With the flu season and the H1N1 virus looming, pharmacists are increasingly being called on to take a more active role in public health, from immunizations to disaster planning and management. ASHPs new book, Pharmacy in Public Health Basics and Beyond, provides pharmacists and other health care practitioners with critical information theyll need to play a muchneeded role in public health, for flu season, emergency preparedness, and chronic disease prevention and management.

Pharmacy in Public Health Basics and Beyond is divided into three useful sections, each of which builds on the next. First, the authors introduce practitioners to the fundamentals of public health. Next, the book helps readers build a skill base by presenting necessary tools and measures of public health. Finally, applied models of pharmacy and public health practices detail reallife solutions to issues, such as providing immunizations in a community pharmacy.

Pharmacists and other health care practitioners can ensure theyre prepared for challenges such as

Responding to public health crises such as H1N1 virus
Providing immunizations
Ensuring emergency preparedness
Managing the obesity and diabetes epidemics

Within the book, fully integrated cases and model scenarios provide realworld applications. Learning objectives, figures, tables, and key terms clarify and guide readers through important concepts. Thoughtprovoking discussion questions and suggested readings help readers understand how the concepts and cases can be used in their own communities and practices. The books website, ashp.org/publichealth provides PowerPoint slides, image files, and additional cases for extra material.

“With Pharmacy in Public Health Basics and Beyond, pharmacists can start preparing themselves now for public health issues that lie ahead, and begin making a difference in their communitys H1N1 challenge today,” said coauthor Jean Carter, Ph.D., Pharm.D., associate professor of pharmacy administration at University of Montanas Skaggs School of Pharmacy. Coauthor Marion Slack, Ph.D., professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Arizona, agrees, “Our hope is that readers will use what they have learned to make an impact in public health, whether in their own local community, for national public health initiatives, or for the global community.”

About the Authors

Jean Carter, Ph.D., Pharm.D., is an associate professor of pharmacy administration at University of Montanas Skaggs School of Pharmacy, and an affiliated faculty member of the schools public health program.

Marion Slack, Ph.D., is a professor of pharmacy practice at University of Arizona, where she is Principal Investigator of an interprofessional training program for rural and underserved communities in community health.