The purpose of the Center for Improving Medication Use in the Community is to improve the use of medications in the community through education, practice development and research. One of the strengths of the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy over the last decade has been in the area of community pharmacy practice and research. The Center was officially established in January 2002 to build upon this strength and to pursue a broader purpose of improving the use of medications by patients in community settings through externally funded interdisciplinary patient care, research and practice development projects or activities.

Initially pharmacy faculty from the Division of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy will serve as the core faculty associated with the Center. Over time we anticipate that faculty from other colleges with the common interest of improving medication use in the community will be appointed to the Center and will serve as a principal leader or investigator for specific interdisciplinary patient care, research or practice development projects.

The term community is used broadly and includes community pharmacy practice settings, physician office practices, nurse practitioner and physician assistant practices and care provided to patients in assisted and long term care facilities by community pharmacists.

Existing and new collaborative relationships with other units of the College of Pharmacy and University of Iowa involved with research aimed at improving medication use will be further pursued to achieve the research goals of the Center. In addition, existing and new collaborative relationships with the Iowa Pharmacy Association and other pharmacy practice organizations within and outside Iowa will be further pursued to achieve the practice development and educational goals of the Center.

The Center will develop an external advisory committee to help guide its development.