College of Pharmacy
Department Office: SRB 4320, Skaggs Research Building
Phone: 801-581-5984
Chair: Daniel M. Witt, PharmD, FCCP, BCPS
The University of Utah was the first American university to form a full academic department of Pharmacy Practice. In 1977, the programs in:
clinical pharmacy
hospital pharmacy
pharmacy administration
nuclear pharmacy
That were then distributed among other departments in the College of Pharmacy were unified in the newly designated Department. All pharmaceutical practice and practice-related research at the University was then integrated into the new academic department. The majority of colleges of pharmacy in the nation have now established departments of pharmacotherapy. In 2005, the name of the Department was changed to Pharmacotherapy to better reflect the range of activity of the Faculty.
From its inception, the Department developed innovative and highly regarded programs leading to:
accreditation of a Residency in Pharmacy Practice at University Hospital in 1979;
the largest radiopharmacy in the Intermountain West;
an integrated MS, MBA, and residency program in institutional practice management;
MS degree program in pharmacy administration, and one of the most highly acclaimed post-baccalaureate Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programs in the country.
With the nation-wide change to the PharmD as the entry level degree for pharmacy in recent years, the Department has continued its pioneering activities in the development of advanced residencies in specialized areas of pharmacy practice in collaboration with the Department of Pharmacy Services at University Hospitals and Clinics, development of post doctoral research fellowships in a range of clinical and scientific disciplines, expansion of both the University Hospitals and Clinics Drug Information Center and the Utah Poison Control Center, and most recently, the development of the Pharmacotherapy Outcomes Research Center that focuses on pharmacoeconomics and health-related quality of life outcomes of pharmacotherapy.