Dr. King's goal in publishing King Guide was to provide practitioners with a comprehensive, timely, and authoritative reference on parenteral admixtures. He designed King Guide so that updated information could be added easily to the original compilation of information. Beginning with the first year of publication, quarterly supplements have been an integral and valued feature of "his Guide". Quarterly supplements to King Guide are published to keep the contents up-to-date. Dr. King envisioned King Guide as the replacement for numerous compatibility charts that were in use in the 1960's. He viewed those compilations as inadequate in supporting the needs of practitioners seeking current compatibility and stability information about parenterals.
The initial body of information that was published as King Guide in 1971 was summarized by Dr. King from references one through twenty-four. Most of those initial references were recompilations of even earlier reports, so ascertaining the original sources was difficult. Therefore any unreferenced remark or notation in any of the monographs is derived from one of these first twenty-four references. All other data entries are individually referenced. Soon after the initial publication of King Guide , a number of pharmacists and nurses requested a mechanism whereby they could share their observations on extemporaneous parenteral admixtures.
Over the years, literally hundreds of practitioners have reported their observations to King Guide . These contributions to King Guide are recognized in the references as personal communications. These practitioners' willingness to share their experiences with us is greatly appreciated, and has added an important practical dimension to King Guide. When Dr. King retired in 1992, he asked Dr. Pat Catania to help him by serving as Contributing Editor.
The King Guide is now published by Dr. King's daughter, Elizabeth Hudnell, president of King Guide Publications, Inc. As King Guide approaches its fourth decade of usage by practitioners, Dr. Catania, and all of us at King Guide Publications will continue Dr. King's plan - to provide a comprehensive, timely, and authoritative reference on parenteral drug compatibility. Since 1992, the King Guide has been transformed into a reference available in just about every media. In addition to the original updateable loose-leaf edition, the King Guide is now available in Internet, Wall Chart formats. The King Guide is also available on other drug information resources as a licensed addition to create powerful all-in-one references
Dr. Catania is Editor of King® Guide to Parenteral Admixtures®, Vice President for Pharmacy Affairs for King Guide Publications, Inc., and Emeritus Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, University of the Pacific. In 2006, he was selected California Pharmacist of the Year by the California Society of Health-System Pharmacists. In 2005 he was honored as Pharmacist of the Year by the Central Valley Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Prior to his retirement in 2006, he served as Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Pacific. Prior to his appointment as a dean in 2000, he served as Chairman of the Department of Pharmacy Practice, a position that he held for over fifteen years. He began his career as a pharmacist in the 1960s, practicing in community and hospital settings in the Central Valley. He also has experience as a consultant pharmacist to nursing homes, and served as a member of an inpatient chronic pain treatment team in the 1980s. He accepted his first academic position at the University of the Pacific in 1970 as Instructor in Pharmaceutics, and holds the B.S. in Pharmacy, and two graduate degrees, M.S., and Ph.D., in Pharmaceutical Sciences from that institution. He authored or co-authored over 80 refereed research articles and abstracts, and has given over 100 invited papers and presentations. He received over $300,000 in grants, contracts, and awards in support of his scholarly activities. His initial research areas were drug delivery systems and parenteral admixture stability. His current research interests are in the areas of parenteral stability, practice issues and outcomes. He was co-author of two editions of Home Health Care Practice (©1986, 1994), which was the first textbook on home care for pharmacy. In 2000 he was a chapter author in the textbook for pharmacy students, Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy. In 2001, he co-authored two companion references to King Guide, Critical Care Admixtures and Antibiotic & Chemotherapy Admixtures. He is Contributing Editor for U.S. Pharmacist, and has written in the area of Home Health Care for this pharmacy practitioner journal. He served on the Editorial Review Committee for California Pharmacist, and is a reviewer for the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Hospital Pharmacy, and several other journals. He previously served as a member of the Editorial Review Board of The Consultant Pharmacist, and the Board of Review for Home Care Provider, a multidisciplinary practitioner journal. He has served as a member of the accreditation site team for the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. From 1991-2006 he was Conference Coordinator for the Western States Conference for Pharmacy Residents, Fellow, and Preceptors. This four-day conference provides pharmacy residents and fellows from the thirteen western states with a forum to present the results of their research. Over 700 practitioners from over 100 medical centers, health systems, and teaching hospitals in the West attend this conference, which is in its twenty-sixth year.