Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to delve into Barnard's works to construct foundations of customer relationship management (CRM). Design/methodology/approach – The paper identifies Barnard's insights on customer participation using a post-analytic method and uses them as inputs to the analysis of current CRM practices. Findings – As an outcome of the analysis, the paper identifies the practices that are likely to lead to more effective participatory behavior of customers. Research limitations/implications – Examining CRM from a historical perspective can open promising avenues for future research. Practical implications – CRM programs should incorporate the practice of customer relations management in order to provide managers with the knowledge base required for appropriate decision making. Originality/value – By placing contemporary discussions of CRM in its seminal historical context, scholars can draw upon a wealth of historical inputs to advance the study of how collaborations with customers can be nurtured effectively.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health problem that demands a comprehensive health care response. Provider education and training is needed for the entire health care team, including pharmacists, to competently care for IPV-impacted patients. Standardized assessments are needed to determine need for training and to evaluate the effectiveness of IPV training initiatives. The Physician Readiness to Manage Intimate Partner Violence Survey (PREMIS) has previously been validated for physicians. This study adapted and evaluated the PREMIS instrument for use with pharmacists to assess knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and intentions related to IPV and IPV screening. A total of 144 surveys from community pharmacists were analyzed. Pharmacists had low levels of IPV knowledge. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a five-factor structure: workplace and self-efficacy, preparation, legal requirements, alcohol and drugs, and constraints. This instrument can be utilized to guide the development and implementation of IPV-related training initiatives for pharmacists.

BACKGROUND: The Internet plays a large role in the provision of drug information. Given the growing number of patients seeking consultation on the Internet and the difficulty in regulating online pharmacy providers, an analysis of drug information provided by Internet pharmacies is warranted. OBJECTIVE: To assess the response rates and quality of responses to drug information questions submitted to “ask the pharmacist” services on Internet pharmacy sites and determine whether differences exist between National Association of Boards of Pharmacy—approved and nonapproved sites and among free-standing, chain, and independent pharmacy sites in the quality of information provided. METHODS: A content analysis was conducted on responses to 5 drug information questions electronically mailed to each of 64 Internet pharmacies identified through a meta-engine search. Three judges rated the quality of response components using a scoring system developed by an expert panel, with inter-rater reliabilities subsequently calculated. Both t-test and ANOVA procedures tested for differences in response quality. RESULTS: Responses were received for 51% of all questions submitted to the sites. Few differences in quality were found between approved/unapproved sites and among types of pharmacies. The percentage of correct responses provided for each of 22 response components ranged from 7% to 96%. CONCLUSIONS: While few differences were found among sites based on their approval status or type, low response rates and incomplete counseling information among many of the responses are cause for concern.

The expansion of pharmacy technician scope of practice in recent years, though remaining somewhat contentious, has afforded multiple opportunities for pharmacy technicians to provide additional assistance within the pharmacy. However, much of the research examining this growth has focused on specific tasks, which were determined by either the researchers themselves or the respective state boards of pharmacy. This study aimed to gain a better understanding of what expanded tasks pharmacists believe technicians should have an increased role in performing. A consensus-building research methodology was used to survey practicing pharmacists to determine which tasks those pharmacists believed technicians should take an increased role in performing. This study used modified Delphi techniques to build consensus among panels of both hospital and community pharmacists regarding 20 setting-specific technician tasks. Results of our study indicated that both hospital and community pharmacists believed technicians should have an increased involvement in performing tasks which are more related to the operations of the pharmacy rather than tasks which are more clinical in nature. This finding illustrates a belief among a segment of pharmacists that expanded roles for technicians should do more to alleviate the managerial and operational burden placed on pharmacists, potentially allowing pharmacists to take on increased clinical roles.

A patient-centered approach to research development is important to the creation of research evidence that is meaningful and beneficial to patients. Collaboration between patients, stakeholders, and researchers, where patients serve an integral role in all aspects of the research development process, is integral to achieving these twin objectives. This paper presents a unique approach to engaging patients and stakeholders in research by describing a conference series focused on meaningfully integrating patients in each phase of the project. Through three meeting phases, patients were not only introduced to patient-centered research (PCR) concepts, but they also led discussions about diabetes self-management and developed PCR questions. A total of 17 questions were developed represented by four main themes: communication, patient knowledge and perceptions, diabetes prevention, and diabetes management. Through patient feedback, three research questions were each identified as immediate priorities for development into research project proposals. To our knowledge, the use of a conference series designed to teach patients about research, encourage collaboration across stakeholder groups, and write research questions has not been described in the literature. Moreover, this approach has proven successful in recruiting and retaining patient participation through the life of the project. This project has also identified a number of issues for consideration by future researchers looking to meaningfully engage patients in the development of research proposals.