the attention of the physician or to raise other questions involving the professional judgmentof the prescriber, the pharmacist's inferiority complex begins to surface. While pharmacists may complain to each other about the difficulty in getting through to the doctor, the truth is that all too often, the pharmacist is more comfortable discussing problems with the office nurse than with the physician. When the pharmacist does discuss a problem with the physician he does so apologetically and with hesitation even when he knows that he is technically correct and is acting in the best interest of the patient. In the area of product selection, I know more pharmacists who are afraid of offending the physician than I do who are concerned about their lack of competency to select drug products of acceptable quality. I know still fewer pharmacists who feel comfortable suggesting to a physician that the same benefits for the patient can be obtained at substantially less cost by using the drug product of another manufacturer rather than the one specified; when multiple sources are available. Over years, pharmacists have generally followed the dic- , tates and wishes of o~ganized medicine and the pharmaceutical industry in supporting health-related legislative proposals, even to the detriment of the pr9fession. A good example of the failure of pharmacists to examine what they were being encouraged to support in the light of how the legislation, if passed, might affect the profession and pharmacists personally, was the support by pharmacists of organized medicine's opposition to the Medicare amendments to the Social Security Act. As pharmacy blindly pursued a course of loyal support of medicine's public opposi-
tion to Medicare, organized medicine's leaders were privately negotiating a sweetheart deal with the Administration. ,As a result, pharmacists were left out in the cold and out~of-hospital drugs are yet to be included as'a Medicare benefit. !tis highly doubtful if t~e industry-sponsored state antisubstitution laws could have been passed without the almost unanimous support of pharmacists, their -state associations and their national professional society. It took pharmacy almost two decades to realize that these laws protect the brand name pharmaceutical -industry, not the puqlic or the ' profession. The Durham-Humphrey amendment to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, widely supported by pharmacists, has had the most devastating effect on the professional prerogatives of the pharmacist of any legislation enacted in my time. Had pharmacists of the late 1940's and early 1950's 'been politically alert they would have worked to either defeat this legislatiori or to expand it to include a third class,of drugs to be dispensed personally by the' pharmacist.Unfortunately, pharmacists of that era, like many today, simply did not want the responsibility for making professional decisions. If pharmacy has a real function in society then we have the right to professional freedom. We must exercise this right by getting rid of the inferiority complex which has been passed from one generation of pharmacists to the next. This calls for reorientation and a changing of attitude for many pharmacists. We must convince ourselves that pharmacy is an independent profession and that we can stand op. our own two feet. If we are to avoid becoming a captive profession we cannot leave our future to be determined by others. While we live in a time oftapid change, we don't-experience our lives and the surrounding conditiOl,lS changing so rapidly. It is when we look backover two, three or more decades that we see the magnitude of the -changes that have occurred. Public opinion is also constantly changing and these changes
Excerpts of Remarks by Clifton J. Latiolais at the Remington Medal Dinner It is a single honor for me to pay tribute to our distinguished guest of honorDr. Grover C. Bowles-to pay tribute from two vantage points, (/) as a colleague in hospital pharmacy and(2) as a long time personal friend. , , , In some respects it is easy. to characterize GrOver C. Bowles: He has a marvelous trait~the ability to maintain an excellent balance between the serious and the humorous. He is dedicated to his work, but he also enjoys life. He isa practical realist, not an idealistic dreamer. He faces challenges head on-be it a serious debate or humorous lampooning. It's impossible to stay ahead of him if you let him have the last word. He has a unique ability, to get to the guts of an issue . . He also is a master of the well-turned phrase. . . , Characteristic, of his leadership in hospital pharmacy is, his ability and willingness to face challenges head qn; We pay tribute to Medalist Bowles' contributions as a hospital pharmacy leader. Although he has not witnessed the virtual obscurity of hospital pharmacy at the turn of the century, Grover learned his lessons well about the meaning 'of the awakening in the twenties, the advance in the thirties and the impact of the forties when the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists was formed in 1942. Yes, during the fabulous fifties, the challenging sixties and the controversial seventies, he was there, filled with dedication and enthusiasm. Grover contributed greatly toward the development of the ASHP during Us infancy. Through his forthright practical realism, he has, through national and local activities, contributed greatly to place hospital pharmacy into a position ofprofessional respectability . . . , . A succinct paragraph from his presentation to the ASHP's 20th anniversary characterized well Medalist Bowles; philosophy and practical approach to effective leadership-
"Where we go from here will not depend so much on unusual intellect or gifted vision but upon our dedication to do those things we know should be done. The art of work and the realization that people, not organizations or machines, get things done will continue to be as important in the future as they have in the past."
Vol. NS14, No. 10, October 1974
551
tion to Medicare, organized medicine's leaders were privately negotiating a sweetheart deal with the Administration. ,As a result, pharmacists were left out in the cold and out~of-hospital drugs are yet to be included as'a Medicare benefit. !tis highly doubtful if t~e industry-sponsored state antisubstitution laws could have been passed without the almost unanimous support of pharmacists, their -state associations and their national professional society. It took pharmacy almost two decades to realize that these laws protect the brand name pharmaceutical -industry, not the puqlic or the ' profession. The Durham-Humphrey amendment to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, widely supported by pharmacists, has had the most devastating effect on the professional prerogatives of the pharmacist of any legislation enacted in my time. Had pharmacists of the late 1940's and early 1950's 'been politically alert they would have worked to either defeat this legislatiori or to expand it to include a third class,of drugs to be dispensed personally by the' pharmacist.Unfortunately, pharmacists of that era, like many today, simply did not want the responsibility for making professional decisions. If pharmacy has a real function in society then we have the right to professional freedom. We must exercise this right by getting rid of the inferiority complex which has been passed from one generation of pharmacists to the next. This calls for reorientation and a changing of attitude for many pharmacists. We must convince ourselves that pharmacy is an independent profession and that we can stand op. our own two feet. If we are to avoid becoming a captive profession we cannot leave our future to be determined by others. While we live in a time oftapid change, we don't-experience our lives and the surrounding conditiOl,lS changing so rapidly. It is when we look backover two, three or more decades that we see the magnitude of the -changes that have occurred. Public opinion is also constantly changing and these changes
Excerpts of Remarks by Clifton J. Latiolais at the Remington Medal Dinner It is a single honor for me to pay tribute to our distinguished guest of honorDr. Grover C. Bowles-to pay tribute from two vantage points, (/) as a colleague in hospital pharmacy and(2) as a long time personal friend. , , , In some respects it is easy. to characterize GrOver C. Bowles: He has a marvelous trait~the ability to maintain an excellent balance between the serious and the humorous. He is dedicated to his work, but he also enjoys life. He isa practical realist, not an idealistic dreamer. He faces challenges head on-be it a serious debate or humorous lampooning. It's impossible to stay ahead of him if you let him have the last word. He has a unique ability, to get to the guts of an issue . . He also is a master of the well-turned phrase. . . , Characteristic, of his leadership in hospital pharmacy is, his ability and willingness to face challenges head qn; We pay tribute to Medalist Bowles' contributions as a hospital pharmacy leader. Although he has not witnessed the virtual obscurity of hospital pharmacy at the turn of the century, Grover learned his lessons well about the meaning 'of the awakening in the twenties, the advance in the thirties and the impact of the forties when the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists was formed in 1942. Yes, during the fabulous fifties, the challenging sixties and the controversial seventies, he was there, filled with dedication and enthusiasm. Grover contributed greatly toward the development of the ASHP during Us infancy. Through his forthright practical realism, he has, through national and local activities, contributed greatly to place hospital pharmacy into a position ofprofessional respectability . . . , . A succinct paragraph from his presentation to the ASHP's 20th anniversary characterized well Medalist Bowles; philosophy and practical approach to effective leadership-
"Where we go from here will not depend so much on unusual intellect or gifted vision but upon our dedication to do those things we know should be done. The art of work and the realization that people, not organizations or machines, get things done will continue to be as important in the future as they have in the past."
Vol. NS14, No. 10, October 1974
551