A group of prominent Australian pharmacy owners have generously donated $140,000 to establish a new 'Scholarship in community pharmacy research' at the University of Sydney.
The gift will support a PhD student based in the University's Charles Perkins Centre, who will "critically examine how pharmacy policy is made and whether current and proposed laws are effective in supporting the role of pharmacists as public health professionals".
The initiative has been led by Peter Feros, who graduated BPharm from Sydney in 1966.
"I've been very impressed with the systematic approach to research that is being done by the Charles Perkins Centre, and how they ensure that all data collected is analysed with integrity," he said.
"Such a methodological approach has not been taken over the past three decades in community pharmacy, which has produced inappropriate policy, to the detriment of the health and wellbeing of Australians," he added.
Feros said the program would "correct the balance of pharmacy research to ensure policy decisions are driven by analysis, not ideology, while restoring integrity and retaining talent within the pharmacy profession".
The study will also build on work by Professor Lisa Bero from the Faculty of Pharmacy, whose previous studies into public health regulations in the US have brought about widespread industry change - including her "ground breaking" discovery of selective reporting of data for drugs approved by the US FDA, and other work exposing how special interest groups have generated evidence to influence public health policy.
The new PhD scholarship recipient will "analyse media discourse and other professional publications and legal documents to assess the use of evidence used in the creation of pharmacy policy," Prof Bero said.
Other contributors to the gift included fellow senior pharmacists Phil Dibben, Derek Seefeld, Eddie Viatos, Paul Riley & Richard Walsh.
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