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iPharmacist: Will robots take over the profession?
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalThe year is 2116 and Mr. Smith approaches the counter of his local ABC Pharmacy. There are no lines as he casually moves into one of the open booths and seats himself into a comfortable and private dispensing chamber. Air conditioned, with pleasant music playing in the background the cyber-pharmacy screen lights up as he is greeted by the video-pharmacist welcoming him to ABC. After tapping the screen to answer a few questions and inserting his driver’s license and credit card into the device, an on-screen pharmacist begins to address him personally.
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Pregnant women face another challenge this summer
Lynn Hetzler PharmaceuticalMost pregnant women and women of childbearing age are worried about the Zika virus this summer, but they also face another serious concern — a shortage of Bicillin L-A to treat syphilis. Caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum, syphilis was once on the verge of elimination but re-emerged as a health threat in 2001. The only recommended treatment for syphilis in pregnant women, Bicillin L-A, is now on back order due to a manufacturing delay.
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Hope on the horizon: Experimental antibiotic to treat deadly MRSA
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareMethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is caused by a type of staph bacteria that has become resistant to many of the antibiotics used to treat ordinary staph infections. Thus, treating MRSA has been a challenge for healthcare professionals.
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Teaching discipline in prescribing habits
Dr. Abimbola Farinde PharmaceuticalDrug abuse is regarded as a major health problem in the United States. Drug abuse and misuse lead to addiction, which can become a chronic disease if not immediately identified and steps are taken to achieve recovery. Drug abuse is defined as the use of prescription drugs in a manner outside of its intended purpose or the use of illicit drugs with no medical benefit. Drug abuse and addiction have become synonymous with one another, and the problem impacts a wide variety of individuals. Regardless of one's background, the abuse of a prescription or illicit drug can impact any individual who has access to these drugs.
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3 keys to planning your pharmacy career
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalPharmacists today have more career paths to choose from than ever before. Once upon a time, pharmacists simply picked from a hospital or retail job. But today is a different story. Upon graduation, a new PharmD stands at the doorsteps of literally dozens of diverse professional settings. There are targeted clinical opportunities in virtually every medical specialty. There are also jobs within managed care or pharma or community or consulting or technology — the list goes on and on.
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Senior population health: National data and state rankings
Christina Thielst Medical & Allied HealthcareAmerica's Health Rankings has released their 2016 Senior Report, an analysis of the 65-plus population's health on a state-by-state and national basis across 35 core and supplemental measures of health and wellness. The report is a resource for provider and communitywide planning and improvement activities — especially since the number of seniors is projected to increase by 49.5 percent by 2030 (from 49.4 million currently to approximately 73.8 million).
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Applying aviation risk factors to medicine
Mark Huber Medical & Allied HealthcareAviation and medicine have a lot in common. They both require the ability to master a body of knowledge and apply it in a disciplined way, to keep cool while working under pressure, and sometimes rapidly adapt to a changing environment. But can other lessons learned about behavior and performance in aviation be applied to medicine as a way to drive down incidences of malpractice? The answer appears to be yes.
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Pharmacy pro-choice bill fails in Colorado
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalThe pharmacy "pro-choice" movement — specifically the bill to allow consumers in Colorado to use the pharmacy of their choice — has been voted down by a Senate committee. The news comes as a relief to big PBMs and managed care businesses, as they claim the law would have prevented important negotiations that help reduce healthcare costs. But patients and many local community pharmacies were sorely disappointed as they will continue to be locked out of using their own preferred pharmacy by their health plan.
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Antibody discovery shows promise for developing HIV vaccine
Katina Hernandez Medical & Allied HealthcareScientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have made what could be a groundbreaking finding in the fight against HIV. While observing the immune response of an HIV-infected patient, researchers discovered a new antibody that targets a weak spot in the virus and stops it from binding with healthy cells. If scientists can figure out how to trigger the antibody to be produced in uninfected patients, a preventative vaccine could be developed, making this discovery a significant finding in the efforts to eradicate HIV and AIDS.
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Study: Shortages of emergency care drugs increasing
Chelsea Adams Medical & Allied HealthcareThe findings of an analysis published in the May issue of Health Affairs show that drugs vital to emergency care are increasingly short in supply, despite a 2012 law that allowed the Food and Drug Administration to respond to drug shortages.
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