Budgetary considerations in planning pharmacy continuing education programs.

Abstract

This article presents three years of financial data on pharmacy continuing education programs offered by a college of pharmacy. Forty-one programs were offered resulting in the generation of 35,702 instructional units of activity and 3028.8 CEUs. Total costs were $295,797.00 of which $125,822.00 was for direct costs. Income totaled $127,754.00. Costs and income per registrant, instructional unit, and program are presented, as are comparative data by program type for the three-year period. The total cost of one hour of programming for one participant was $8.29. Some thoughts on who should pay for the costs of CE for professionals are presented. Figures are discussed in light of situational factors influencing program delivery. Staff productivity was determined to be 11.7 programs per FTE or 13.7 programs per year. This last figure translated to serving 2,654 participants per year. Total income accounted for only 43.2 percent of total expenses. Increase in registration fees was suggested as one way to offset all expenses.