Board of Pharmacy Discusses Patient Centered Rx Labels
On Wednesday, PFC CEO Michael Negrete attended the California State Board of Pharmacy special meeting on pending regulations for a patient-centered prescription label.  This effort is aimed at assisting the public, especially seniors, in better understanding prescription labels and thereby improving medication safety.  Seniors turned out at this meeting in large numbers and staged a mock graveyard on the floor of the hearing room in order to protest the board’s decision to require 10 point font for patient-centered items – name, drug name, strength and purpose.  (A home video of the “die in” can be viewed online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=919-woor2Ns).While the Board’s current proposal only establishes 10 point as the minimum font size, the seniors in attendance wanted to see a mandate ensuring that the desingated text could not be printed any smaller than 12 point font.  This was not a hearing set up to take additional testimony, but only an opportunity for the convened board to further discuss the issue.  The board will consider it again at their next board meeting depending on comments they receive during the next comment period.

Maalox Medication Use Errors
The FDA is notifying consumers and healthcare professionals about reports of serious medication errors involving consumers who used Maalox Total Relief when they had intended to use a Maalox liquid antacid product. Maalox Total Relief is not appropriate for individuals who want to use an antacid, since it contains the active ingredient bismuth subsalicylate which is chemically related to aspirin and may cause serious adverse effects such as bleeding. Maalox Total Relief also should not be taken by children and teens if they are recovering from a viral infection, nor by individuals who are taking certain medications including: oral antidiabetic drugs, anticoagulation drugs such as warfarin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), and other anti-inflammatory drugs. Read the complete MedWatch 2010 Safety summary at http://tinyurl.com/MaaloxNotice.                                                                                                      

Free Webinar: Reducing the Risk of Patient Harm from Anticoagulation Therapy
Pharmacy OneSource is pleased to announce an upcoming complimentary webinar: "Reducing the Risk of Patient Harm from Anticoagulation Therapy."  On Wednesday, March 3, Matthew Grissinger from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), will discuss barriers to optimal anticoagulation therapy and safety, common types of errors that occur with anticoagulants, and how human factors and practice issues can increase the risk of those errors among physicians, health-system pharmacists, nurses and patients. To register, please visit:  http://www.pharmacyonesource.com/webinars. 

FDA calls for limits on asthma drugs
Based on new clinical trial data showing that use of long-acting beta agonists carries an increased risk of aggravating asthma symptoms leading to hospitalization and, in some cases, death, the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday called for putting new limits on powerful and long-lasting bronchial drugs that millions of Americans use to treat asthma. Physicians were urged to switch asthma patients away from medicines containing both long-acting beta agonists, commonly called LABAs, and inhaled corticosteroids.  Instead, the FDA said, patients should use products containing only the corticosteroids or other asthma-relieving medication whenever possible. In addition, patients who cannot control asthma symptoms any other way should use LABAs for the shortest possible time, but the drugs should never be used alone in treating asthma in adults or children, the agency said. The goal is to manage the risk of LABAs while "keeping them available for patients who really need them," because alternative options "are not that great," said Dr. John Jenkins, FDA's director of new drugs and a pulmonologist. The FDA action reflects "a conservative approach," said Dr. Serpil Erzurum, a staff physician at the Cleveland Clinic's Respiratory Institute. "They're saying these drugs are useful and should be kept available."  For more information about the new guidance, visit http://tinyurl.com/LABAnotice.

Student Pharmacists Key to Fighting Medication Errors
During Outlook 2010, the Pharmacy Foundation of California held its Third Annual Charity Bowl-A-Thon toStrike Out Medication Errors.  Thanks in large part to the efforts of many students, PFC raised ~$25,000 to help fund its efforts to provide consumers with the information, tools and support they need to safely use medications at home.  The student team from Pacific raised the most money with $2,140.00.  Coming in second place was USC with $1,335.00, and rounding out the top three was the team from UCSF with ~$1,000.00.  A hearty “congratulations” also goes out to the team from WesternU which won the prize for scoring the most points in a single game.  PFC would like to thank everyone who participated in or supported this important event, especially our top sponsor Rite Aid, and our Spare Sponsor Good Neighbor Pharmacy.

PFC Launches SafeMedService.org to Help Consumers Identify Medication Risks
At last week’s Outlook California Pharmacy Convention, the Pharmacy Foundation of California (PFC) and iGuard.org proudly announced their partnership to increase patients’ knowledge about the medications they take through a free Web-based drug safety assessment/monitoring service. The Foundation is presenting the service under the brand name, SafeMedService.org.  This new service, powered by iGuard.org, offers personalized medication risk reports, timely safety alerts, and product recall information by utilizing feeds from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and major drug manufacturers. The site can be accessed at www.SafeMedService.org and more information about the PFC/iGuard partnership can be obtained at www.PharmacyFoundation.org/SafeMedService.pdf.

PFC Recognizes Excellence in Promoting Community Health Through Pharmacy
Last Friday, the Pharmacy Foundation of CA held its annual awards and appreciation program, which was generously sponsored this year by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation.  During the event, PFC expressed its thanks to the many individuals and organizations who supported the Foundation throughout 2009, and formally presented awards to this year's recipients.  PFC's first ever $1,000 Max & Bess Stollman Excellence in Patient Consultation Award was presented to Krystal Pong from UCSF for winning PFC’s Statewide Patient Counseling Competition. PFC's other student award is the Robert C. Johnson Scholarship.  This year, thanks to support from Good Neighbor Pharmacy, PFC was able to provide $1,000 scholarships to three student leaders: Jonathan Jazayeri from USC, Jamie Ky from Western University, and Kimberly Tsai from UCSD.  PFC also presented the $1,000 Michelotti Public Health Prize to Liz Helms from the California Chronic Care Coalition for her work to improve the healthcare of Americans with chronic conditions. Finally, Drs. Helene Lipton and Marilyn Stebbins  were awarded the prestigious Jane Boggess Advancement of Pharmacy Practice Award for their Partners in D program which uses a new model of non-traditional pharmacy care to meet the Medicare Part D needs of the underserved. More information about the achievements of PFC’s award winners can be accessed at www.PharmacyFoundation.org/2010Awards.pdf.

USC Pharmacy Filmmakers Take Top Honors 
The Pharmacy Foundation of CA held its Third Annual Pharmacy Film Festival last Saturday at the CineMark movie theater in Long Beach, California. Well over 250 people attended to watch the finalists compete for awards in six categories. "Consultation Lockdown" submitted by Diana Tran from USC won awards for Best Picture and Best Parody. “The Racer’s Edge” submitted by CNCP student David Pham won for Best Action Adventure; and another CNCP student – Payal Patel – won for Best Comedy with his entry entitled “Read Instructions.”  Finally, Matthew Keushguerian from USC received the award for Most Educational with “The Pharmacist Network”.  PFC would like to thank CVS/Caremark for sponsoring the event, as well as APSA and QSAD for their valuable support in making this event possible.

Don't Forget to Claim Your Outlook CE Credit
The Pharmacy Foundation of California would like to thank all the individuals who attended the CE programs during Outlook 2010.  To claim CE credit, attendees must visit PFC's CE Processing Portal, which has been graciously sponsored by Good Neighbor Pharmacy – click here.  To download a set of instructions on how to claim your CE, click here (it takes a few seconds for the file to open).  Don't forget, you only have until Monday, March 15 to claim your credit.  If you have questions or experience any problems with the system, please contact Shannon Presidio at (916) 779-1410 x324 or spresidio@pharmacyfoundation.org.