Pharmacist News and Research

RSS

There are many tasks that a pharmacist is responsible for each day. Pharmacists are some of the most accessible members of the healthcare team, as individuals can seek their advice quickly and easily, even without an appointment.

BHF encourages pharmacists to use No Smoking Day as opportunity to promote smoking cessation

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is encouraging pharmacy staff to use to use No Smoking Day as an opportunity to increase participation among patients by promoting resources and local support services.

21 Dec 2015

Driving while affected by medications as dangerous as driving under the influence of illegal drugs

Warning labels on medications about the dangers of driving are not enough to stop people getting behind the wheel with most driving while affected by drugs, according to Queensland University of Technology road safety researcher Dr Tanya Smyth.

18 Nov 2015

American Pharmacists Association selects Elsevier as its exclusive publisher

The American Pharmacists Association has selected Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, as its exclusive publisher, promoter and distributor of APhA publications Pharmacy Today, Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, and Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

5 Nov 2015

Pharmacy-led glycemic control program improves outcomes for surgical patients with diabetes

A pharmacy-led glycemic control program is linked to improved outcomes for surgical patients with diabetes and those who develop stress-induced hyperglycemia or high blood sugars as a result of surgery, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published in the American Journal of Pharmacy Benefits.

28 Oct 2015

Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting most common distressing symptoms in majority of cancer patients

Results from two national surveys of patients receiving chemotherapy and pharmacists, conducted by the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA) in collaboration with Eisai Inc., found that 83% of patients receiving chemotherapy who have experienced chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) believe it is a side effect with which they must live.

20 Oct 2015

ASHP sets up committee to explore unique challenges and issues facing women in pharmacy workforce

Nearly 60 percent of all practicing pharmacists are women, according to the 2014 National Pharmacist Workforce Survey, yet women do not reach senior leadership positions in proportion to the profession's demographics. "This calls for a candid and thorough assessment of the diverse needs and opportunities for the development of women in the workforce," said Sara J. White, M.S., FASHP, a past president of ASHP and chair of the Steering Committee tasked with investigating this issue.

19 Oct 2015

Lack of patient understanding of the true cost of medication non-adherence

A new report released today, Friday 16th October, by Omnicell, throws the spotlight on the ‘missing millions’ in the NHS and the staggering cost to the nation of medication non-adherence.

16 Oct 2015

Light-shielded delivery system for parenteral nutrition may improve survival rate of preemies

The survival rate of preemies born between 26 to 31 weeks of gestation is improved by blocking light from reaching the intravenously-fed infused nutritious mixture they depend on for survival, researchers at CHU Sainte-Justine and the University of Montreal have revealed in a new study.

28 Sep 2015

Brain health: how can you reduce cognitive decline? An interview with Heather Snyder, Ph.D.

Reader’s Digest and the Alzheimer’s Association partnered to survey approximately 1,600 people in May 2015 about their brain health and their knowledge of how lifestyle habits affect cognitive decline and dementia.

22 Sep 2015

Enhanced pharmacist care improves outcomes in patients with high blood pressure

Patients with high blood pressure are benefiting from the expanded role played by pharmacists in Alberta, according to a new study from the University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry.

21 Sep 2015

Survey: Many older Americans lack access to oral healthcare

The older adult population in the United States is rapidly increasing, with 10,000 Americans reaching retirement age every day, but many face barriers when it comes to accessing oral healthcare. According to a survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Oral Health America, more than half of low income older adults have not seen a dentist in the past year, with most citing lack of income or lack of dental insurance as the reason.

2 Sep 2015

Researchers find that 26% of senior oncology patients use complementary or alternative medicines

Alternative medicines are widely thought to be at least harmless and very often helpful for a wide range of discomforts and illnesses. However, although they're marketed as "natural," they often contain active ingredients that can react chemically and biologically with other therapies.

27 Aug 2015

Researchers evaluate use of pharmacy-based naloxone education and distribution to fight opioid overdoses

In response to the growing opioid crisis, several states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, have granted pharmacists the authority to provide naloxone rescue kits without a prescription to at-risk patients. This model of pharmacy-based naloxone (PBN) education and distribution is one of the public health strategies currently being evaluated at hundreds of pharmacies in both states to determine the impact on opioid overdose death rates.

25 Aug 2015

Customer satisfaction with pharmacies remains stable despite changes in healthcare industry

Despite all of the changes in the healthcare industry, customer satisfaction with pharmacies has remained relatively stable, according to the J.D. Power 2015 U.S. Pharmacy Study released today.

24 Aug 2015

Researchers reveal how migrating tumour cells produce protein that helps set up home in bones

Cancer cells that migrate to the bone acquire a unique trait: They start to express the protein cathepsin K. Researchers from the University of Freiburg and the BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies have now solved why it is important for the migrating cells to produce this protein.

17 Aug 2015

Ontario nearing ambitious UN targets for ending AIDS epidemics

A new study suggests Ontario is nearing ambitious United Nations targets for ending the AIDS epidemics: By 2020, 90 per cent of all people living with HIV should know their HIV status, 90 per cent of all people diagnosed with HIV are receiving sustained antiretroviral drug therapy and 90 per cent of people on ART have a very low or undetectable levels of the virus.

14 Aug 2015

CVS Health introduces new pharmacy service to help patients manage multiple prescriptions

CVS Health today announced the launch of ScriptSync, a new pharmacy service that enables patients with multiple medications to pick up their eligible maintenance prescriptions in a monthly CVS/pharmacy visit.

11 Aug 2015

Researchers quantify growth and composition of breast tumours in living animal

The ability to visualize and characterize the composition of a tumour in detail during its development can provide valuable insights in order to target appropriate therapeutics.

3 Aug 2015

Researchers gain new insight into the stages of breast cancer growth

The ability to visualize and characterize the composition of a tumour in detail during its development can provide valuable insights in order to target appropriate therapeutics. The polymer chemist Prof. Dr. Prasad Shastri and the pharmacist Jon Christensen, in collaboration with the biomedical researcher Dr. Daniel Vonwil, from the University of Freiburg have visualized and quantified the growth and composition of breast tumours over time in a living animal.

31 Jul 2015

Pharmacist-included medical care teams help patients better control blood pressure

If you have hypertension, it pays to include a pharmacist in a medical care team. That's the upshot from research by the University of Iowa that found patients with uncontrolled hypertension had better blood pressure control when being cared for by pharmacists working in care teams (with a physician, for example) than patients who relied mostly on a doctor for medication guidance.