Editorial: Politics and Truth: An Emulsion or Solution?

As pharmacists, we want documentation on as much information as possible in our professional activities. However, when we change our mindset from our professional activities to our social, political, and community activities, we tend to be satisfied with "opinions."

As we listen to our politicians making "factual" statements, one wonders why we have 3 or 4 individuals making "factual" statements that are (in fact) contradictory? Well, obviously, they are not factual and truthful. When we see advertisements on television, the important part is the small print at the bottom of the screen or the rapid-fire speaker giving the limitations of the offer, etc. What if our politicians and political candidates had to preface their statements with:

"Opinion"- In my opinion, our transportation system...so we need to...

"Fact" - In the literature/report/etc., our transportation system is documented to�so we need to�.

Obviously, they would need to cite the source of their information so it could be confirmed or denied. And, if they were caught in misrepresentations�"three strikes and they are out"!

As it is today, our politicians and political candidates can say anything with no, or very little, repercussions for not telling the truth. We definitely need some help here as oil (truth) and politics (water) are not mixing together!

What would happen if the promises that were made by political candidates were not fulfilled (or reasonable progress made towards their fulfillment), and they were prevented from running for a second term due to "unfulfilled promises"!

Is this asking too much? I would hope not. I think it is time that we demand more of those that represent us. Just think, would you hire someone that you knew was untruthful to make major decisions for your business? It seems like we are doing just that when we elect individuals to represent us and WORK FOR US!!!! Don't you just love Medicare Part D? Maybe we should be better personnel managers and hire better people so we can have a solution instead of an emulsion!


Loyd V. Allen, Jr., PhD, RPh
Editor-in-Chief

In the November 1, 2007 issue of the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, there is an article reporting on the results of a survey designed to determine the extent of didactic and laboratory instruction related to compounded sterile preparations (CSP) provided by U.S. schools of pharmacy. Fifty three surveys were returned (of 82 mailed out), with the following summary presented in the abstract of the article.

All schools included some instruction on CSPs; however, only 70% required students to compound on their own; only 21% offered a standalone course on this topic. Most schools (88%) taught students about USP Chapter <797> standards for sterile compounding. Only 13% of schools felt that their students had adequate training in compounding sterile preparations before graduation. Most (88.7%) believed that students could only become fully competent in these skills over time in actual practice.

A comprehensive book on suppositories has never been written-until now. Just released by Pharmaceutical Press (Publishers of MARTINDALE) is a detailed reference book utilizing over 2,500 references over the past 25 years on all aspects of suppositories, including:

• Factors in Formulating Suppositories
• Suppository Bases
• Pharmacokinetics of Suppositories
• Biopharmaceutics of Suppositories
• Compounding Suppositories
• Manufacturing Suppositories
• Packaging and Labeling of Suppositories
• Stability of Suppositories
• Clinical Effectiveness of Suppositories
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The book is available at: www.pharmpress.com

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