COMMENTARY Clinical pharmacists and basic scientists: do patients and physicians need this collaboration? Amir H. Zargarzadeh • Susan Jacob • Roger S. Klotz • Fadi T. Khasawneh Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011 Abstract The aim of this commentary is to highlight the vital and beneficial role that pharmacists and inter-profes- sional collaborative practice play in patient care from the economic, humanistic, efficacy, and safety perspectives. Pharmacists, particularly those with an in-depth knowledge of the basic pharmaceutical sciences, recognize the need to collaborate with other healthcare professions and under- stand the importance of combining all of the components of their education into a well-rounded, comprehensive clinical practice. Indeed, there is ample evidence in the literature that pharmacists equipped with a solid foundation in basic pharmaceutical science, coupled with clinical knowledge and skills can, more effectively, contribute to pharmaco- therapy and patient care, particularly in a collaborative practice setting. Consequently, the burden on pharmacy education is to maintain its emphasis on the basic sciences while promoting the application of these sciences in clin- ical practice, in the Pharm. D. curriculum. This is a goal that can also be achieved through inter-professional edu- cational approaches. Keywords Basic science Á Clinical pharmacy Inter-professional education Á Pharmacy education Á Patient outcomes Impact on practice • Basic science is an integral part of pharmacy education and should be offered in a way to complement clinical sciences. • Pharmacists can be effective members of the health- care team especially when they can apply their basic science knowledge to clinical decision making and patient care. • Favorable humanistic and economic outcomes have been reported as the result of effective pharmacist interventions in the pharmacotherapy of patients. • Pharmacy educators face the constant challenge of balancing the basic and clinical science courses such that they not only complement but reinforce each other. • Clinical practice and basic science faculty have the responsibility of reinforcing the importance of basic science and its findings in pharmacy practice. • Inter-professional education is likely to shape not only the future of education, but also the practice of pharmacists and their collaboration with other health care professionals. Introduction Drug therapy has become more complex as more medica- tions enter into the market each year. While modern medications are highly effective, their very effectiveness provides potentially significant risks. This benefit and risk is further exacerbated by the increasing use of multiple medications to treat disease and by the presence of co- morbidities. In the United States (US), 82% of adults and 56% of children take at minimum one medication in any given week [1]. In fact, in 2009, the expenditure totaled A. H. Zargarzadeh Á F. T. Khasawneh (&) Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Western University of Health Sciences, 309 E. 2nd Street, Pomona, CA 91766, USA e-mail: Fkhasawneh@westernu.edu S. Jacob Á R. S. Klotz (&) Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration, College of Pharmacy, Western University of Health Sciences, 309 E. 2nd Street, Pomona, CA 91766, USA e-mail: rklotz@westernu.edu 123 Int J Clin Pharm (2011) 33:886–894 DOI 10.1007/s11096-011-9562-6