(Alexandria, Virginia – November 30, 2005) Dianne E. Tobias, PharmD, FASCP, president of Tobias Consulting Services, received the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) Berman Award during Senior Care Pharmacy ’05, ASCP’s 36th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, held November 7-12 in Boston.

The Richard S. Berman Service Award, named in honor of ASCP’s first president, has been conferred annually since 1979 to recognize a member of the Society who has made significant and sustained contributions to consultant pharmacy and the goals and activities of the association.
For 26 years, her practice has specialized in the area of geriatrics, long-term care pharmacy, and quality improvement. In fact, Tobias’ leadership in the field has made her name synonymous with "quality" in long-term care.

An ASCP member since 1985, Tobias is a past president of ASCP and has participated on numerous committees, councils and task forces over the years and has chaired the Nominating Committee and the Education Advisory Committee. In 2003, she chaired ASCP’s Executive Director Search Committee. Currently the Council of Presidents’ representative to the ASCP Foundation, she is a former Foundation Trustee, former Chair of the Planning Committee for Student Rotation in Geriatrics Program, and was an Advisor to the Foundation’s Executive Director Search Committee.

A Certified Geriatric Pharmacist, she received the George F. Archambault Award, the Society's highest honor, in 1995.

Widely published, she joined The Consultant Pharmacist Editorial Review Board in 1988 and since 1998 has been a member of the journal’s Editorial Advisory Board. She is a co-author of The MDS-Med Guide, a unique clinical tool to promote the integration of resident assessment data with monitoring of medication.

A contribution in Tobias’ name to the University of California, San Francisco, School of Pharmacy, to promote geriatric-related education for pharmacy students, was made by Merck, sponsor of the ASCP Berman Award.

The American Society of Consultant Pharmacists is the international professional association that provides leadership, education, advocacy, and resources to advance the practice of senior care pharmacy. Consultant pharmacists specializing in senior care pharmacy practice are essential participants in the health care system, recognized and valued for the practice of pharmaceutical care for the senior population and people with chronic illness. In their role as medication therapy experts, consultant pharmacists take responsibility for their patients’ medication-related needs; ensure that their patients’ medications are the most appropriate, the most effective, the safest possible, and are used correctly; and identify, resolve, and prevent medication-related problems that may interfere with the goals of therapy. ASCP’s 7,000 members manage and improve drug therapy and improve the quality of life of geriatric patients and other individuals residing in a variety of environments, including nursing facilities, subacute care and assisted living facilities, psychiatric hospitals, hospice programs, and in-home and community-based care.

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