Drug Information and Statistics
PHAR 455
Spring 2013
Course Description
This 4 credit-hour course is designed to provide pharmacy students with an overview of drug information
resources and statistics used in healthcare research. Students will learn the advantages and
disadvantages of primary, secondary, and tertiary literature and will also gain experience extracting
information from these types of literature. Students will learn how to evaluate the biomedical literature
using a systematic approach and will assess the statistical analyses reported to determine whether the
interpretation and conclusions are valid. Students will also be expected to select appropriate statistical
procedures to analyze data and perform calculations. The focus of the statistics portion will be on the
clinical application of the statistical tests to the primary literature. The recitation sections of this class are
designed to provide the students with hands-on practice of the concepts taught during the lecture.
Course Objectives
 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the tertiary, secondary, and primary literature.
 Conduct a systematic search of the tertiary, secondary, and primary literature in order to answer a drug
information request.
 Differentiate when to apply various statistical tests and be able to perform the appropriate calculations.
 Critically evaluate all aspects of a clinical trial in verbal and written format.
UIC-COP Outcome Competencies:
I. Integrate critical and scientific thinking
B. Use mathematics and logic to solve problems.
1. Make basic calculations applicable to contemporary pharmacy practice.
2. Create and interpret scientific graphs and plots that arise in the practice of pharmacy.
3. Apply basic statistical tools to the analysis of data sets.
a. Recognize and apply the basic statistical concepts of normal and other distributions,
sampling and sample size, and distribution moments.
b. Recognize and apply statistical concepts particularly useful for pharmacists such as
absolute and relative risk, number needed-to-treat, confidence intervals.
IV. Manage Medication Use Systems
C. Describe the processes involved in formulary management.
1. Explain the process of drug product inclusion in a formulary
2. Manage the formulary system at specific practice sites.
D. Apply elements of continuous quality improvement in the delivery of pharmaceutical care.
1. Identify the elements of comprehensive quality assurance program(s).
2. Define and document quality assurance activities consistent with regulatory requirements and
professional standards.
3. Define and evaluate measures of humanistic outcomes (e.g., health-related Quality of Life
(QOL), patient satisfaction) in pharmaceutical care services.
V. Promote Health, Wellness and Disease Prevention
C. Provide appropriate emergency care when indicated.
2. Provide appropriate poison resources and referrals to consumers or health care
professionals.
VI. Provide Drug Information and Education
A. Evaluate drug information literature and other pharmacy related literature.
1. Define and apply basic concepts of biostatistics including types of data, data distribution,
descriptive and inferential statistics, and measures of variability.
2. Evaluate research designs within research studies.
3. Apply the evaluation skills and the result to decision-making.
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4. Incorporate literature evaluation and results into an oral or written format in language
appropriate for the target audience.
B. Provide drug and health-related information to meet the specific needs of healthcare
professionals and the general public.
1. Use effective communication skills to determine the nature and specific aspects of the drug
information request.
2. Retrieve appropriate information to satisfy a drug information request.
3. Provide a timely, comprehensive response to requests using appropriate and content-specific
vocabulary and format.
C. Design, develop, present and evaluate informational and educational materials tailored to the
needs and educational level of a given audience.
1. Assess the educational needs and background of the intended audience related to drugs,
drug use, or health promotion.
2. Design and deliver educational programs about drugs, drug use, drug abuse and/or other
health-related topics.
3. Use appropriate teaching methods to reach intended audience.
4. Evaluate the effectiveness of healthcare programs.
D. Maintain professional proficiency that may affect the ongoing evaluation and analysis of drug
literature.
Location
The lecture will meet from 8:30 to 9:20 am on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Lecture will be held in
rooms 134-1 (Monday and Wednesday) and 134-3 (Friday) at the Chicago campus and in room E218 at
the Rockford campus. The required recitation sections will meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from
1:30 to 4:20 pm (see recitation room calendar on page 5 for specific room assignments at the Chicago
campus) and on Monday in room E218 at the Rockford campus. There are weeks when recitation will
meet in other locations for both campuses; these exceptions will be announced during lecture and posted
on Blackboard.
Faculty
Joan Stachnik, MEd, PharmD, BCPS (Coordinator)
Office: B12
Phone: (312) 413-7699
E-mail: stachnik@uic.edu
Heather Ipema, PharmD, BCPS
Office: B12
Phone: (312) 355-0651
E-mail: hipema2@uic.edu
Lara Ellinger, PharmD, BCPS (Coordinator)
Office: B12
Phone: (312) 413-3804
E-mail: lellin2@uic.edu
Maria Tanzi, PharmD
Office: B12
Phone: (312) 413-1887
E-mail: mtanzi1@uic.edu
Michael Gabay, PharmD, JD, BCPS
Office: B12
Phone: (312) 413-3977
E-mail: mgabay@uic.edu
Ryan Rodriguez, PharmD, BCPS
Office: B12
Phone: 312-413-8363
E-mail: rwrodrig@uic.edu
Rita Soni, PharmD, BCPS
Office: B12
Phone: (312) 996-7045
Email: rsoni1@uic.edu
Mary Lynn Moody, BSPharm
Office: B12
Phone: (312) 996-2351
E-mail: mlmoody@uic.edu
Courtney Krueger, PharmD, BCPS
Office: B12
Phone: (312) 413-7341
E-mail: ceckhoff@uic.edu
Carissa Mancuso, PharmD
Office: B12
Phone: (312) 996-3769
Email: cmancuso@uic.edu
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Shadi Ghaibi, PharmD
Drug Information Resident
Office: Room B-12
Phone: (312) 413-8432
E-mail: ghaibi@uic.edu
Michelle Bryson, PharmD
Drug Information Resident
Office: B12
Phone: (312) 413-8364
E-mail: mbryson2@uic.edu
Margaret Byun, PharmD
Office: 345 CSB
E-mail: mbyun1@uic.edu
Simon Pickard, PhD
Office: Room 287 (2nd floor, College of Pharmacy)
Phone: (312) 413-3357
E-mail: pickard1@uic.edu
Guest Lecturers
Linda Kay, PharmD, MS
Biomedical Communications Specialist
Phone: (312) 425-5629
E-mail: Linda.Kay@draftfcb.com
TBD
Office: Illinois Poison Center
Helga Brake, PharmD, CPHQ
Patient Safety Leader
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Email: hbrake@nmh.org
Juhi Jain, PharmD
Clinical Informatics Pharmacist
Indiana University Health – South Campus
jjain@iuhealth.org
Rockford Class Coordinator
Eric Junco
Rockford Campus
Phone: (815) 395-5809
E-mail: ejunco@uic.edu
Teaching Assistants
Kibum Kim
Email: kkim204@uic.edu
Shishir Chandra Sarangpur
Email: ssaran3@uic.edu
Deval Gor
Email: dgor2@uic.edu
Handouts will be available at lecture; they will also be available on the course Blackboard site and from
the TAs after lectures. TA office hours will be available by appointment.
Office Hours
No specific office hours for the coordinators will be scheduled. Appointments can be made individually or
as a group to discuss matters related to the class with the coordinators as needed. The preferred method
of contact to set up an appointment is via email. Email addresses are provided above under the faculty
listing. For information specific to a lecture, it is best to contact the specific faculty member who provided
the lecture for which you need further clarification. Scheduled office hours will be available with faculty
prior to the due date of the clinical question paper; these hours will be announced once available.
Texts
Recommended
Dawson B, Trapp RG. Basic & Clinical Biostatistics. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2004. The primary
focus is on statistics including mathematical calculations and clinical applications. This reference is
available on-line, via the UIC Library of the Health Sciences’ AccessPharmacy database
(http://www.accesspharmacy.com/resourceToc.aspx?resourceID=62).
Malone PM, Kier KL, Stanovich JE. Drug information: A Guide for Pharmacists. 4th ed. New York:
McGraw-Hill; 2012. The book provides an overview of drug information including clinical trial design and
statistics. This reference is available on-line, via the UIC Library of the Health Sciences’
(http://www.accesspharmacy.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=695).
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Iverson C, Christiansen S, Flanagin A, et al. AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. 10th
ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2007. A guide to rules of style for medical writing. This
reference is available on-line via the UIC Library of the Health Sciences
(http://www.amamanualofstyle.com//oso/public/index.html).
Examinations
Exam #1 – Friday, February 22nd
Exam #2 – Monday, April 8th
Final Exam – Wednesday, May 8th (11:30 am-1:30 pm)
Exams #1 and #2 are 50 minutes in length. The final exam is 2 hours in length. Seats may be assigned
to all students in a random fashion for examination purposes. Students must complete and turn in
scantron sheets within the 50 minute exam period. No additional time can be given after the exam
has ended for a student to complete the scantron sheet. Faculty will not complete scantron
sheets for students. Students cannot request to change the date of an exam.
Assignments
Recitation assignments are due at the end of the recitation session unless otherwise noted.
There are 5 assignments that will be done outside of recitation—Summary of a drug/referencing,
abstracting an article, Journal club lecture, Presenting your journal club, and the clinical question paper.
The assigned dates and the due dates for these assignments are given in the Table below. One
assignment, the Journal club lecture assignment, is due on Friday, April 5th at the beginning of lecture
(8:30 am). Since this assignment will be discussed in class, no late assignments will be accepted; a
grade of zero will be given for papers received after the start of the lecture.
For all assignments, students are responsible for turning in their own assignments on the due
date. See the section “Late assignments” for information on penalties for late assignments.
Assignment
Summary of a drug
and disease
state/referencing
Summary and
critique of an article
Date
assigned/distributed
In recitation during
week 1
Date due
Journal club lecture
assignment
In class Wednesday
March 20
Due week 3 on the day of
recitation at the beginning
(1:30 pm)
Due week 9 on the day of
recitation at the beginning
(1:30 pm)
Wednesday April 3 at the
beginning of lecture
Presenting your
journal club
assignment
Distributed 2 weeks
prior to the scheduled
presentation date
To be presented in
recitation during weeks 15
or 16 as scheduled
Clinical question
paper
In class Monday
February 25
Thursday April 11 by 4:00
pm
In recitation during
week 8
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Comments
This assignment is due BEFORE the
lecture begins. Once lecture begins,
no assignments will be accepted (a
grade of zero will be given)
A schedule will be posted on
Blackboard assigning the
dates/groups for journal club
presentation
Any clinical question paper received
after 4:00 pm will be considered late
(see penalties below). The Drug
Information Center is open on
Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm and
this day will count toward the late
penalty. Clinical question papers
will be returned to students
approximately 3 weeks after the due
date and before the beginning of
finals week.
Recitation Rooms Calendar for Chicago Campus
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Monday
134-1
134-1
134-1
134-1
134-1
134-1
134-1
134-1
134-1
134-1
134-1
134-1
204/208/212/216
204/208/212/216
Wednesday
32
No recitation
32
32
32
32
32
204/208
204/208
204/208
Spring Break
204/208
204/208
204/208
204/208/212/216
204/208/212/216
Friday
134-1
134-1
134-1
134-1
134-3
134-1
204/208
204/208
204/208
204/208
204/208
204/208
204/208/212/216
204/208/212/216
Grading Policy
Grades are determined based on scores obtained from the recitation (lab) assignments, other written
assignments, the written clinical question paper, and the 3 examinations. Final grades are based on
points achieved in the course. Grades will be posted on the course website via Blackboard. Students
should frequently check Blackboard for their grades and other course announcements. A traditional 10%
scale will be applied for grading purposes as follows:
≥90% = A (≥ 603 points)
80 – 89 = B (≥ 536 points)
70 – 79 = C (≥ 469 points)
60 – 69 = D (≥ 402 points)
<60
= Not a passing grade (<402 points)
There is no curve or rounding up of final grades in PHAR 455.
Students who disagree with a grade assigned on any assignment may submit the assignment in question
to the course coordinator for reevaluation within 5 days of the date of return of the graded
assignment. The entire assignment will be re-graded, and the resulting score (higher or lower) will be
final. Students will not be allowed to have assignments reevaluated at the end of the semester in order to
improve a final grade.
Plagiarism
Plagiarized assignments (including the clinical question paper assignment) will be given a grade
of zero. This includes any assignment where information is “cut and pasted” from electronic
resources.
Faculty are available to help you in understanding the concept of plagiarism and are more than happy to
answer any questions you have related to this topic. A lecture on writing skills/plagiarism will be
presented in PHAR 455 to further your understanding of the topic. Please consult the lecture schedule
for the date of this lecture.
Although some assignments are done in groups (such as the recitation assignments), each
student is responsible for completing and turning in their own assignment, unless otherwise
noted.
Writing Skills
The ability to convey information in a written format is an important and valuable skill. The Writing Center,
located on the east side of the Chicago campus in 105 Grant Hall, offers free tutors to aid students in
developing their writing skills. The phone number for the Writing Center is (312) 413-2206. More
information can be obtained by visiting the Writing Center website (www.uic.edu/depts/engl/writing)
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Points Available
Lab (recitation) assignments
100 points* (11 labs/recitation; 10 points each)
Summary of a drug
20 points
Article summary and critique
20 points
Journal club lecture assignment
10 points
Presenting your journal club
20 points
Clinical question paper
100 points
Exams #1 and #2
200 points (100 points each)
Final exam
200 points
Total points available
670 points
*There are 11 scheduled labs/recitations, each with an assignment; however, the lowest graded
assignment will be dropped to make the total possible points for lab/recitation 100.
Late Assignments
All recitation assignments must be turned in by hand the day they are due, usually at the end of recitation.
It will not be acceptable to email or fax your assignments to the faculty unless prearrangements have
been made with the course coordinators.
Failure to turn in any assignment by the end of recitation or by the date and time assigned (see Table) will
result in loss of points: 10% of the total possible points will be deducted for each day (including
Saturdays) an assignment is late, as listed below.
Following day: 10% off
2 days late:
20% off
3 days late:
30% off
4 days late:
40% off
5 days late:
50% off
6 to 9 days late: 60% – 90% off
We are aware that some factors are beyond our capability to control and that such factors could make the
completion of an assignment by the due date impossible. If such a situation is applicable to you, please
contact the course coordinator before the due date and your situation will be considered.
Missed Examination/Recitation
It is the student’s responsibility to contact the course coordinators via email only, no later than the day of,
but prior to the start time, of the recitation or exam that the student intends to miss. It is in the best
interest of the student to notify the course coordinators as soon as possible. Any absence for which a
student has failed to comply with this stated policy will be considered an unexcused absence, and the
student will receive a zero for that recitation or exam without the possibility of make-up. Students who
comply with this policy may be granted an excused absence, with the possibility of a make-up
assignment. The format and time of offering of any make-up exam or assignment will be at the discretion
of the instructor and course coordinator.
Attendance
Attendance in lecture is highly encouraged and expected. Not all lectures have PowerPoint slides to be
posted on blackboard; however, those that do have slides will be posted on blackboard.
Attendance in recitation is required. Students arriving more than 15 minutes late to a recitation
section, leaving before the recitation section ends, or attending a different recitation without prior
approval will be treated as an unexcused absence. The student will receive a zero for that recitation,
without the possibility of a make-up. It is not acceptable to obtain a copy of the recitation from students
who have completed it earlier in the week and attempt to turn in a completed copy at the beginning of the
recitation. This will be counted as an unexcused absence and given a grade of zero. Please do not
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schedule appointments during the required recitation sections; assume all recitations go until
4:20 pm.
Students must attend the recitation section to which they have been assigned. For excused absences
only, arrangements will be made with one of the course coordinators, prior to recitation, for the student
to make up the recitation session.
Pledge of Professionalism
The Pledge of Professionalism was designed to remind students what they should expect of each other in
terms of attitudes, ethical behavior, and academic honesty. The coordinator expects that all students
enrolled in PHAR 455 will use the Pledge as a guide to behavior within this course and all others.
Furthermore, the course coordinator reserves the right to fail any student enrolled in PHAR 455 that
demonstrates unprofessional behavior at any time. Professional behavior includes, but is not limited to,
timely attendance, sustained presence, active participation, and the maintenance of an appropriate
learning environment in the classroom, during recitation exercises, and all other course-related
experiences.
Cell Phones
The use of cell phones (including texting) during class and recitation is not only distracting to the
instructor, but also to your fellow students. Please silence all cell phones prior to the beginning of class.
Off-campus Meetings
Students who plan to attend off-campus meetings should contact the course coordinator through an
organization representative at least 4 weeks prior to the meeting. A list of the students’ names attending
the meeting should be given to the course coordinator. The course coordinator will work with the
organization representative to resolve how missed assignments, recitations, or exams will be handled. If
this procedure is not followed there is no guarantee that a satisfactory solution will be available.
Religious Observance Statement
The faculty of the University of Illinois at Chicago/Rockford shall make every effort to avoid scheduling
examinations or requiring that student projects be turned in or completed on religious holidays. Students
who wish to observe their religious holidays shall notify the faculty member by the 10th day of the
semester of the date when they will be absent unless the religious holiday is observed on or before the
10th day of the semester. In such cases, the student shall notify the faculty member at least 5 days in
advance of the date when he/she will be absent. The faculty member shall make every reasonable effort
to honor the request, not penalize the student for missing the class, and if an examination or project is
due during the absence, give the student an exam or assignment equivalent to the one completed by
those students in attendance. If the student feels aggrieved, he/she may request remedy through the
campus grievance procedures.
Special Needs
To obtain academic accommodations for this course, students with disabilities should contact the Office
of Disability Services and the course coordinator as soon as possible after the beginning of the semester.
The student will need to contact Disability Services at (312) 413-2183 (voice) or (312) 413-0123 (TTY).
For more information, visit the Office of Disability Services website
(http://www.uic.edu/depts/counselctr/disability/diswebpg.htm ).
Privacy Statement
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a
federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. This impacts you from the standpoint
of receiving graded assignments. In order for us to return graded assignments via your student
mailboxes, we are required to have your consent. If you do not wish to have your assignments returned
in this manner, you will have the option to pick up assignments from the course coordinators.
Class Schedule
The lecture and recitation schedules are attached to this syllabus. The course coordinator reserves the
right to make alterations in the lecture and recitation schedules. Furthermore, the course coordinator
reserves the right to alter the syllabus as needed.
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PHAR 455 Lecture & Lab Schedule Spring 2012
Date
Lectures
Faculty
Recitation/Labs
Mon, January 14
Introduction
Ellinger/Stachnik
Introduction/Summary of a drug and disease
state/Referencing assignment distributed
Wed, January 16
Survey of Tertiary References I
Gabay
Fri, January 18
Survey of Tertiary References II
Krueger
Mon, January 21
Dr. Martin Luther King Day Observance
No Class
Wed, January 23
Electronic Resources I
Rodriguez
Fri, January 25
Electronic Resources II
Rodriguez
Mon, January 28
Adverse Drug Reaction References
Ghaibi
Summary of a drug and disease state/Referencing due in lab
Wed, January 30
Drug Interaction References
Bryson
Electronic database (recitation)
Fri, February 1
Pregnancy & Lactation References
Tanzi
Mon, February 4
Application to Systematic Approach
Gabay
Wed, February 6
Introduction to Primary Literature
Mancuso
Fri, February 8
Secondary References
Ellinger
Mon, February 11
Clinical Trial Design I
Ellinger
Wed, February 13
Clinical Trial Design II
Ellinger
Fri, February 15
Medline/International Pharmaceutical Abstracts
Tanzi
Mon, February 18
Systematic Approach II
Ellinger
Wed, February 20
Introduction to Statistics
Tanzi
Fri, February 22
EXAM 1 (Material through 2/10)
Faculty
Writing Skills/Plagiarism/Clinical question paper
Clinical question paper assignment distributed
Ellinger
Week 1
Week 2
No labs
Week 3
Week 4
Tertiary references/Electronic databases
Week 5
Tertiary references/Electronic databases
Week 6
Medline/Answering a drug information question
Week 7
Mon, February 25
Medline/Answering a drug information questions
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Date
Lectures
Faculty
Recitation/Labs
Wed, February 27
Descriptive Statistics
Krueger
Fri, March 1
Randomization and Sampling
Ipema
Mon, March 4
Probability/Probability Distributions
Ipema
Wed, March 6
Confidence Intervals/Sample Size Determination
Rodriguez
Fri, March 8
Measures of comparative risk
Rodriguez
Mon, March 11
Hypothesis Testing
Pickard
Article summary and critique assignment due in lab
Wed, March 13
Inferential Statistics (T-test I)
Pickard
Distributions/Confidence intervals/Comparative risk
Fri, March 15
Inferential Statistics (T-test II)
Pickard
Mon, March 18
Inferential Statistics (ANOVA)
Stachnik
Wed, March 20
Inferential Statistics (Correlation/Regression)
Journal Club lecture (Literature Evaluation)
assignment distributed
Stachnik
Fri, March 22
Inferential Statistics (Correlation/Regression)
Stachnik
Spring Break
No Class
No Labs
Mon, April 1
Inferential Statistics (Chi-Square/Nonparametric)
Stachnik
ANOVA/Correlation/Regression
Wed, April 3
Literature Evaluation I
Tanzi
Fri, April 5
Literature Evaluation II
Journal Club assignment due in class
Ipema
Week 8
Descriptive statistics of a study
Article summary and critique assignment distributed
Week 9
Week 10
T-tests
Week 11
March 25-29
Week 12
9
Date
Lectures
Faculty
Recitation/Labs
Mon, April 8
Exam 2 (Material from 2/13 through 3/9)
Faculty
Chi-square/Nonparametric
Presenting your journal club assignment distributed
Wed, April 10
Literature Evaluation III
Tanzi/Ipema
Thurs, April 11
Clinical question paper Assignment due by 4pm
Fri, April 12
Evidence Based Medicine I
Ellinger
Mon, April 15
Meta-analysis
Stachnik
Wed, April 17
Medication Safety
Brake
Fri, April 19
Drug Policy Development
Paek
Mon, April 22
Informatics
Jain
Wed, April 24
Poison Information
TBD
Fri, April 26
Pharmacoeconomics
Byun
Mon, April 29
Medical Communications
Kay
Wed, May 1
TBD
Faculty/Panel
Fri, May 3
TBD
Faculty
Wed, May 8
Final Exam 11:30-1:30
Faculty
Week 13
Week 14
Literature Evaluation
Presenting your journal club assignment distributed
Week 15
Presenting Your Journal Club
Week 16
Presenting Your Journal Club
Chicago: room 134; Rockford: room E207b
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