Managing the Cost of Diabetes

This is of concern to health care providers because inadequate management of diabetes results in short- and long-term complications. Patients with diabetes and no health insurance have fewer physician visits and are prescribed fewer medications for management of their diabetes. Patients with diabetes make up 11.9% of all emergency department visits in the United States.Hispanic and non-Hispanic blacks are at greater risk for developing diabetes and serious associated health complications, including chronic kidney disease. This may be attributed to a combination of genetics, diet, and exercise. However, access to health care resources may also play an important role

Pneumonia Vaccines: Current Recommendations and Advocacy Opportunities

Despite the demonstrated efficacy of these vaccines, only 66.9% of adults over age 65 years have ever received a pneumonia vaccine. Given the consequences of acquiring pneumonia, there is both a need and an opportunity to improve vaccination rates. The pharmacist can play a valuable role in identifying high-risk patients, providing education on benefits and risks, and advocating for pneumonia vaccination when indicated

The Importance of Goal Setting: Why Every Pharmacist Should Make Goal Setting a Habit

But how many of us actually practice what we preach? We have pledged to apply our knowledge, experience, and skills to the best of our ability to assure optimal outcomes for our patients. As the pharmacy profession evolves, and as we train future generations of pharmacists, we have increased opportunities to expand our role and impact as a pharmacist. Goal setting is an important and valuable tool to support us in our personal and professional growth

The Power of Pharmacist-to-Pharmacist Handoffs During Transitions of Care

Hospital readmissions are often medication-related and potentially preventable. Pharmacists can play a vital role in improving medication outcomes during transitions of care (TOC). Although numerous TOC practice models have been described, it remains unclear what practices will promote optimal continuity of care

2018-2019 ACIP Immunization Updates: Highlights for Pharmacists

Vaccinations have significantly reduced the burden of infectious diseases, preventing almost 6 million deaths worldwide.1,2 In the United States, vaccines have led to a decrease in incidence of vaccine-preventable illness, mortality, and disease sequelae.3 Despite the proven benefit of vaccines, misinformation and failure to vaccinate has led to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. As of December 29, 2018, 372 cases of measles (from 17 outbreaks) and 2251 cases of mumps were reported in the United States in 2018.4,5 These outbreaks support the need for continued education of patients and active immunization by pharmacists

Earlier Identification of Medications Needing Prior Authorization Can Reduce Delays in Hospital Discharge

Based on our experience, there are no studies that evaluate delays due to discharge medications needing to undergo the PA process. Thus, in our pilot study, we both aim to define the scope of this problem by surveying resident physicians as well as provide an intervention to identify earlier medications that will need to undergo a PA process. Pharmacy-led interventions in processing PAs have resulted in a statistically significant benefit in improving time to PA approval, fill, and pickup.5 Therefore, in our intervention, we utilize a specialized \u27transitions of care\u27 (TOC) pharmacist to analyze the medications of patients who are predicted to be discharged and alert the medical team of potential medications that may need PA approval, with the intended effect that this process will start long before a patient is actually discharged

Shingrix Revaccination and Vaccination in Vulnerable Populations

Herpes zoster, also known as shingles, is a painful cutaneous eruption that develops following the reactivation of the varicella zoster virus (VZV), the same virus that causes chickenpox.1 About 1 in 3 people in the United States will develop shingles, with an estimated 1 million cases occurring annually. Anyone with a history of chickenpox is at risk for shingles, but the risk increases with age and in patients who are immunocompromised.

Reducing Medication Errors in Pneumonia Patients During Transitions of Care

Purpose: At Stanford Health Care, as part of a hospital-wide initiative to reduce pneumonia readmission rates, an interdisciplinary collaborative effort was created between physicians and transitions of care (ToC) pharmacists to optimize discharge planning and medication management for pneumonia patients. The purpose of this study was to describe the impact of the ToC pharmacist in identifying and reducing medication errors on discharge for pneumonia patients. Methodology: Retrospective chart review was conducted on patients discharged with a pneumonia diagnosis between December 2015 to Feb 2016. Patients were stratified based on whether they received ToC pharmacist medication review vs. standard of care. Errors were identified by comparing the patient discharge medication list to the physician discharge summary, home, and inpatient medication lists. Errors rates were compared and stratified by error type. Pharmacist interventions were quantified. Results: Of the 125 patients discharged with pneumonia, 69 patients received ToC pharmacist medication review, while 56 patients received standard of care. In the ToC intervention group, 6 errors were identified for 5 patients, which equates to an error rate of 7.2%. In the standard of care group, 85 medication errors were identified for 36 patients (64.3% error rate). The difference was statistically significant (P \u3c 0.0001) and corresponds to an 88.8% relative decrease. The most common error recorded was incorrect medication/dose/frequency. During this time, the ToC pharmacist had 71 documented interventions. Conclusions: ToC pharmacist interventions demonstrated a clinically and statistically significant decrease in medication discrepancies, as well as an increased rate of accuracy of the discharge medication list. Continued metrics and interventions are being collected to assess the impact of the ToC pharmacists on patient outcomes. Keywords: Transition

Medication Safety During Transitions of Care:The Importance of Checklists in Preventing Patient Harm

There is a need to optimize patient safety as patients navigate through the healthcare system. With each transition of care, patients are vulnerable to changes that may cause adverse effects, including changes in their healthcare team, health status, and medications. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) defines a transition of care as “the movement of a patient from one setting of care to another.” While the concept itself may seem simple, this definition fails to capture the many potential handoff complications which classify these transitions as high risk for patients. With 67% of patients facing unintended medication discrepancies in the hospital and more than 40% of medication reconciliation errors resulting from miscommunications in handoffs, medication safety has become a leading priority for patients and caregivers. The World Health Organization articulated the need to improve communication specifically during points of transition. Differences in communication styles, distracting environments, and the lack of standardization are the primary factors contributing to the 80% of medical errors resulting from transitional miscommunication

Addressing the Crisis: Leveraging the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to Prepare Student Leaders to Tackle the Opioid Epidemic

The United States faces several ongoing public health issues including the opioid epidemic. This article describes a new model aimed at providing a framework that incorporates the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to develop pharmacy student leaders through education, experiences, and development of critical skills. This holistic approach can serve as an example methodology to equip future leaders across public health domains to tackle many of the critical problems we face today