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Contact: Media Relations Officer
AAMC Press Room
Oct. 28-31, 2000, Hyatt Regency Chicago
312-565-4270, Skyway 261

Elisabeth J. Ross, 703/739-2330, Ext. 1024 LRoss@aacp.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AACP and AAMC Sign Historic Collaborative Agreement

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Washington, D.C., October 24, 2000 -- Alexandria, Va.-The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) formally announced the establishment of a new collaborative corporation called PharmMed Educational Services, Inc. (PharmMed). The founding of this new organization was marked by a signing ceremony on October 23, 2000 with AACP Executive Vice President, Richard P. Penna, Pharm.D., and AAMC President, Jordan J. Cohen, M.D.

The first initiative of PharmMed will be the development of a centralized application service for applicants to pharmacy colleges and schools. The service, known as the Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS), will allow applicants to use a single application and one set of materials to apply to multiple first professional pharmacy degree programs. PharmCAS will be based on the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS), a non-profit, centralized application processing service for applicants to the first-year entering classes at participating U.S. medical schools. The purpose of PharmCAS is to benefit pharmacy institutions and applicants in terms of facilitation of the admissions process, student recruitment, and data collection. PharmCAS is scheduled to begin accepting applications in the summer 2002 for enrollment in the fall 2003 term. PharmMed will launch the PharmCAS web site in 2001.

AACP and AAMC plan to develop other PharmMed products and services that serve both communities in the areas of faculty development, institutional research, and management tools.

"The medical and pharmaceutical professions, historically separate by royal and or legislative decrees, are finding occasions to collaborate in the care of patients. The same is true in medical and pharmaceutical education, " stated AACP Executive Vice President, Richard P. Penna. "Indeed, if the future health care system will demand close and enhanced cooperation among the health professions, it is imperative that their respective educational systems prepare students in collaborative and interdisciplinary care and practice. It follows then that the separation between medical and pharmaceutical education must close."

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PharmMed is an historic and unique cooperative venture between academic pharmacy and academic medicine. It is the first such collaborative effort of this magnitude in the United States.

Founded in 1900, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) is the national organization representing the interests of pharmaceutical education and educators. Comprising all 82 U.S. pharmacy colleges and schools including more than 4,000 faculty, 36,000 students enrolled in professional programs, and 3,600 individuals pursuing graduate study, AACP is committed to excellence in pharmaceutical education.

The Association of American Medical Colleges represents the 125 accredited U.S. medical schools; the 16 accredited Canadian medical schools; some 400 major teaching hospitals, including 74 Veterans Administration medical centers; 91 academic and professional societies representing nearly 88,000 faculty members; and the nation's 67,000 medical students and 102,000 residents.

Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals available at www.aamc.org/newsroom