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.
Antidepressants still have a viable role in treatment
December 8th 2008Steve Stoner, PharmD, BCPP, chair and clinical professor of the Division of Pharmacy Practice University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy, presented data on suicidality. The data came from various studies done throughout the United States. He used the data to help give some perspective as to where the country is in comparison to other countries and to identify common risk factors associated with the use of antidepressants and increased suicidal behavior and ideation.
ASHP 08: Jorgenson receives ASHP leadership award
December 8th 2008James A. Jorgenson, MS, FASHP, executive director of Clarian Health Partners Department of Pharmacy Services in Indiana, received the Distinguished Leadership Award during the opening session of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) clinical meeting in Orlando, Fla.
ASHP 08: Novant receives ASHP's medication safety award
December 8th 2008Novant Health, a not-for-profit healthcare system based in Winston Salem, NC, received the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists' 2008 Award for Excellence in Medication-Use Safety for an innovative program that significantly reduced adverse drug events and hospital admissions.
ASHP 08: APP Pharmaceuticals launches heparin safety site
December 7th 2008APP Pharmaceuticals, right now the only supplier of heparin sodium vials in the U.S. market, has launched a safety web site to help healthcare officials reduce heparin-related medication errors and implement 2009 Joint Commission requirements.
ASHP 08 Survey: Technology use in hospital pharmacies increasing
December 7th 2008In an attempt to reduce medication errors and adverse drug events and to provide pharmacists with more time for patient counseling, health-system pharmacies are increasingly adopting health information technology, according to a first-of-its-kind survey by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).
ASHP 08: Insulin safety in transitions of care
December 7th 2008According to Sandra Leal, PharmD, CDE, clinical pharmacy supervisor, El Rio Health Center, Tucson, and president, American Association of Clinicians for the Underserved, also in Tucson, "We see patients who are leaving the ER and going to the pharmacy and then coming to us." She notes that many of these patients don't know how to self-manage their insulin and diabetes.
ASHP 08: Organizational challenges to insulin safety: it's not just a pharmacy problem
December 7th 2008In this forum, Frank A. Federico, RPh, content director for the 5 Million Lives campaign being conducted by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, opened by asking the question: "What keeps you up at night when it comes to insulin safety?"
ASHP 08: HRSA medication safety collaborative reports positive outcomes
December 7th 2008Pharmacists and healthcare organizations involved in the Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)'s Patient Safety and Pharmacy Services Collaborative are already seeing positive results in reducing medication errors and reconciling medications, according to early outcomes presented on Sunday.