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Communication Skills for Pharmacists

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 American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 2006; 70 (1) Article 12.
BOOK REVIEWS
BRUCE A. BERGER. Communication Skills for
Pharmacists (second edition) McGraw Hill, 2005.
200 pages; $36.95 (hardbound). ISBN: 1582120803.
Reviewed By: Matthew Perri, PhD
College of Pharmacy, University of Georgia
Bruce Berger’s Communication Skills for Pharmacists is
an important addition to the available texts on pharmacy
communications and patient counseling. This clearly
written text details the reasons why good pharmacy care
and patient relationships are essential to the future of the
profession. While the book will be extremely useful in the
classroom to help students develop good patient, per-
sonal, and professional relationships, it is also a must read
for every practicing pharmacist who is concerned about
the future of pharmacy. The cases and examples in the text
are gleaned from interactions with pharmacists locally,
regionally, and nationally.
Overall, the book’s 15 chapters provide the basis for
developing the communication skills needed by pharma-
cists to deliver pharmacy (pharmaceutical) care and pro-
vides practical advice on building relationships between
the pharmacists, patients, and physicians. The first chap-
ter of this text may be the most important section of the
book. Here, Dr. Berger effectively makes the case for
caring enough about patients to change the way one prac-
tices pharmacy. The author suggests that through caring
and developing relationships with patients, pharmacists
will find the motivation to continue on into the text to
learn the skills necessary to provide excellent patient care.
This chapter challenges each pharmacist, present or future,
to examine the kind of patient care that is the current stan-
dard, then to identify motivations and barriers to providing
ideal pharmacy care, then to take personal responsibility
for moving the profession forward.
Subsequent chapters discuss: the need for relation-
ships and why these relationships are essential to the pro-
vision of pharmacy care; the need to see our patients as
people; listening and responding appropriately; nonverbal
communication; effective patient counseling; supportive
communication; managing conflict; persuasion and asser-
tiveness. This all around guide to effective counseling
features useful tips and suggestions for improving patient
care through effective communication, and questions for
reflection are provided at the end of each chapter. Each
chapter has a succinct summary, questions for reflection,
and references.
This book has several key strengths. First, and
perhaps most important, is the text’s forward-looking
perspective on pharmacy care. However, the book does
1
not just present this philosophy; it provides evidence to
the reader that this perspective is vital to taking good care
of patients and the future of pharmacy. The second major
strength is the large number of practical examples and
cases presented as learning examples. Communication
Skills for Pharmacists does not just present the skills
needed; it also provides the theory and background for
why these skills are important. This provides a solid foun-
dation for pharmacists who need to understand these
important theoretical concepts. This understanding will
assist the reader in evaluating each skill, and incorporat-
ing these skills into their practice of pharmacy. There is a
good balance between the discussion of the background
theories and practice-related issues.
Another important strength is that the text provides a
method by which pharmacists can slowly begin to take
small steps toward changing their own practices. The
book suggests and encourages pharmacists to identify
one or a small number of patients, provide excellent phar-
macy care, then document, communicate, and bill for the
services provided. A web site enumerating the experi-
ences of others doing just that is provided.
The only weakness in this text is that the examples do
not focus enough on the need for, and skills to enable,
pharmacists to practice efficiently. Time is a major barrier
and more attention may need to be focused in this area.
Future pharmacists will need to handle both the day-to-day
dispensing functions as well as the advanced concepts of
pharmacy care; thus, efficient use of time in the patient
encounter will be essential. While this may not be the focus
of this text, it is a practical issue that needs to be addressed.
This book is well organized and easy to read. It is full
of examples and motivation to improve one’s commu-
nication skills. It will be extremely useful to pharmacy
students and practitioners alike. Implementation of the
concepts in this book will benefit patients and the phar-
macy practitioners who care for them.
Corresponding Author: Matthew Perri III, PhD.
Tel: 706-542-5365. E-mail: mperri@mail.rx.uga.edu
MI SMITH, AI WERTHEIMER, JE FINCHAM,
Editors. Pharmacy and the U.S. Health Care System,
Third edition. New York: Pharmaceutical Products
Press; 2005. 476 pp; $49.95 (paperback), ISBN
0-7890-1876-4; $69.95 (hardcover), ISBN 0-7890-
1875-6.
Reviewed By: Kenneth A. Lawson, PhD
College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin
Pharmacy and the U.S. Health Care System (third edition)
covers various aspects of the US health care system with
 American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 2006; 70 (1) Article 12.
an emphasis on pharmacists’ roles in the provision of
health care products and services and pharmacy’s rela-
tionships to other components of the health care system.
The book consists of 18 chapters, which may be catego-
rized into 4 general areas with some overlap (although
they are not grouped as such in the book). The first area,
which could be labeled an overview of the US health care
system, consists of 3 chapters covering a historical per-
spective of health care and organization of the US health
care system, health care financing, and managed care and
pharmacy services. The second area addresses various
components of the US health care system; it consists of
7 chapters covering the health professions, pharmacists in
the US health care system, pharmacy organizations, hos-
pitals and health care institutions, long-term care, phar-
maceutical manufacturers, and health care consumers.
The third area addresses pharmacists’ roles, and selected
processes and factors related to the provision of health
care services; this area consists of 5 chapters covering
emerging roles for pharmacists, political realities of phar-
macy, the drug distribution process, the drug-use process,
and cultural issues pertaining to the provision of health
care services. The fourth area, perspectives regarding the
future of pharmacy, consists of 3 chapters covering new
technologies (biotechnology), unresolved issues in phar-
macy, and the future of pharmacy (with discussion of pos-
sible future pharmacy practice models).
The third edition of this book expands and updates the
content of the second edition and adds chapters address-
ing political issues facing pharmacy and the future of
pharmacy. It provides a good overview of the US health
care system along with more detailed information regard-
ing selected components of the system. The focus on how
pharmacy and pharmacists fit into the US health care
system is clear—pharmacists’ roles, the contributions of
pharmacy, and the relationships between pharmacy and
other system components are discussed throughout the
book. Providing up-to-date information is important to
the usefulness of health care system texts such as this,
and the third edition has succeeded in providing timely
information and references.
This text and a similar text edited by McCarthy and
Schafermeyer, Introduction to Health Care Delivery: A
Primer for Pharmacists (third edition), complement each
other well. The McCarthy and Schafermeyer text covers
the health care system from a broader perspective while,
as its title suggests, the Smith, Wertheimer, and Fincham
text contains more pharmacy-specific information. Both
texts provide good overviews of the US health care sys-
tem including a historical perspective, coverage of man-
aged health care, the health professions, pharmacists’
roles, patient-related issues, and organizational compo-
2
nents of the health care system. However, the texts differ
in their scope and depth of coverage. Although many
topics are addressed to some extent in both texts, the
coverage is understandably more extensive when an
entire chapter is devoted to a particular topic. For exam-
ple, Pharmacy and the U.S. Health Care System contains
entire chapters on pharmacy organizations, the drug dis-
tribution system, cultural issues, and biotechnology,
while Introduction to Health Care Delivery devotes entire
chapters to public health issues, health care ethics, mental
health services, international health care, health care eco-
nomics, Medicare, and Medicaid. As a course text, Phar-
macy and the U.S. Health Care System would benefit from
the inclusion of discussion questions for each chapter as
contained in Introduction to Health Care Delivery.
Pharmacy and the U.S. Health Care System provides
a broad and current overview of the US health care system
with particular emphasis on pharmacists’ roles and phar-
macy’s relationships. This book is appropriate for an
introductory course in health care systems or as a source
for foundation information for graduate students who
lack familiarity with the US health care system. It
also may be helpful to those considering a career in phar-
macy or health care practitioners who wish to learn more
about the health care system, particularly from a phar-
macy perspective. This book would make a nice addition
to libraries in colleges of pharmacy and academic health
centers.
Corresponding Author: Kenneth A. Lawson, PhD.
Address: College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas,
1 University Station A1930, Austin, Texas 78712.
E-mail: kenlawson@mail.utexas.edu
SHANE P. DESSELLE, DAVID P. ZGARRICK.
Pharmacy Management: Essentials for All Practice
Settings. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc; 2005. 597 pages, $49.95 (softcover).
ISBN 0-07-141869-5
Reviewed By: J. Russell May, PharmD
College of Pharmacy, University of Georgia
Pharmacy Management: Essentials for All Practice Set-
tings is aimed at pharmacy students and provides a well-
organized approach to the various aspects of pharmacy
management. The real value of the text is likely to come to
those students who keep the text on their shelf after grad-
uation. Several chapters could easily prove useful when
the new graduate arrives in the workplace.
The first section is appropriately titled, ‘‘Why Study
Management in Pharmacy School?’’ The 2 chapters here
provide the groundwork for the rest of the book. The
 American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 2006; 70 (1) Article 12.
following 7 sections focus on managing something spe-
cific: yourself, operations, people, money, traditional
goods and services, value-added services, and risks. Each
section has 2 to 5 chapters that cover the topic well. Stu-
dents should enjoy the consistent format of chapters. Each
starts with learning objectives that are primarily written
at the knowledge or application level. A ‘‘scenario’’ that
breathes life into subjects many students consider boring
follows the objectives. After the chapter’s material is cov-
ered, the author returns to the scenario for conclusions.
Professors who teach a management course should find
the authors’use of ‘‘chapter questions’’ helpful in guiding
student learning. In addition to these preliminary ques-
tions, each chapter ends with ‘‘questions for further dis-
cussion’’ that could easily be developed into group
3
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assignments. Chapters are well referenced and contain
useful, easy-to-read tables and figures. The textbook con-
cludes with a section on management applications in the
following areas: chain community pharmacy, indepen-
dent community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, and emerg-
ing pharmacy practice settings.
Pharmacy Management: Essentials for All Practice
Settings provides a good choice to those seeking a text-
book for a pharmacy management course. Students will
find the book to be a useful tool both in and out of the
classroom.
Corresponding Author: J. Russell May, PharmD, University
of Georgia College of Pharmacy. Tel: 706-721-6493.
Fax: 706-721-3994. E-mail: jmay@mail.mcg.edu