The Department of Pharmacy Administration has developed a reputation for high quality research in the area of pharmaceuticals, pharmacy, and health care. The Department faculty routinely employ national mail surveys, focus groups, interviews, and secondary data sets in their research. Students in the program gain expertise in the use of these research methods. The faculty and graduate students of the Department also work closely with the School of Business faculty and graduate students on various research projects critical to understanding health care issues. The synergies generated through such collaborative efforts have been perceived as being extremely beneficial.  Additionally, faculty have the potential to collaborate with other departments on campus and various health care organizations, including the Mississippi quality improvement organization, ACCLAIM pharmacy benefits manager, the National Community Pharmacists Association, the Delta Health Alliance, and others.  Areas of research interest for the faculty and students include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Consumer Behavior and Decision Making

• Drug Consumption Behavior

• Drug Pricing

• Ethics

• Evaluation of pharmacy interventions

• Health Care Outcomes

• Health Care Service Delivery

• Health Care Technology

• Health-related Quality of Life

• History of Pharmacy

• Managed Care

• Pharmaceutical Policy

• Pharmacy Benefit Management

• Pharmacoeconomics

• Pharmacoepidemiology

• Pharmacy Education

• Pharmacy Management

• Pharmaceutical Marketing

• Pharmacist Job Satisfaction, Turnover and Quality of Work life

The faculty and graduate students in the Department have a reputation for high quality research publications and professional presentations in national and international settings.  They have obtained funding from government agencies, private foundations, pharmaceutical companies, and professional associations.

A sampling of recent presentations at national meetings include:

Banahan BF, Holmes ER, Devine S., Lomenick B, Bunniran S, Bynum LA, Jones NJ.  RxSync™: An Alternative Practice Model for Community Pharmacies.  NCPA Annual Meeting, Tampa, FL.  October 2008.

Holmes ER and West D.  Niche Expansion Marketing.  American College of Apothecaries Annual Meeting. Columbus, OH.  April 2009. 

Banahan BF and Holmes ER. Evaluating an Implementation Strategy for Synchronizing and Scheduling Maintenance Medications in Community Practice. American Pharmacists Association Annual Meeting.  San Antonio, TX. April 2009. Received presentation award.

Mendonca CA, Lobb WB, Banahan BF, Wilkin NE, Pace PF.  Incidence and Outcomes of Potential Drug-Drug Interactions among Medicare Part D Patients.  ISPOR Annual Meeting.  Orlando, FL.  May 2009.

King SR, McCaffrey DJ, Bentley JP, Bouldin AS, Hallam JS, and Wilkin NE.  The Influence of Symbols on the Recall of Pharmacy-Generated Prescription Medication Information in a Low-Health Literate Population.  American Pharmacists Association Annual Meeting.  San Antonio, TX.  April 2009. Podium session.

Thumula V, Yang Y, Pace P, Banahan B, Wilkin N, Lobb B, Effect of Lipid Lowering Drug Use on Hospitalizations, Emergency Room Visits and Mortality in Medicare Diabetic Population. ISPOR Annual Meeting.  Orlando, FL.  May 2009. Podium session

Yang J, Yang Y, Ingene C. Product Line Extension in the Pharmaceutical Industry. 2009 INFORMS Marketing Science Conference: Ann Arbor, MI. June 2009.

Yang Y, Thumula V, Pace P, Banahan B, Wilkin N, Lobb B.  The Effect of Nonadherence with Oral Hypoglycemics on Potentially Avoidable Hospitalizations among Medicare Part D Enrollees with Diabetes. Academy Health, Chicago, IL. June 2009 Podium session.

Bouldin AS. Survey of the Early Entry Program’s Influence on Pharmacy Student Development.  American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.  Boston, MA. July 2009.

McCaffrey DJ III, Bunniran S.  Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Marketing Efforts: Messages Lost in Skepticism?  Physicians’ Inherent Skepticism Associated with Marketing Messages Delivered at Medical Conventions, through Office Detailing, and Contained Within Medical Journal Advertisements. Healthcare Convention and Exhibitors Association Annual Meeting. Tampa, FL. June 2009.

A sampling of recently funded projects in the Department include:

Baseline Evaluation of Science of Safety at US Colleges of Pharmacy. Funded by FDA and AACP (PI=West)

Evaluating the Bearing Point (BP) Medication Use Measures in the Medicaid Population. Funded by CMS (PI=Banahan)

RxSync Service Implementation and Evaluation Project.  Funded by Cardinal Health (PI=Holmes)

Mississippi Pharmacist Compensation Survey. Funded by the Mississippi Pharmacists Association (PI=McCaffrey)

Community Pharmacy Technicians’ Emotional Labor and Resultant Work Life Outcomes. Funded by the AACP New Investigator Program (PI=Holmes)

Message in a Bottle-Pharmaceutical Promotion to Physicians, a Message Lost in Skepticism? Funded by the Healthcare Convention and Exhibitors Association (Co-PIs Bunniran and McCaffrey)

8^th SOW 1d3 QOI Intervention and Support Using Integrated Data. Funded by CMS (PI=Wilkin)

It is important to note that graduate students are an integral part of the research teams.  Graduate students in the Department are provided space, computer, and other resources necessary to conduct various research projects.