Foreword

The 11th edition of Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach becomes available over 30 years after the first edition was released in 1988. Pharmacy education and practice have seen many changes over this same period. Throughout this time, Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach has been the most adopted textbook used by colleges and schools of pharmacy in the United States to prepare students to provide a strong foundation for the provision of their patient-centered care. Moreover, with a growing acceptance in clinical care by pharmacist in other countries, Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach has experienced a growing international audience in this same time period.

The conversion of the entry level degree required for licensure to practice pharmacy in the United States from the 5-year Bachelor of Science degree to the 6-year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) occurred with the entry level pharmacy classes in the year 2000. I began my tenure as the Executive Director of the now Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE; https://www.acpe-accredit.org/) in the summer of 1999 and retired this past year after 20 years of service. The original all PharmD Standards in 2000 (Standards 2000) were followed by subsequent revisions, Standards 2007 and Standards 2016. The editions of Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach during this time period paid careful attention to the evolving ACPE standards. The 11th edition is no exception.

ACPE is an affiliate member of the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners (JCPP; https://jcpp.net/). In 2013, the then 11 members of JCPP approved the following vision statement for the profession of pharmacy in the United States:

• Patients achieve optimal health and medication outcomes with pharmacists as essential and accountable providers within patient-centered, team-based healthcare.

This vision statement formed the basis of ACPE Standards 2016. New elements of Standards 2016 were the expansion of the educational outcomes required of new graduates, via the adoption of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy's Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education (CAPE) Educational Outcomes (http://www.aacp.org/resources/education/cape/Pages/default.aspx), The educational outcomes address:

• Foundational Knowledge

• Essentials for Practice and Care

• Approach to Practice and Care

• Personal and Professional Development

The 11th edition of Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach offers excellent information to address aspects of all four of these educational outcomes. Recognizing the need for a consistent process in the delivery of patient care across the profession, the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners (JCPP) in 2014 released the Pharmacists’ Patient Care Process (PPCP). The process is applicable to any practice setting where pharmacists provide patient care and for any patient care service provided by pharmacists. ACPE Standards 2016 incorporated the PPCP as a required component of the curriculum. The 11th edition of Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach provides a new chapter fully describing the PPCP's purpose and components. In a unique and very innovative approach the new edition provides a “patient care process box” for the clinical conditions addressed. Each “box” focuses on the collection and assessment of information relevant to the clinical condition, the development of a plan of treatment and its implementation, as well as how to monitor and evaluate the success of the plan. This new feature should make the 11th edition of Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach stand out from any other clinical textbook for pharmacy students.

Although I have focused this foreword primarily as a textbook for faculty and students in the United States, as a site visitor for ACPE's International Services Program I became aware of how much previous editions of Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach have been adopted in other countries and the positive reactions from our international faculty and student colleagues. Likewise, because of the new edition's focus on the PPCP and the detail with which it is applied to various clinical conditions that pharmacists face in practice, I believe the 11th edition of Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach will prove to be an outstanding source for the continuing professional development of pharmacists in all practice settings.