Drug Formulary Review Archives – October 1, 2007
October 1, 2007
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Successfully starting ambulatory clinical pharmacy services
Taking a step-by-step approach to implementing pharmacist-managed ambulatory clinics can lead to success.Increasing staff reporting of pharmacy occurrences
A pilot study at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, a rural 353-bed tertiary care academic center in New Hampshire, found that a pharmacy internal occurrence reporting system increased staff reporting and identified areas for improvement within the medication distribution process that may not have been recorded by a hospital-based reporting system.Statin adherence goes down with cost-sharing
Requiring patients to help pay for their statin medications has a negative impact on adherence to the therapy, according to a study published in the April 10, 2007, issue of Circulation. Researchers found that addition of a fixed $20 co-payment or 25% coinsurance reduces adherence to statin therapy by 5%, with larger reductions in adherence observed in low-income patients.Abbreviations pose patient safety threat: JCAHO
A study reported in the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety says abbreviations used in health care are having an adverse effect on patient safety.New FDA Approvals
FDA has approved new indications for Janssen's risperidone (Risperdal®) for treating schizophrenia in adolescents ages 13-17 and for the short-term treatment of manic or mixed episodes of bipolar 1 disorder in children and adolescents ages 10-17.Rotigotine (Neupro®) Drug Evaluation
Rotigotine (Neupro®) is a new transdermal dopamine agonist.