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New House bill focuses on Medicare drug price reduction
Dr. Abimbola Farinde PharmaceuticalThe rising costs of drug prices is an issue that many Americans have had to contend with for some time. The out-of-pocket costs that some Americans have to pay for medications can put them in situations where they have to decide between life's necessities or obtaining medications that have the potential to sustain or improve their health. Currently, there is a proposal in the U.S. House of Representatives that would seek to tackle rising drug prices, especially for those Americans who fall under Medicare Part D, Medicare’s long-existing prescription drug plan.
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Are cannabinoid products causing preventable blindness?
Dr. Denise A. Valenti PharmaceuticalAre users of cannabinoids slowly going blind and not knowing it? Cannabidiol has been shown to cause the transient glaucoma symptom of high eye pressure. Cannabidiol-CBD is the nonpsychoactive ingredient found in marijuana and hemp. There needs to be more research related to cannabinoids, including CBD. Not once, but twice, the media and the public have failed to notice research findings that CBD spikes the pressure of eyes in animals.
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What to make of the drop in pharmacy school enrollments
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalIn his excellent blog, Kevin Mero, the president of PharmacyWeek, detailed the latest data on pharmacy school enrollments…and for the first time ever, they are all down! The data come from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) website and refers to the latest information from 2017. Could this be the tipping point for the infusion of pharmacists into workforce? And what does a downward trend in pharmacy school enrollment mean?
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How to prepare family caregivers to give the best post-hospital care
Lisa Mulcahy Medical & Allied HealthcareMore than 40 million relatives in the U.S. provide unpaid care to chronically ill moms, dads, spouses, children and others, according to statistics from the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. Caregiving is a supremely selfless, medically complex and challenging task, yet there are ways to make the process easier for the family members who will undertake it. This piece will cover essential strategies for preparing your hospitalized patient's family member to become a confident and effective caregiver.
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Study suggests legal marijuana industry puts profit ahead of safety for…
Dr. Denise A. Valenti Medical & Allied HealthcareSeventy percent of women describing themselves as pregnant were advised to use marijuana as treatment when seeking advice from medicinal-marijuana and adult-use dispensaries in Colorado, according to a study published in Obstetrics and Gynecology released this month. Further, more than 30 percent of these women were told marijuana is safe to use during pregnancy. Marijuana is not recommended for use during pregnancy. While the evidence is mixed, there is indication of harm to a developing fetus.
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Transporting STEMI patients to specialized hospitals provides faster lifesaving…
Lynn Hetzler Healthcare AdministrationHeart attack patients living in states that allow direct transport to hospitals offering percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) receive lifesaving treatment sooner than do those in states where ambulances deliver patients to the nearest hospital, according to a new study. The study, published in the American Heart Association’s journal report, "Circulation: Cardiovascular Intervention," compares time to treatment in patients suffering from acute ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), which is the most severe manifestation of coronary artery disease.
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Use these strategies to improve communication with your patients
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationEven the most experienced physicians may find that relating to their patients constructively and positively can be a challenge. Maybe you're a doctor whose greatest strengths are academic, so you feel uncomfortable making small talk; maybe patients have told you that they have a hard time clearly understanding how you give diagnostic and treatment information. No worries: it's surprisingly easy to rethink the way you communicate with your patients, improve your clarity and strengthen your interpersonal skill set.
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FDA tries a new approach with guidance on opioid use disorder medications
Dr. Abimbola Farinde PharmaceuticalIn the United States, the opioid epidemic is recognized as a growing public health crisis that has been identified across all levels of socioeconomic status. Within the last 16 years, it is reported that more than 183,000 Americans have died as a result of prescription opioid overdoses. Members of the medical community and government officials have been attempting to develop strategies to curtail the rise of addictions and deaths related to the crisis. Recently, a new approach has been adopted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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Stigmatizing language in medical records might affect a patient’s…
Lynn Hetzler Medical & Allied HealthcareClinicians who use stigmatizing language in their patients’ medical records might be affecting the future care those patients receive, according to a new study. Healthcare disparities can prevent patients from getting the diagnostic and treatment services they need. Clinician bias plays a role in these healthcare disparities. When practitioners review notes and descriptions entered on previous visits, the language used in those notes might play a role in the treatment of that patient. Stigmatizing language may even affect how aggressively doctors manage that patient’s pain on subsequent encounters.
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Do oncologists have enough knowledge to prescribe medical marijuana?
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareAlthough 30 states and the District of Columbia now allow marijuana use for medical purposes, physicians are expected to guide patients through areas where most have little or no training. A recent study revealed that although most oncologists do not feel informed enough about medical marijuana’s use to make clinical recommendations, at least half still recommend the drug to their patients.
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