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The role of pharmacists evolving in the team-based approach to medical care

Pharmacists can play an influential role in ensuring patient access to quality health care by both encouraging and enhancing patient medication adherence and increasing patient knowledge of their disease states and medication therapies.

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Poorer diets, weight gain associated to statin use

Patients who use statins are consuming more calories and fats than a decade earlier, increasing the risk of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, according to a study published online in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Pfizer keen on acquiring AstraZeneca

Pfizer said it offered to buy AstraZeneca for approximately $100 billion. If the deal materializes, it would represent the biggest-ever foreign takeover of a British business and allow Pfizer to pay a lower corporate tax rate of 20%, according to some reports.

Knowledge of MATs can help overcome challenges of opioid abuse

The biggest challenge in tackling opioid abuse is lack of awareness and understanding of addictive diseases generally and specifically opioid use disorders, as well as misinformation and negative perceptions of medication-assisted therapies (MATs), according to a recent opinion article published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Post-discharge pharmacist follow-up as important as pre-discharge med review

Pharmacists who contacted high-risk patients within 72 hours of discharge from Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, found more than half of the patients had medication-related issues. In a different group of high-risk patients who had received inpatient interventions, 35% of patients were found to have issues after a pharmacist reviewed their medications just prior to discharge, according to Laura Carr, PharmD.

Pharmacists manage stroke recovery more effective than nurses

Pharmacist-led care with prescribing authority substantially improved risk factors at 6 months among stroke survivors than nurse case managers who monitored patients and provided feedback to their primary care physicians, according to a report published in the Canadian Medical Association’s journal, CMAJ.

First HPV test for primary cervical cancer screening approved by FDA

FDA approved the first HPV DNA test for women aged 25 years and older that can be used alone to help a healthcare professional assess the need for a woman to undergo additional diagnostic testing for cervical cancer. The test also can offer information about the patient’s risk for developing cervical cancer in the future.

Quality initiative helps lower risk of bleeding, death after stroke

Implementation of a quality initiative has been linked to improvement in the time to treatment and a lower risk of in-hospital death, intracranial hemorrhage (bleeding in the brain), and an increase in the portion of patients discharged to their home, according to a study in the April 23/30 issue of JAMA.

Too many kids given codeine in ERs despite risks

Despite strong FDA warnings against its use in adolescents, a new study suggests that codeine is prescribed for children during at least 500,000 emergency room (ER) visits each year.

Payers seek new strategies in coordinating costs, management of specialty drugs

As specialty drugs become the standard of care for many complex diseases, they present unique challenges to payers, according to the 10th edition of the EMD Serono Specialty Digest. Specialty drugs can be delivered through various routes of administration (subcutaneous injection, intravenous, intramuscular injection, oral), all of which may have unique coverage criteria, patient cost share, clinical management, and patient access.

Timothy Grass Pollen Allergen Extract approved by FDA

FDA has approved the Timothy Grass Pollen Allergen Extract (Grastek, Merck) sublingual tablet as immunotherapy to treat grass pollen-induced allergic rhinitis with or without conjunctivitis in children as young as 5 years of age and adults up to the age of 65. The tablet is a new option for patients who decline allergy shots.

Telephonic MTM can benefit lower risk Medicare patients after hospital discharge

Low-risk Medicare patients entering home healthcare and receiving a telephonic medication therapy management (MTM) consultation by a pharmacist were three times less likely to be hospitalized within the next 2 months, while those at greater risk saw no benefit, according to a study in Health Services Research.

Drugs in Perspective: Farxiga (dapagliflozin)

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Antidiabetic drugs are considered to be first-line treatment options for individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. It is estimated that type 2 diabetes affects about 24 million persons in the United States. Over time high blood levels can lead to complications such as heart disease, kidney damage, or blindness.1 When it comes to the treatment of type 2 diabetes individuals have the option of using oral hypoglycemic agents, compared to individuals with type 1 diabetes that requires insulin therapy.

FDA approves Pradaxa for treatment, reduction in risk of recurrence of DVT, PE

FDA approved dabigatran etexilate mesylate (Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals) for treatment of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients who have been treated with a parenteral anticoagulant for 5 to 10 days, and to reduce the risk of recurrent DVT and PE in patients who have been previously treated.