ASHP 08: Alternative medicine journals may be more valuable than commonly thought
December 9th 2008Pharmacists shouldn't be so quick to disregard articles published in alternative medicine journals because the medicine is new or more "mystic" than traditional medicine, according to a study presented by Zara Risoldi-Cochrane, PharmD, resident at the Center for Drug Information and Evidence-based Practice, School of Pharmacy & Health Professions, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska.
ASHP 08: New antihypertensive drugs' place in therapy not yet known
December 9th 2008The niches that aliskiren and nebivolol, two newly approved therapies for hypertension, will occupy in the therapeutic armamentarium for hypertension remain unknown until more outcomes data are obtained with these agents, said Stuart T. Haines, PharmD, BCPS, FASHP, professor, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, in his discussion of new and emerging therapies for hypertension.
2009 could be busy year for pharmacy issues in state legislatures
December 9th 2008With the shifting political landscape in Congress and state legislatures across the nation, and an increased focus on health care, 2009 could be a busy year for pharmacy initiatives, according to Geralyn M. Trujillo, MPP, the director of state government affairs for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).
ASHP 08: Pharmacists debate diabetes testing, pharmacy education
December 9th 2008How best to help and test diabetes patients and which degrees should be required of pharmacy students were among the hot topics discussed at the Clinical Specialists and Scientists Networking?Primary Care and Pharmacotherapy Session.
Naranjo Questionnaire does not effectively address dietary supplements
December 9th 2008Dietary supplements can cloud a healthcare professional's ability to determine an adverse reaction using the existing Naranjo Questionnaire. That was the point Celtina Reinert, PharmD, pharmacist at Sastun Center of Integrative Health Care, Overland Park, Kansas, tried to enforce at a Tuesday session.
Osteoporosis treatment: The X factors - FRAX and DEXA
December 8th 2008Care of the patient with osteoporosis can begin in the inpatient setting, where pharmacists have an important role in treatment and prevention of fractures. There are things that the outpatient pharmacist can do as well, according to Mary Beth O'Connell, PharmD, BCPS, FASHP, FCCP, associate professor, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit.
Osteoporosis: Pharmacists can enhance prevention, treatment
December 8th 2008Pharmacists can educate patients and providers to help reduce the number and severity of osteoporotic fractures, says Mary Beth O'Connell, PharmD, BCPS, FASHP, FCCP, associate professor, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit.
C difficile cases present many challenges to pharmacists
December 8th 2008When dealing with Clostridium difficile infections in the healthcare setting, "if we don't do the right thing, patients die," said Rob Owens, PharmD, co-director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Maine Medical Center and assistant clinical professor at the University of Vermont, College of Medicine, at a talk on the diagnosis and treatment of C difficile.