Paul Wynn

Pharmacists at one of the nation's largest military medical centers found that elderly patients are likelier to comply with drug regimens following a program of patient education, pharmacy counseling, and specially packaged drug blisterpacks. Jeannie Lee, Pharm.D., and Karen Grace, Pharm.D., clinical pharmacists at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, led the research. "The Federal Study of Adherence to Medications in the Elderly" (FAME) was published in the Dec. 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Community R.Ph.s could face a friendlier climate in Congress with Democrats having won the majority of both houses during the mid-term elections. Democrats will now take control of Congressional committees responsible for key pieces of healthcare legislation and financing.

Predictions of a revolt against Republicans at the ballot box did not deter Mike Barrett, R.Ph., from running for the House of Representatives. Barrett, a pharmacist at a 34-bed hospital, challenged eight-term Democrat Collin Petersen to represent northwestern Minnesota. "Many people have told me that it is probably not a good year to be a Republican, but my district is almost evenly split between both parties with about 10% undecided," said Barrett, pharmacy manager at Long Prairie Memorial Hospital and Home.

More than 85 years after the discovery of insulin, patients will have a new alternative to injectable insulin. After years of testing, and doubt from the medical community that it would ever work, inhaled insulin (Exubera, Pfizer/Nektar) began arriving on pharmacy shelves in late August.

Diabetes is associated with an increased risk for a number of serious complications, but the most dreaded among men-and least talked about-is erectile dysfunction.

While electronic prescriptions offer many benefits over handwritten orders, some independent pharmacies still balk at adopting this new technology. Some say learning the new technology will pose an obstacle, while others are concerned about verification of who is sending the electronic Rx, as well as the additional costs associated with e-prescribing.