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Pharmacists hope to speed approvals of off-label medication uses

Disposal of unused medications and other controlled substances is an expensive logistical challenge. Pouring controlled substances into sewer systems is harmful. Incineration costs are prohibitive.

Pharmacists 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.

The 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.

As the FDA issues more medication safety alerts, hospitals are stepping up the ways they quickly get that information out to pharmacists, doctors, and patients.

With 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).

How 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.

Dietary 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.

Edward G. Tessier, PharmD, reported on a study he conducted with colleagues in Massachusetts to create a nurse-friendly medication reconciliation process, with the goal of standardized data-gathering and improved patient safety. Dr. Tessier, clinical pharmacist, Baystate Franklin Medical Center, Greenfield, Massachusetts, said that pharmacists can help nurses with this task by focusing on the basics.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did its best Tuesday to extend an olive branch to pharmacists who struggle to maneuver around its web site to find information from the Division of Drug Information (DDI).

Care 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.

There is still confusion over the amount of information manufacturers should include on medication barcodes, and some are not in compliance with FDA rules on barcodes, according to a new preliminary study.

Pharmacists 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.

When 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.

A multifaceted pharmacy intervention improves medication adherence in seniors, according to Jeannie Kim Lee, PharmD.

Julie Dopheide, PharmD, associate professor of clinical pharmacy at the University of Southern California, describes treatment options for major depression here.

Steve 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.

James 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.

Novant 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.

Drug Topics 360 Network

APP 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.

In 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).

According 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.

In 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?"

Pharmacists 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.

According to Stuart Levine, PharmD, an informatics specialist with the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) in Horsham, Pennsylvania, although a hospital may not have a defined pediatric program, every hospital provides pediatric care. "If a child comes into your ER because of a car wreck, for example, you will be treating that child," Dr. Levine said.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) kicked off its 43rd annual midyear clinical meeting on Sunday with the announcement that the organization has received the 2008 Award for Excellence in Medication-Use Safety

The American Society of Consultant Pharmacists recently filed comments regarding implementation of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act Section 172