UA pharmacy dean to head national organization

Arizona Daily Wildcat J. Lyle Bootman

The Dean of UA's College of Pharmacy will head a nationwide organization representing more than 50,000 pharmacists, scientists and students.

The American Pharmaceutical Association named J. Lyle Bootman 1998-99 president-elect.

Bootman is a professor and dean of the University of Arizona's College of Pharmacy, ranked seventh in the nation.

The American Pharmaceutical Association is the largest pharmacy organization in the nation, said John Murphy, department head of pharmacy practice and science.

"Dr. Bootman's election to the organization signifies the respect pharmacists across the nation have for his work and leadership in the profession," he said.

Murphy is the current head of The American Society of Health System Pharmacists, the second largest pharmaceutical association in the nation.

Bootman said, in a news release, he plans to continue promoting ethics in pharmacy practice as president-elect.

"Pharmacists must assume leadership by taking responsibility for the success or failure of drug treatments," he said.

Bootman has worked to draw national attention to the consequences of improper use of prescription drugs.

He has been named one of the 50 most influential pharmacists in America by The American Druggist., an industry magazine.

In his study, "Drug Morbidity and Mortality: A Cost of Illness Model," Bootman reported that, in the United States, prescription drug abuse raises health care costs by an estimated $76 billion per year. Misuse causes over 198,000 deaths and leads to more than 8 million hospitalizations.

Bootman will serve as president-elect beginning in March 1998 and take the office of president on March 10, 1999.