Blogs - ASHP Connect

Identification of Vulnerable Areas of High COVID-19 Mortality Risk: A new public health policy brief

By Neil MacKinnon posted 3 days ago

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PublicHealthPolicyBrief2GHAGMay2020FINAL.pdf Attached is our latest public health policy brief. Our analysis focuses primarily on the state of Ohio. The aims of our analyses are to identify: 1) counties at high risk of COVID-19 related mortality, and 2) counties with a high mortality risk and a low healthcare capacity in Ohio

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ASHP Launches New Section of Pharmacy Educators and Continues to Advocate for Pharmacists During the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Paul Abramowitz posted 9 days ago

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Dear Colleagues, As you know, ASHP staff and members have been working tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic to support our members and all healthcare providers to enhance the safe use of medications, deliver quality care, and enhance patient outcomes. This work has served as continued reinforcement of our long-standing commitment to supporting pharmacists across the continuum of care and elevating the vital role that pharmacists play as patient care providers. In our 78-year history, we have continually supported heightened standards and training for pharmacy professionals regardless of practice setting. In this vein, I am pleased to share that the ASHP ...

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How are you doing today?

By Margaret Kronz posted 9 days ago

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I will wrap up with a personal story. During my final year of school, I was on an APPE rotation that was considerably less demanding than my previous rotations and years in school had been. That gave time for many of the feelings I had been suppressing to surface. I felt stressed, and I was frustrated at myself for being so stressed over a rotation that shouldn’t be stressful. The physical symptoms of stress that I began experiencing led me to make an appointment at my doctor’s office. I met with the nurse first. She asked me what was going on, and I explained that I felt anxious. She laughed aloud and said, “Yeah, I think everyone is anxious nowadays.” This ...

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Books for Mental Health

By Margaret Kronz posted 10 days ago

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School has made reading for pleasure tough for many of us, but there are so many great resources out there to help create better wellbeing. See our suggestions below: For the person who hasn’t picked up a book since English class: Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist For the person who feels trapped in their own thoughts: Hayes, Steven. Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life For an interactive book that keeps you at the center: Harris, Russ. The Happiness Trap Eurich, Tasha. Insight For the life-long learner who wants a heavier behavioral economics book that will teach you something on every page: Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking ...

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Podcasts for Mental Health

By Margaret Kronz posted 11 days ago

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Podcasts are a great way to switch gears during a commute or to destress while cooking or cleaning at home. These podcasts have been highly recommended by friends or sources online. Listening to people speak on mental health is a great start, but if you want to start your own conversation, head to Psychology Today to find someone to talk to in your area or online. The APA anxiety topic page and the APA depression topic page are also great sources of information. If you are looking for something for your commute tomorrow, scroll through to find your perfect podcast match for what you need. For the once-a-month lighthearted pick-me-up: The Struggle ...

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Everyday tips to manage depression and anxiety

By Margaret Kronz posted 12 days ago

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As described yesterday, recognizing that you are experiencing these symptoms is a great first step. The next step is what are you going to do about it? The most common stress management techniques in the United States are exercising, going online, watching TV, spending time with friends or family, reading, praying, and eating. For many people, the greatest challenges are finding time for stress management in our already busy schedules to engage in activities that truly reduce the feelings of stress, depression, or anxiety. We will expand on our recommendations for handling these feelings throughout the week, but here are some great places to start: For ...

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TEFCA: Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (part 2)

By Hesham Mourad posted 13 days ago

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The first blog about TEFCA provided information about its three parts. This blog will provide further details about the three parts, and highlight some of the comments submitted to ONC. Three Parts to TEFCA Part one: The Trusted Exchange Framework (TEF) The Trusted Exchange Framework (TEF) describes a common set of principles that facilitate trust between health information networks (HINs). These principles serve as “rules of the road” for nationwide electronic health information exchange. Broad adherence to these principles will minimize variation in technical and legal policies that restrict the secure flow of electronic health information ...

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You are not alone – depression and anxiety in the pharmacist community

By Margaret Kronz posted 13 days ago

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If you are in a room of ten working Americans, it is likely that eight of them have been recently stressed. In the busy world of healthcare anxiety, depression, and burnout can happen. The existing stigma behind mental health creates a barrier for professionals to seek help. To help reduce this stigma, it may be helpful to consider mental health in another way. For example, another way to think about coping with depression is “dealing with stress from the past” and think about anxiety in terms of “worries about the future.” Watch out for these types of feelings - the first step to better mental health is awareness of where you are now. If you feel these feelings ...

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ASHP News story about COVID-19 projections and impact of relaxing social distancing

By Neil MacKinnon posted 16 days ago

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Here is the link to the new ASHP story about our research on the projections of COVID-19 and relaxing social distancing and other interventions on hospitalizations, ICU beds and mortality: https://www.ashp.org/news/2020/05/08/uc-projects-impact-of-social-distancing-measures-on-healthcare-resources-in-ohio While our initial analysis focused on Ohio, we close to completing our analysis for Indiana and Kentucky as well. Our team knows it is a sensitive topic with a lot of differing opinions. As I'm quoted in the article: “Governors are under a lot of pressure from all sides – everyone is feeling it. “But at the same time we can’t forget, ...

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PPIs (positive psychology interventions), not your typical PPI: A Brief Review and Additional Tools

By Bethany Withycombe posted 16 days ago

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Over the course of the last several days, you have learned about what positive psychology is, reviewed select research findings from the field, and have been given ideas for application and tools allowing you to further explore how these concepts and theories can be applied to your personal and professional life (aka Positive Psychology Interventions [PPIs]). If you have enjoyed learning about positive psychology, continue your exploration by checking out the following websites: Authentic Happiness : https://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/home This website offers additional information about popular books, videos and publications related to positive ...

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Resources and Tools to Deal with Work-Related Stress and Boost Overall Work Satisfaction

By Bethany Withycombe posted 17 days ago

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Think back to our previous post and Shawn Achor’s research on stress. By changing how you perceive stress (stress is performance enhancing not debilitating), you can reap from its benefits rather than suffer in its misery. In his book, “Before Happiness,” Shawn Achor challenges you to recognize alternative realities when it comes to dealing with stress in a three-step process: (1) Become aware of the stress (2) Look for the meaning behind the stress or put the problem into perspective (e.g. I am stressed because if I do a good job on this presentation, it will open the door for more speaking opportunities in the future which aligns with my personal long-term ...

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Stress in the Workplace, the Rule No Longer the Exception

By Bethany Withycombe posted 18 days ago

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According to The American Institute of Stress (AIS), workplace stress has become the rule and no longer the exception. Approximately 83% of US workers suffer from work-related stress that causes about one million employees to miss work each day. 1, 2 A survey of pharmacists from 2004, also reported that more than 68% of pharmacists experience job stress and role overload. 3 More recently, a Pharmacy Times Job Satisfaction Survey, demonstrated that 49% of pharmacists are not satisfied with their job. 4 These stats are alarming on a number of levels, but especially given the fact that approximately 75% of job success is predicted by optimism levels, social ...

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In the Pursuit of Happiness: How positive psychology theory can be incorporated into your daily life

By Bethany Withycombe posted 19 days ago

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How can we improve our baseline levels of happiness to fuel success across multiple life domains (work, relationships, and health)? The PERMA model can help! The PERMA model was first introduced by Martin Seligman in 2011. It is a theoretical model of happiness that includes five elements (P-E-R-M-A) which are thought to contribute to an individual’s overall happiness and well-being. “P” stands for positive emotions, and satisfaction with life. “E” stands for engagement and the importance of establishing flow in daily life. Flow refers to the feeling of “time flying by” or “being in the zone” because you are heavily immersed and engaged in the task or activity ...

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Understanding Happiness

By Bethany Withycombe posted 20 days ago

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Many people, including myself before discovering positive psychology, live life waiting for something to happen or strive to accomplish one goal after the next, in search of true happiness. If I get straight A’s, I will be happy. If I am successful with this project, I will be happy. If I match with this residency program, I will be happy. Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar explains in his book “Happier,” that as we achieve these goals, we mistake the feeling of relief for happiness. Eventually overtime, the “happiness” you feel by achieving these goals fades away, maybe even faster than you were expecting. This is known as the hedonic treadmill, a theory that suggests people ...

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What is Positive Psychology and Why Does it Matter?

By Bethany Withycombe posted 23 days ago

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Positive psychology, although still a rather new topic in psychology, has gained rapid popularity and has seen significant growth over the past several years since it was first coined by Martin Seligman in 1998. 1 It is unique from other areas of psychology in that it is focused on the study of what is going right in an individuals life, not what is going wrong. Positive psychology seeks to answer questions such as, what makes people who are happy, successful, and who have a sense of self-fulfillment different from those who are not? Its mission is to understand the factors that allow individuals, communities, and societies to flourish. 2 The study of ...

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ASHP Continues to Support Members and the Healthcare Community Through the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Paul Abramowitz posted 24 days ago

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Dear Colleagues, The COVID-19 pandemic is changing our country’s healthcare landscape every day. Critical health policy changes are occurring at an unprecedented rate. We continue to engage with state and federal policymakers to ensure that pharmacists’ expertise is fully utilized and that healthcare providers are equipped to safely and effectively respond to the pandemic. Update on States’ Response Efforts State governors are issuing executive orders that expand pharmacists’ ability to provide high-quality care to patients during this crisis. For example, Michigan now permits pharmacists within licensed health facilities to contribute to routine health ...

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Don’t Social Distance from Data Literacy!

By Clement Ng posted 24 days ago

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“You can have data without information, but you cannot have information without data.” — Daniel Keys Moran Now more than ever, understanding how to turn data into actionable information is key to driving major decisions and thus revenue. For example, COVID-19 has generated an even heightened awareness of the medication use process from leadership outside of pharmacy, particularly on medication supply reliability and drug shortages. In order to move work forward collectively as a system, it is imperative that data is understood by the different audiences that will consume it for insight. Let us review an example of hospital administrators asking for ...

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Bevacizumab biosimilars

By Megan Stoller posted 25 days ago

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I'm working on a project to add bevacizumab biosimilars to our formulary due to payer driven preference. Can a patient be changed from one product to another as long as the indication is FDA approved and the physician allows it? Would there be any harm in, for example, recommending a patient be switched from Avastin to MVASI or Zirabev? Thank you, Megan

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Relative Importance in 2020, So Far: Pharmacy school edition

By Neil MacKinnon posted 27 days ago

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CoagCheck

By John Sie posted 27 days ago

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Does anyone use CoagCheck to manage warfarin? If so, what has been your experience and comfort level? We have been holding patient from coming to lab to decrease potential exposure (most are elderly) to COVID-19 and we are exploring doing a drive through POC INR. Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts.

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