Viewpoints

Pharmacists are in a unique position to educate patients on how to decrease their cardiovascular risk.

Do North Carolina pharmacists REALLY want to work 14 hours straight? If so, that's some work ethic.

Pharmacy practice may be changing on many levels, but this pharmacist's vivid word-pictures remind us that some basic issues have never gone away.

On May 11, U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin and National Consumers League launched "Script your Future," a 3-year national campaign to improve medication adherence. It is the responsibility of all pharmacists to support this campaign.

Want to make sure you get medication therapy management when you need it? Be very good friends with a pharmacist.

What matters most in life is what you do next.

In our profession, the entry-level degree is now Doctor of Pharmacy. In spite of this, we have missed many opportunities to propel our profession forward.

A pharmacy student who works in a retail pharmacy and has completed several clinical and community rotations has not seen wide implementation of MTM at any level.

NEW: In View from the Zoo, David Stanley launches his monthly column with a 21st century Catch-22.

While the U.S. population is expected to increase 12.6% between 2000 and 2013, the number of pharmacy school graduates will come close to doubling. The oversupply of pharmacists is already having a drastic effect on student debt, job prospects, and wages. The time to halt the proliferation of pharmacy schools has come.

Only 5 years ago, all they heard was "pharmacist shortage, great jobs, great benefits, great pay." Now the opportunities pharmacy students dreamed about when they began school in 2007 are no longer available.

A young pharmacist recounts his experience of volunteering in Haiti after the earthquake.

Wide-scale pill-splitting as a cost-containing measure is practiced by such large healthcare systems as the West Coast VA, Kaiser, and United Healthcare. The practice may serve the bottom line. But does it serve the patients?

As long as pharmacists work in such understaffed conditions, the repeated promise of more time spent with the patient will never be a reality.

Depression is a disease like any other. The pharmacist's task is to keep depression patients educated about their disease and their medications, and to stress the importance of adherence to medication. But before that, depression screening may be Job 1.

We do not usually think of courage as a part of a pharmacist's ethical duties, but it is, and it is one that is sometimes the most difficult to practice.

Using social media to promote their businesses can give independent pharmacy owners the competitive edge.

As a counter-detailer, Mark Greg meets with physicians to encourage use of generic over brand-name medications in medically appropriate circumstances. He's a pharmacy rep's worst nightmare.

A letter about Walgreens' POWER program gets David Stanley asking questions.

The skepticism of modern medicine toward the placebo effect has kept a study proving its validity hidden in the shadows of medical research instead of giving it the attention it deserves.

Until recently, none of our education systems has been preparing healthcare professionals for teamwork. That is beginning to change. While more remains to be done, we must look to a future characterized by high-functioning interprofessional teams in all practice settings.

A retired chain pharmacist reflects on the downside of a culture that values efficiency above all.

An American PharmD candidate describes his trip to Istanbul, Turkey, where he was fascinated by the similarities and differences of pharmacy practice conducted among people of different culture, beliefs, and expectations.

In response to a Drug Topics column that viewed e-tracking as the solution to illegal methamphetamine use, a law-enforcement veteran speaks out about the drawbacks connected with e-tracking systems.

The states that are looking for ways to stop illegal sales of pseudoephedrine should be commended. But a prescription requirement for cold and allergy medications that customers rely on every day is bad public policy that will have an unnecessary impact on many patients.

Under the federal Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is classified as Schedule I, a definition that gives it a high potential for abuse, with no current safe or medical use. Meanwhile, in 14 states, patients have access to medical marijuana upon physican recommendation.

This issue is a milestone for Drug Topics, with the publication of the 200th column by Jim Plagakis to appear under the heading "JP at Large."

Despite the barriers to provision of MTM that exist for pharmacists, figuring out a way to do it is our professional obligation.