Distance CE - Improving Members' Outcomes Across the Continuum of Diabetes: Assessing the Impact of New Measures, Technologies, and Benefit Design Strategies (120-01C)
Disease Focus of the Month - Alzheimer's Disease
This Month's Quick Poll - What do you believe will be the result of the recent FDA recommendation that common cough and cold medicines should never be given to infants and toddlers, and that children under 6 should not be given antihistamines?...
Last Month's Poll Result - Do you believe that the FDA's recent regulation on labeling of a sunscreen's UVA protections will benefit and direct purchases of the most effective product?...
Marketplace Feature - Natural Rx Brokers
Industry Headlines
FDA Announces Initiative to Bolster Generic Drug Program...,
Parents balk at banning cold drug: But...,
Walgreens plans walk-in clinics: The chain will...,
Attention Retail Pharmacy
To find out what's really important to your customers, go to www.PharmacySatisfaction.com for 24/7 access to customer satisfaction data, tools and tips.
The people who frequent local drug store, supermarket or mass merchandise pharmacies are in a restless mood. For the first time since 2002, consumers registered a modest but measurable decline in overall satisfaction.
That finding comes through loud and clear in the 2007 Pharmacy Satisfaction Digest from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals and WilsonRx®.
Why travel to conferences when the conference can come to you? RxSchool offers online Live CE on a monthly basis to accommodate the growing need for Live Continuing Education Credits. Inexpensive, easy to access, and excellent content all define the RxSchool Live experience. Go to our website and view the current schedule of CE available from RxSchool.
As pharmacists we should be fully aware of the history and development of laws and regulations which govern the safe practice of manufacturing and dispensing medications in the United States. Did you know that the1938 Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) actually was brought about by the deaths of 107 people who drank sulfanilamide Elixir which was mixed with diethylene glycol (car antifreeze)? In 1951 the Durham-Humphrey amendment went on to establish two main classes of drugs, namely, Rx and OTC'. Then in 1962, the Keafuver-Harris Amendments provided that drugs must be effective as well as safe. More recently in 1997, the FDA added one more caveat to be mix by stating that not only must all drugs be safe and effective, they must also be properly labeled.
Of course everyone knows that a lack of knowledge and/or of criminal intent provides no excuse in the eyes of the law. It is our responsibility as pharmacists to be fully knowledgeable regarding legal requirements and statutes governing the manufacture, distribution, labeling, prescribing and dispensing of medications. In fact, the FDA Controlled Substances Act clearly states that the responsibility for proper prescribing and dispensing of controlled substances is upon the prescriber, but a corresponding responsibility rests with the pharmacist who fills the prescription. "An order purported to be a prescription not in the usual course of professional treatment is not a prescription and the person knowingly filling it is subject to penalties under the Federal CSA."
This activity is for managed healthcare professionals with an interest in improving members' outcomes in diabetes through the appropriate use of new technologies and innovative benefit design strategies.
This lesson supported by:
Learning Objectives
After successfully completing this program, participants will be able to:
Describe current gaps in the management of diabetes in the US healthcare system, given current prevalence and epidemiologic data.
Define current standards of care for the management of diabetes, based on consensus recommendations from professional associations and societies.
Identify members who can be appropriately treated with new and emerging diabetes technologies and classes of medications.
Analyze the potential impact of novel pharmacy benefit designs in the area of diabetes management, given experiential data from a large employer.
ACPE Accreditation Information
BCME is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing pharmacy education (No. 799).
Disease Focus of the Month: Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that is most commonly found in adults over the age of 60. Although AD is very uncommon in younger people, there is a risk with family history of the disease. Current thinking is that several risk factor genes may interact with each other and with non-genetic factors to cause the disease. The disease initially involves the parts of the brain that control thought, memory and language and will lead to progressive cognitive degeneration and is believed to be the leading cause of dementia among older adults.
At first, the only clinically significant symptom may be mild forgetfulness, which can be confused with age-related memory change. As AD progresses forgetfulness begins to interfere with daily activities. In the middle stages of AD people forget how to do simple tasks, like brushing their teeth or combing their hair. Further disease progression leads to the inability to think clearly and the ability to recognize familiar people, love ones, and places. They begin to have problems speaking, understanding, reading, or writing. Later on, people with AD may become anxious or aggressive, or wander away from home, leading to the need for round the clock supervision and care. According to the "The MetLife Study of Alzheimer's Disease: The Caregiving Experience". MetLife Mature Market Institute ® (August 2006), direct and indirect costs of caring for an Alzheimer's patient average $77,500 per year. On average, AD patients live from 8 to 10 years after they are diagnosed, though some people may live with AD for as many as 20 years.
At this time there is no cure for AD, but there are medications that can offer some symptomatic benefits. For some people in the early and middle stages of the disease, donepezil (Aricept ®), rivastigmine (Exelon ®), or galantamine (Razadyne ®), may help prevent some symptoms from becoming worse for a limited time. Another drug, memantine (Namenda ®), has been approved to treat moderate to severe AD. Once again, it is important to note, these medications will not slow the progression of AD, but may provide some symptomatic benefits.
For more information about Alzheimer's Disease visit us at our Alzheimer's Disease page.
Polls
Last Month's Poll Results: Do you believe that the FDA's recent regulation on labeling of a sunscreen's UVA protections will benefit and direct purchases of the most effective product?
Yes, consumers now will be able to evaluate sunscreen on both UVB and UVA protection: 59.5%
No, consumers will continue to focus on SPF only: 40.5%
This Month's Poll
What do you believe will be the result of the recent FDA recommendation that common cough and cold medicines should never be given to infants and toddlers, and that children under 6 should not be given antihistamines?
Please take a moment to participate in our quick poll.
Quick Poll
What do you believe will be the result of the recent FDA recommendation that common cough and cold medicines should never be given to infants and toddlers, and that children under 6 should not be given antihistamines?
If you can't fill out the poll please click HERE to fill it out.
Marketplace Feature - Natural Rx Brokers
Natural Rx Brokers specializes in creating a bridge that paves the way to get natural health products into chain drug stores, regional and independent pharmacy markets.
We provide traditional and premium brokerage services that include:
Developing and presenting sales presentations to corporate buyers and category managers for product approval.
Placing products into distribution and setting up vendor direct ordering programs.
Consulting with pharmacists and buyers to identify natural product opportunities, including plan-o-grams, natural and organic sets and displays.
Creating store-level sales campaigns including employee training, consumer education, demos, product sampling, sell sheets, audit forms, floor displays, shelf tags, promotions and store flyer advertising.
Walgreens plans walk-in clinics: The chain will open facilities staffed by nurse practitioners at 6 of its 142 Central Florida drugstores this fall -- Read the entire article...
Congratulations, Maureen Schoen, who will receive a Palm Pilot courtesy of Pharmacy Choice. Remember, to be eligible for our monthly drawing, all you have to do is refer a friend to us, forward this newsletter, take one of our short surveys or take the new Needs Assessment Survey viewable when you login at RxSchool. Please login to participate in one of our career surveys.
Coming Soon
Live CE:
Tools and Techniques for Diabetes Care
The Common Cold: An Update on Treatment and Prophylaxis for Pharmacists
Medication Errors Part I: Analyzing the Risks & Starting the Process
Medication Errors Part II: Implementing a System of CQI
Insulin Pump Therapy: Moving Ahead of the Curve
Understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and its Treatment
Medications and Nutritional Supplements for the Maturing Woman: It's All About Choices
Distance CE:
Complementary and Adjunctive Medicines (CAM) Used to Treat Diabetes Mellitus
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