Health System

Authors discuss what steps must be taken to achieve ASHP's 2015 Initiative, which sets down goals to advance patient care and pharmacy practice

Most Americans probably never gave tuberculosis (TB) a passing thought until a case of extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR TB) recently made national headlines. An American with XDR TB traveled from the United States to Europe and back in May, potentially exposing hundreds of fellow travelers to the disease. Since then, national public concern about TB has ballooned.

Hospital pharmacists involved in Medicare reimbursement will have to think twice when purchasing drugs for their pharmacy departments. CMS has announced a separate, and a reportedly more accurate payment structure for single source and biologic drugs.

After more than two years of collaborative effort, national quality measures for breast and colon cancer treatment are now in place. The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, working with two other professional organizations, recently received endorsement from the National Quality Forum for the first nationally recognized hospital-based performance measures for breast and colorectal cancer.

In proposed legislation that could save millions of taxpayer dollars in drug costs, the U.S. Senate is considering extending current 340B program discounts to include inpatients.

Changes in the health-care workplace environment have put an increased emphasis on the importance of leadership skills to help address this challenge.

Your smart infusion pumps-are they winners or also-rans? One of the first head-to-head technology comparisons by third-party consultants has some answers. Cardinal's Alaris system got top marks from leaders in pharmacy, nursing, information technology (IT), and other hospital departments. Out of a possible 100 points, Alaris got 89.8 for product technology, vendor service, product performance, business impact, and percentage of positive user comments. B. Braun's Outlook system came in second with 88.3, followed by Hospira's Plum A+/ MedNet at 85.9. Baxter's COLLEAGUE system ended a distant fourth at 61.2. Sigma missed the race entirely.

ASHP has released ResiTrak, a Web-based tool expected to enhance the mentoring of pharmacy residents enrolled in their residency learning system while facilitating the administrative process for preceptors and program directors.

The move toward all-electronic health records is gathering momentum and support. Just over 38% of U.S. hospitals now use EHRs, according to a recent survey conducted by ASHP, up 31% in 2007. In hospitals that use EHRs, 94% of pharmacies have access to patient records.

An interim action that the Joint Commission initially viewed as a relief to hospitals regarding the timeline for pharmacists' review of emergency department medication orders was suspended after 14 weeks because the accrediting organization realized it had instead created a huge burden.

Causes and treatment for repeat nocturnia

R.Ph.s are making an impact on treating metabolic syndrome by paying attention to the differences between antipsychotics

In an effort to keep pace with advances in the management of infectious complications in immunosuppressed cancer patients who are hospitalized, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network has released updated guidelines for the prevention and treatment of cancer-related infections.

New guidelines for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke continue to endorse the use of intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator while now including recommendations for palliative care.

Doctors are hopeful that a new treatment using patients' own cells to treat prostate cancer will be approved by the FDA, although the approval has been delayed. Patient cells may trigger immune response that will fight cancer cells.

A new electronic system helps emergency departments circumvent drug diversion

Preventing and treating pneumonia in critically ill patients.

Responding to hospital customers' demand for environmentally friendly products, the major intravenous container manufacturers are going "green." Hospira Inc., Baxter Healthcare, and B. Braun Medical are shipping more and more containers made from PVC (polyvinyl chloride)- and DEHP (di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate)-free materials.

The FDA recently approved temsirolimus (Torisel, Wyeth) for the treatment of advanced kidney cancer.

For decades, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) ws considere the answer not only to hot flashes but to a woman's long-term health. In July 2002, millions of women abruptly discontinued HRT.

The combination of doxorubicin HCl liposome injection (Doxil, Ortho Biotech) and bortezomib (Velcade, Millennium/Johnson & Johnson) has been granted FDA approval for treating patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior therapy but have not received earlier treatment with bortezomib.

A new boxed warning has been added to the labeling for five gadolinium-based contrast agents used to improve the visibility of internal structures during MRI scans. This came after the FDA received reports of the risk of developing nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF), a potentially fatal disease causing thickening of the skin and connective tissues that inhibits their movement.

Home Diagnostics has launched TrackRecord Data Management Software, an electronic diabetes management system. The system is designed for use with Home Diagnostics' blood glucose meters and will enable people with diabetes and healthcare professionals who treat them to better understand how various lifestyle and behavior choices impact blood glucose levels.

Changes have been made to the prescribing information for deferasirox (Exjade, Novartis) following postmarketing reports of acute renal failure and cytopenias, including agranulocytosis, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia.

New immunosuppressive regimens that combine Certican and low-dose Neoral to preverse renal function following heart transplants and Viagra to lower pulmonary arterial heypertension are coming soon to hospitals.

Updated studies show that the greater use of life-enhancing highly active antiretroviral therapy, the more reports proliferate of unusal side effects, including lipodystrophy, lactic acidosis, insulin resistance, and recently, male osteoporosis.

Women have more birth control choices than ever before. Oral contraceptives are vastly different from the pills that hit the market 40 years ago. New forms of contraception such as Plan B are gaining in popularity.

For decades, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) ws considere the answer not only to hot flashes but to a woman's long-term health. In July 2002, millions of women abruptly discontinued HRT.

Breast cancer is in transition-from an acute disease that killed quickly to a chronic disease that can be managed, much like diabetes or heart disease.

Faced with ongoing neglect and misunderstanding about cardiovascular disease and women, the American Heart Association has chnaged its approach.