Prelude to the Commission: The Intervening Years

We were charged with the task of reviewing the intervening period between the time of the Pharmaceutical Survey and the Study Commission on Pharmacy. The events of these years provide insights into the creation of the Study Commission. The Pharmaceutical Survey was initiated in 1947 under the sponsorship of the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education. Dr. Edward C. Elliott, President Emeritus of Purdue University, was chosen to be director of the survey. Under his dynamic leadership, and with the help of a staff of five assistants, a series of reports were published in 1948 and 1949 which became generally known as the “Elliott Report.” The Study Commission on Pharmacy was developed under the sponsorship of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy in 1973. John S. Millis, Chancellor Emeritus of Case Western Reserve University and Chairman of the National Fund for Medical Education, was named chair. The Study Commission became known as the “Millis Commission” and its final report, Pharmacists for the Future, was published in 1975. This chapter provides a synoptic review of activities during the period of 1948 and 1973 which, in our view, strongly influenced the creation of the Millis Commission.