Blogs

ASHP’s Advocacy to Protect the 340B Drug Pricing Program Yields Important HRSA Ruling

By Paul Abramowitz posted 30 days ago
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Dear Colleagues, ASHP has been leading patient-focused efforts to protect the 340B Drug Pricing Program, and I am pleased to share with you that our steadfast advocacy has paid off. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which manages the 340B program, recently announced that it has directed six drug manufacturers to comply with 340B pricing requirements or risk financial penalties.  The 340B program is essential to many hospitals’ ability to provide healthcare services to vulnerable patients and communities, including providing access to medications for uninsured and underinsured patients. The 340B program is designed to allow providers ...
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OIG report card on DSCSA

By Dennis Tribble posted 05-21-2021
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For those of you who may have missed this (like I did), over a year ago the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) performed a study on the ability of the current compliance mechanisms for the Drug Supply Chain Security Act by tracing the movement of 44 drug products they characterized as high-risk "billed to Medicare Part D by high-risk dispensers" by reviewing tracing documents to "determine whether the information necessary to trace drugs was present and accurate".  I recommend the document to your review. It is most enlightening. The observations were interesting: Ownership was traceable for 37 of the 44 selected drug products - the remaining 7 were ...
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Virtual Interviews: Reflective Tips and Tricks for Interviewers and Interviewees

By Lauren Pamulapati posted 05-17-2021
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This past year presented a new challenge and opportunity for conducting residency interviews in a virtual format. Due to this new experience, the Ambulatory Care Pharmacotherapy SAG felt it would be worth sharing tips and tricks that worked within our programs, should similar models be continued in the future.  We also surveyed our students and residents to determine what tips and tricks they had from their perspective. Feel free to share with your colleagues.   Program/Interviewer Tips To introduce candidates to the culture of your program and the surrounding area, consider putting together a video highlighting the area and the program (walking ...
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ASHP Broadens Vaccine Confidence Outreach

By Paul Abramowitz posted 05-14-2021
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Dear Colleagues, This week’s announcement that the Food and Drug Administration has expanded the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents 12 to 15 years of age, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s subsequent recommendation, is another encouraging step in our efforts to bring an end to this devastating pandemic. There are more opportunities than ever for pharmacists to lead vaccination programs, build community trust, and direct public education campaigns to protect our communities from COVID-19. Today, I want to share some important updates on the continued work that ASHP and our members are ...
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preparation of critical care infusions

By Kim Runge posted 05-09-2021
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When making critical care drips at our hospital, we remove volume from the IV bag that is equivalent to the volume of the medication to be added before adding the med to the bag.  For instance, when making an infusion of norepinephrine 8mg/500ml D5W, the techs first remove 8 ml of D5W before adding the 8 ml of norepinephrine. I have never seen this done before. At your institution, how do you prepare critical care drips? Do you remove volume from the IV bag like this?  If so, why?  If not, why not?
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Prioritizing Self-Care During a Pandemic...or Any Other Time

By Vanessa Elliott posted 05-04-2021
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I want you to picture a scenario most of us haven’t been able to experience much over the past year. Imagine that you’re on a plane. You’re flying to see family, going on an adventure, or just getting away from everything for a bit. You’re listening to the in-flight lecture on safety and how to take care of yourself in the case of an emergency. Now, think...what is the first thing the flight attendant says when talking about putting on your oxygen mask? It’s to put your own oxygen mask on first, before helping anyone else. This isn’t just good first aid advice, it’s good self-care advice, too. Because before you can provide quality patient care, you have to be ...
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Switching GLP-1 Receptor Agonists

By Cheyenne Newsome posted 04-23-2021
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Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus are commonly started on glucagon-like peptide -1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists due to their benefits in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease. While many patients tolerate these agents well, there may be circumstances when providers need to switch patients to a different GLP-1 receptor agonist. These reasons include gastrointestinal side effects, desire for greater glycemic or weight control, injection site reactions, difficulty with the injection device, better adherence with weekly instead of daily agents, or insurance formulary changes. Recently the Veterans Health Administration’s drug pricing ...
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Important Wins in Expanding Access to Pharmacist Care

By Paul Abramowitz posted 04-22-2021
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Dear Colleagues, The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact has been immense in our communities and across the world. The public health crisis has also shined a critical light on the essential role of pharmacy practitioners, and helped to give way to some strong advocacy momentum as we work at the state and federal level to increase recognition of pharmacists as patient care providers. Expanding Medicare Patients’ Access to Pharmacists Today, I’m pleased to announce that provider status legislation that ASHP has long supported, the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Area Enhancement Act, was reintroduced in Congress. The legislation would give millions of Medicare ...
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PAI Week 2021 Blog -- MUSC SSHP Chapter

By Dorothy Gaddis posted 04-16-2021
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Medical University of South Carolina Charleston, SC Student Society of Health-System Pharmacists Chapter PAI Week Blog – Dorothy Gaddis, Drew Sauck, and Emily McTish Blog Subject: PAI Week Reflections from MUSC The Practice Advancement Initiative (PAI) was developed in 2010 to drive change of pharmacy practice at local levels. It started as a set of recommendations to improve and advance the pharmacy profession across the continuum of care, and evolved as healthcare and technology integrations changed with each decade. The most recent version of this initiative is PAI 2030, which aims to drive pharmacy practice sites on a local and state level (through ...
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GTMRx Establishes National Task Force to Build Vaccine Confidence

By Paul Abramowitz posted 04-06-2021
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Dear Colleagues, As we pass the one-year mark of the global COVID-19 pandemic, it is encouraging to see some very positive signs as the availability of vaccines and the number of people who are receiving them increases. As of today, at least a dozen states have made COVID-19 vaccinations available to everyone 16 and over, with all remaining states announcing their plans to do the same. To support this positive momentum, it is vital that we as a healthcare community continue to work together to build widespread public confidence in the vaccines, as they are the key to ending the harm caused by COVID-19 and getting our lives back to normal. Today I am extremely ...
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Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Practice Expansion during a Pandemic

By Rachel Steele posted 03-29-2021
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Over this last year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the questions and unknowns that arrived with the reality of practicing in a new context have prompted many practice advancements while perhaps pausing others – such as the expansion of disease states within one’s collaborative practice agreement for those in ambulatory care Within ambulatory pharmacy at my health system, our model of care quickly evolved to prioritize safety while optimizing patient care. Initially, face-to-face visits transitioned to telephonic visits. Shortly thereafter, virtual visits were added as another opportunity. Now a year later, we provide ambulatory pharmacy care utilizing a hybrid mix ...
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My experiences with the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program: COVID Vaccination of a Vulnerable Population

By Laura Traynor posted 03-26-2021
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In December of 2020, the weight of the COVID pandemic was taking its toll on my household. Because it was so cold in Minnesota, my family did not have the opportunity to socialize outdoors as we had in the summer. Therefore, we spent a lot of time as a family unit indoors. I felt the weight of this self-imposed quarantine, so I imagined that it must be particularly difficult for those in long-term care facilities. In many facilities, including those of my family members, residents were confined to their rooms during outbreaks, with little opportunity for social interaction.  I wanted to do my part to allow these residents to see their families again, so ...
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Women History Month and Breaking the Glass Ceiling

By Sara White posted 03-21-2021
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Per Women’s History Month check out Melissa Murer Corrigan’s https://pointshistory.com/2021/03/12/zada-gloria-and-the-sisters-whm/ Her MelisRxScripts podcasts are excellent. You will find a recorded Conversations With Health Systems Most Influential Leaders Tribute to Gloria Francke on the ASHP Foundation’s Web site under the Leadership Development Tab, It plays on You Tube   Breaking the “Glass Ceiling” Overcoming Invisible Barriers to Success from Mind Tools provides the following advice. Don't let who you are allow others to limit your horizons. Great strides have been made toward equality in the workplace but, even today, many people ...
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2021 Residency Match Day

By Paul Abramowitz posted 03-19-2021
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Dear Colleagues, The much-anticipated Match Day has arrived! On behalf of ASHP, congratulations to all who matched during Match Phase I of the 2021 ASHP Residency Matching Program! This year has been extraordinary as we all faced the continued challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. For residency training programs, it required adapting in new and unique ways, including moving for the first time to virtual interviews as part of the application process. For learners, you may have experienced new adjustments in clinical learning environments. For all, it required new skills and being resilient to change. ASHP continues to be inspired by the creativity, adaptability, ...
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Medication Security Of Emergency Medications During Patient Transfer

By Kathryn Schwartz posted 03-16-2021
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Hello, Wondering if someone could share their policy on securing emergency medications during the transfer of a patient?  Do you allow CRNAs or anesthesiologists to  carry labeled syringes in their pockets during patient transport? Thank you in advance for your help!
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ASHP Marks 1-Year Anniversary of Pandemic with Efforts to Combat Vaccine Hesitancy

By Paul Abramowitz posted 03-11-2021
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Dear Colleagues, One year ago, the World Health Organization officially declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. Throughout the ensuing 12 months, our members have consistently stepped forward with relentless perseverance and dedication to provide exceptional patient care on the front lines, often facing immense challenges posed by evolving conditions and uncertain outcomes. ASHP staff, working remotely from home and without missing a beat, supported our members and all healthcare providers by developing evidence-based resources and tools to identify solutions and share knowledge to improve patient care. Today, we stand confident knowing that we have ...
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Integrating Life/Career and Leadership Development Resources

By Sara White posted 03-07-2021
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Bite Size (5 minute) Advice for Integrating Life and Career for Busy Pharmacists . Which was presented at the virtual Dec MCM Is now available for those who didn't attend the meeting in the ASHP e-learning section. You can find it under the catalog tab. https://elearning.ashp.org/products/8806/bite-size-advice-for-integrating-life-and-career-for-busy-pharmacists-no-ce Introduction/Announcements Sara J. White Designing A Vision/Mission That Spans Both Personal and Professional Life Jessica Hill Bye Bye FOMO How to Get Rid of the Fear of Missing Out Rena Gosser, Modeling Real Life for Learners Holly Snider and Lisa Edgerton Yoga Mediation Burnout Jill ...
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Dr. Joseph A. Oddis: The Passing of a Pharmacy Legend, Mentor, and Friend

By Paul Abramowitz posted 03-01-2021
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Dear Colleagues, On Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021, the Oddis family, pharmacy, and ASHP lost a true legend and exceptional human being.  Joseph A. Oddis was larger than life in many ways, but was also one of the most personable individuals I have ever met. He took a sincere interest in people, which included his family, ASHP members and staff, and many within the pharmacy and broader Washington, DC, community. You never felt rushed or just part of a crowd with Joe; he cared about every person around him, and his sincerity and authenticity were palpable.      Dr. Oddis was a visionary, and he inspired others to do great things on behalf of patients and the profession. ...
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10 Time Management Mistakes

By Sara White posted 02-28-2021
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Per the passing of Joseph Oddis who built and ran ASHP, check out my video Conversation with him per his career. If this link doesn't work you can find the Conversations on the ASHP Foundation website, Leadership tab. https://youtu.be/psJN3G3nVWE SJW   10 Common Time Management Mistakes Avoiding Common Pitfalls from Mind Tools advises: How well do you manage your time? If you're like many people, your answer may not be completely positive! Perhaps you feel overloaded, and you often have to work late to hit your deadlines. Or maybe your days seem to go from one crisis to another, and this is stressful and demoralizing. Many of us know that ...
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Disparities in vaccination for COVID-19 among underserved minority patient populations

By Brooke Carter posted 02-25-2021
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Disparities in vaccination for COVID-19 among underserved minority patient populations Brooke S. Carter, PharmD PGY1 Pharmacy Resident, DCH Regional Medical Center, Tuscaloosa, AL              Health disparities in the United States exist within age, sex, race, and/or ethnicity groups. Many of the inequities are further compacted by social determinants of health, such as physical environment, occupation, economic stability, and education. 1 The impact of these disparities can be measured by poor health outcomes; thus, many efforts have been made to address and eliminate them. 1 A specific public health concern is to reduce the disparities of immunization ...
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