The undergraduate degree in pharmacy will not be offered at Ohio State after 1999. Instead, there will be two new programs: a doctorate of pharmacy (Pharm.D), which is a four-year graduate/professional program, and a bachelor of science in the pharmaceutical science (BSPS), said Ken Hale, assistant dean of the College of Pharmacy.”This is a new curriculum from ground zero,” he said.Students with any undergraduate degree are eligible to enroll in the graduate program. A student with BSPS cannot practice as a licensed pharmacist, Hale said.The change in the Ohio State’s Pharmacy programs reflects a national change.”It’s becoming more of a patient focus to pharmacy practice,” Hale said. “The pharmacists are doing more than just dispensing medications.”There are 16 states where pharmacists already have prescribing authority, Hale said.”Ohio has legislation in the State Legislature that would provide pharmacists to monitor drug therapy based on a consult relationship with a physician,” Hale said.Basically, pharmacists would become more interactive with the patients, making sure they are using the medication properly and that the outcomes are effective, Hale said.He said $100 billion a year is spent on “drug misadventury,” the improper use of prescription medicine. He said there is a serious need to help people use medication better to get better outcomes and reduce the cost.Hale said change is also in response to the change in accreditation standards by the American Council on Pharmacy Education.Another reason the actual program is moving from an undergraduate degree to a “true graduate-professional program” is due to the fact that of the 79 schools in the United States that offer a degree in pharmacy, only six will not offer the entry-level doctorate program after the year 1999, Hale said.”The trend is moving toward a professional program; to be a pharmacist in the 21st century, you’ll need a Pharm.D,” Hale said.Hale said the OSU College of Pharmacy is research based and there is a new and growing field in pharmacology. Pharmacologists research how drugs react on the body and develop new drug products and regimens.