The American Pharmaceutical Association continued its 20-year practice of separating the scientific and practice journals. In January 1961, the Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association Practical Pharmacy Edition was renamed the Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association, dropping the edition designation and once again restarting its volume numbering at 1, adding the designation NS to indicate the start of a new series. The lead editorial explained what the editors termed “the pharmaceutical complex,” consisting of more than 700 different associations and societies.⁺¹ The editor noted that although no one voice could speak for the entire complex that included regulatory, manufacturing, education, and other interests, there should be a single voice for those engaged in professional practice. The challenge to creating such a voice was the need to gain participation and build a communication system that could span the complex. The editor pledged to aid pharmacists in building such a system. As a starting point, the Journal published a comprehensive directory of every pharmacy organization on the national, state, and local levels and even a number of international groups.⁺² It was clear from the editorials during the first year that professional practice was to be the focal point for the Journal. For example, in November, the editorial warned that the pharmacist was turning into a “phantom” with decreasing contact with the patient, resulting in increasing loss of identity as a health care provider. The editorial went on to say that “no amount of bright lights, artistic fixtures, colorful paint and institutional advertising can replace the professional relationship between patient and pharmacist.”⁺³ Later that year, the Association started a bimonthly newsletter to communicate with members on a timelier basis.