AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL INSTITUTE

Executive Summary

AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL INSTITUTE Director Robert Helms has resigned after a year-and-a-half as head of the APhA-affiliated think tank. The American Pharmaceutical Association does not have an official comment on Helms' departure or a possible replacement. However, the institute is understood to be experiencing funding difficulties. Helms was recruited to the institute in April 1989 after a number of years in HHS management positions with the Reagan Administration, culminating as Assistant Secretary for Planning and Administration. The institute was established by the pharmacy organization during Jack Schlegel's tenure at APhA as a policy group that would examine changes in the delivery and financing of health care. APhA initially identified the establishment of the think tank as a long-term objective. Association officers have said in the past that it would take four to seven years for the institute to get established and have an impact on pharmacy. However, the association may have cooled a bit toward the project.