USPharmacist.com > October 2011

Issue: October 2011 • Archive

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In This Edition		Featured Article		Featured CE
• Editor's Notebook • Counseling Pearls • It's the Law • Clinical Corner • Consult Your Pharmacist • Educational Spotlight • Quick Poll –Combination Drugs		Tendinitis: A Misnomer? Common causes of tendon pain rarely have an inflammatory component.		Pharmacists' Role When Plan A Fails: Patient Considerations in the Dispute Over Plan B and Emergency Contraception Beliefs aside, pharmacists should present a complete and accurate summary of available facts to their patients.

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Editor's Notebook

The New Vision of Pharmacy

Pharmacy practice has transformed into a more clinical and patient-centered role.

Counseling Pearls

Maintenance Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis

A multidisciplinary approach is essential, with a focus on the entire body rather than just the affected joint. The primary treatment goals are to provide symptomatic relief and reduce bone destruction.

Stress Ulcer Prophylaxis: The Consequences of Overuse and Misuse

Patient harm and increased costs result when acid-suppressive drugs are used in the non-ICU setting. Efforts should be made to critically assess this therapy in inpatients and to discontinue it whenever possible.

It's the Law

Legal Consequences of Social Networking

As health care professionals, pharmacists must be cautious when sharing information online.

Clinical Corner

Review of Selected NMEs 2011

Five new molecular entities (belimumab, ceftaroline, denosumab, eribulin, and tesamorelin) that were approved by the FDA in the past year are introduced and discussed

Therapeutic Agents in Osteosarcoma

Over the past 20 years, the survival rate of patients with this disease has essentially been static. Novel agents are being investigated to achieve a better therapeutic outcome and a reduction in adverse events.

Consult Your Pharmacist

Treating Burns in the Pharmacy

Pharmacists should follow the FDA's OTC review panel's determination of which burns may be self-treated.

Educational Spotlight

Iodine Nutrition and the Impact of Dietary Sodium Reduction

Iodine deficiency is a leading cause of preventable childhood brain damage and a serious public health problem.

Update on Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV

Recent changes to the treatment guidelines for these disorders are reviewed in detail.

Newswire

National Campaign Against PBM Abuse
New York, NY — Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency (PUTT), a newly formed coalition of pharmacists and pharmacy owners, is taking on pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) abuse, mandatory mail order, and other threats to the pharmacy profession. Currently numbering 500 members from more than 40 states, the fast-growing organization is launching a national campaign this fall to expose shady PBM practices and misinformation about prescription drug costs. “PBMs have been engaging in a misleading smear campaign against one of America's most trusted professions, the community pharmacist, for some time now,” said David Marley, an independent pharmacist and coalition member. “We decided it was time to set the record straight on who the real culprits are behind ever-increasing employer drug costs: the PBMs themselves.” PUTT invites pharmacists from all community-practice settings, independent and chain alike, to get involved. To learn more, send your name and e-mail address to rxdisclosure@gmail.com and visit TruthRX.org.

Gallipot Changing Name, but Keeping Brand Promise
Nashville, TN — Gallipot is changing its name to be consistent with its parent company, Fagron, which is the global one-stop shop for products and services for pharmaceutical compounding. The change will make the company the "leading, resourceful supplier in the United States—even better equipped to help pharmacists meet customer demands and capitalize on new market opportunities," said Gary Schneider, RPh, president of Gallipot. "Pharmacists will also gain greater access to more pharmaceutical resources, including expertise and supplies from around the world." Gallipot will officially become Fagron in November, along with the launch of its new Web site, www.fagron.us.

Hospital Superbug Deconstructed
Melbourne, Australia — An international team of scientists led by Monash University researchers has discovered how a common hospital bacterium becomes a deadly superbug that kills increasing numbers of patients worldwide and accounts for $3.2 billion annually in U.S. health care costs. The team has linked a naturally occurring mutation in the microorganism Clostridium difficile to severe, debilitating diarrhea in hospital patients undergoing antibiotic therapy. The antibiotics destroy the gut’s good bacteria, allowing C difficile to colonize the colon and cause tough-to-treat bowel infections. The mutation wipes out an inbuilt disease regulator, antisigma factor TcdC, producing hypervirulent C difficile strains that are resistant to antibiotics.