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  • © 2021

Ethics in Pharmacy Practice: A Practical Guide

  • The only textbook on pharmacy ethics that gives clear guidance to pharmacists and pharmacy students

  • Provides a normative approach to the ethics of pharmacy practice

  • Emphasizes critical thinking in ethics, based on foundational principles

  • Includes abundant clinical and policy case scenarios

  • Many additional teaching resources, including chapter review questions, suggestions for further reading, and a comprehensive glossary

  • Features a ‘Pandemic Update,’ with important ethical insights from the 2020-2021 worldwide coronavirus crisis

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Table of contents (14 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiv
  2. Introduction

    • Dennis M. Sullivan, Douglas C. Anderson, Justin W. Cole
    Pages 1-8
  3. Basic Ethical Theory

    • Dennis M. Sullivan, Douglas C. Anderson, Justin W. Cole
    Pages 9-25
  4. Human Value and Human Dignity

    • Dennis M. Sullivan, Douglas C. Anderson, Justin W. Cole
    Pages 27-35
  5. Clinical Ethics in Historical Context, Part I

    • Dennis M. Sullivan, Douglas C. Anderson, Justin W. Cole
    Pages 37-48
  6. Clinical Ethics in Historical Context, Part II

    • Dennis M. Sullivan, Douglas C. Anderson, Justin W. Cole
    Pages 49-61
  7. Clinical Ethics in Historical Context, Part III

    • Dennis M. Sullivan, Douglas C. Anderson, Justin W. Cole
    Pages 63-73
  8. Pharmacy Professionalism

    • Dennis M. Sullivan, Douglas C. Anderson, Justin W. Cole
    Pages 75-86
  9. Reproductive Ethics

    • Dennis M. Sullivan, Douglas C. Anderson, Justin W. Cole
    Pages 87-107
  10. Ethics at the End of Life – Part I

    • Dennis M. Sullivan, Douglas C. Anderson, Justin W. Cole
    Pages 109-123
  11. Ethics at the End of Life – Part II

    • Dennis M. Sullivan, Douglas C. Anderson, Justin W. Cole
    Pages 125-140
  12. Rights of Conscience

    • Dennis M. Sullivan, Douglas C. Anderson, Justin W. Cole
    Pages 141-150
  13. Vaccines, Resource Allocation, and Unproven Treatments

    • Dennis M. Sullivan, Douglas C. Anderson, Justin W. Cole
    Pages 151-174
  14. Case Studies and Policy Scenarios

    • Dennis M. Sullivan, Douglas C. Anderson, Justin W. Cole
    Pages 175-204
  15. Genetic Ethics and Other Cutting-Edge Issues

    • Dennis M. Sullivan, Douglas C. Anderson, Justin W. Cole
    Pages 205-219
  16. Back Matter

    Pages 221-234

About this book

This textbook offers a unique and accessible approach to ethical decision-making for practicing pharmacists and student pharmacists. Unlike other texts, it gives clear guidance based on the fundamental principles of moral philosophy, explaining them in simple language and illustrating them with abundant clinical examples and case studies. The strength of this text is in its emphasis on normative ethics and critical thinking, and that there is truly a best answer in the vast majority of cases, no matter how complex. The authors place high trust in a pharmacist’s moral judgment. This teaches the reader how to think, based on ethical principles, not necessarily what to think. This means navigating between the two extremes of overly theoretical and excessively prescriptive. The cogent framework given in this text uses the language of competing duties, identifying the moral principles at stake that create duties for the pharmacist. This is the balancing act of normative ethics, and of deciding which duties should prevail in a given clinical situation. This work presents a clear-cut pathway for resolving ethical dilemmas encountered by pharmacists, based on foundational principles and critical thinking.

Presents a clear-cut pathway for resolving the ethical dilemmas encountered by pharmacists, based on foundational principles and critical thinking.

Jon E. Sprague, RPh, PhD, Director of Science and Research for the Ohio Attorney General


Authors and Affiliations

  • School of Pharmacy, Cedarville University, Cedarville, USA

    Dennis M. Sullivan, Douglas C. Anderson, Justin W. Cole

About the authors

Dr. Dennis Sullivan is an emeritus professor of pharmacy practice at Cedarville University, Cedarville, Ohio. He received his MD from Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in 1978, after which he trained in general surgery, and served for two years of active duty in the U.S. Army at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Dr. Sullivan worked for twelve years as a medical missionary, providing surgical care in Haiti and in the Central African Republic. From 1996 to 2019, he was a member of the faculty at Cedarville University. In 2004, he received his MA in bioethics from Trinity Graduate School in Chicago. He has taught human biology, pharmacy ethics, and pharmacy law. He directed Cedarville University’s Center for Bioethics until his retirement in 2019. He still teaches part-time at Cedarville and at Wright State University, and serves as an academic ethicist on two Dayton area ethics committees.

Dr. Douglas C. Anderson Jr. is a professor of pharmacy practice at Cedarville University, Cedarville, Ohio, and a Clinical Pharmacist Specialist in Primary Care for the INTEGRIS Health System in Oklahoma City. He received his B.S. Pharmacy in 1988 and Pharm.D. in 1992, both from the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy. He has also completed a Pharmacy Practice (PGY1) Residency at St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City, and a Fellowship in Adult Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. As a clinician/scholar, Dr. Anderson’s areas of expertise include primary care/ambulatory care, anticoagulation and thromboembolic disorders, as well as cardiovascular risk reduction.

Dr. Cole is an assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Cedarville University, Cedarville, Ohio. He received his PharmD from Ohio Northern University in 2006. Dr. Cole worked for ten years as a pediatric pharmacist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. There he served as a clinical pharmacist, pharmacy educator, and clinical coordinator, overseeing both clinical and investigational drug services. He now teaches pediatrics and serves as chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice He also directs Cedarville University’s Center for Pharmacy Innovation.



Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Ethics in Pharmacy Practice: A Practical Guide

  • Authors: Dennis M. Sullivan, Douglas C. Anderson, Justin W. Cole

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72169-5

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-72168-8Published: 17 June 2021

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-72171-8Published: 18 June 2022

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-72169-5Published: 16 June 2021

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIV, 234

  • Number of Illustrations: 28 b/w illustrations, 2 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Bioethics, Pharmacy, Theory of Medicine/Bioethics

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access