January 2010

Preview the Outlook CE Programs Today!
The Pharmacy Foundation has just posted the presentations for its Outlook CE programs on the PFC website (http://tinyurl.com/OutlookCEs). Individuals planning to attend Outlook are encouraged to review these materials and decide which CE programs they'd like to attend. Join our conservation efforts by printing the handouts for the programs you're interested in, and avoid the need to carry around a bulky syllabus at the conference. For those who still wish to have a syllabus, please note that they will be distrubuted at the PFC informtation table which is separate from (but very near) the Outlook registration desk.

Pacific Students Lead the Way!
With only 1 week to go, the “UOP Tigers” remain ahead of the pack having raised a whopping $1,765.00 for PFC's Third Annual Charity Bowl-A-Thon to Strike Out Medication Errors. The "USC Trojans" are in second place with $650.00, and "Team CNCP" is a close third with $600.00. UCSF's team currently sits in 4th place with $425.00. If you want to see where your school, academy, or local association sits in the standings, visit www.pfc.dojiggy.com today! If you haven't yest donated to your favorite team, there's still time. Teams can accept pledges until 9:30pm on February 5th when we will present the award to the team who has raised the most money.

And the Winner is...
After two rounds of online voting, and input from our panel of judges, PFC has selected the winners of its2010 Pharmacy Film Festival. The winner for Best Picture is...going to be announced at the Festival on Saturday, February 6th at the Long Beach CineMark along with the winners of the 5 other categories. All are invited to attend, but seating is limited so stop by the CVS booth in the Outlook exhibit hall to get your ticket!

And the Nominees Are…
After an initial round of online voting and valuable feedback from our esteemed panel of judges, PFC has selected the finalists to compete in the six categories of its 2010 Pharmacy Film Festival. Two films submitted by students from USC (“Consultation Lockdown” and “The Pharmacist Network”) lead the pack with four nominations each. One video from CNCP (“Racer’s Edge”) is close behind with three nominations. Three other CNCP films received two nominations each, as did an entry from Touro University. Between now and next Wednesday, YOU can help us select the winners of each category by visitinghttp://tinyurl.com/2010PFCFilmFest and voting for your favorites. And don’t forget to make plans to watch the finalists (and a few other entries) on the big screen and see who walks away with the top prizes. The event will take place at the CineMark movie theater on February 6 at Outlook 2010 between 4:30 and 6:30pm – all are invited to attend, but seating is limited so stop by the CVS booth in the Outlook exhibit hall to get your ticket!

Pacific Students Lead the Way!
As of today at 1:30pm, the “UOP Tigers” have raised the most money out of ALL the teams registered for PFC’s Third Annual Charity Bowl-A-Thon to Strike Out Medication Errors. Their $575.00 currently exceeds the funds raised from the other schools, AND all the teams represented by CPhA’s Academies and Local Associations as well! Great job Tigers! Keep up the good work! If you want to see where your school, academy or local association sits in the standings, visit www.pfc.dojiggy.com today! If your school, academy or team has not yet formed a team, it’s not too late. You can still register a team right on the website. With only two weeks to go, NOW is the time to act!

BOP Discusses Patient-Centered Rx Label
On Wednesday the California State Board of Pharmacy spent the majority its full board meeting listening to testimony about proposed regulations for creating a standardized patient centered prescription label. Over 20 members of the public testified on the proposed regulation and some alternative language that was provided by Dr. Michael Wolf from Northwestern. The Board discussion was fairly contentious and went late into the afternoon. The latest version of the regulation is soon to be released which will initiate a 15 day comment period. The intent of the regulation is to make a more readable and understandable prescription label for patients. It is generally believe that the most recent version will go a long way to meet both patient needs and the realities of the pharmacy marketplace.

Catching Deadly Drug Mistakes
By Laura Landro – wsj.com
Despite years of effort to make medications safer, medication errors still happen at an alarming rate. Now, new efforts are underway to quickly spread the word about such errors and offer guidance on how to prevent similar mistakes. The non-profit Institute for Safe Medication Practices and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists are launching a new National Alert Network for Serious Medication Errors. The network will be used to send email alerts to 35,000 pharmacists working in hospitals and health systems, as well as physicians and nurses, when a dangerous or life-threatening error is reported to ISMP. Relevant alerts will also be sent to 20,000 drugstore pharmacists.Consumers can sign up for customized alerts about the medications they take and report problems they encounter with medications at ISMP's consumermedsafety.org Web site, and submit reports of errors directly at the FDA at fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch. Patients and families should also ask hospital staffers and pharmacists to clearly explain what medications are being given, and to confirm that dosages and instructions for administering the drugs are being followed correctly. When picking up prescriptions at a pharmacy, it is best to ask for help from pharmacists both for prescription medications and for over-the-counter drugs if they aren't clear about proper dosing.

Wrong Medication Kills Baby In Ohio
7-Month-Old Accidentally Given Cold Medicine For Older Children
The wrong choice of cold medicine killed a 7-month old boy in Dayton last November, a coroner has ruled. According to the Montgomery County Coroner's Office toxicology tests revealed too much medicine in the baby's body. Coroner Dr. James Davis said the death was a terrible accident that could happen to any parent if they aren't careful. The baby had a cold, and those watching him grabbed the wrong medication at the store, he said. "It appears that the child got pediatric dosing instead of infant dosing, " Davis said. Officials said over-the-counter drugs for children are not all the same and making the wrong choice could be deadly.

"People just have to pay attention and stay focused," Davis said, adding parents should look closely at all medication labels.

BoP to Discuss Proposed Patient Centered Label Regulation
The agenda for the January 20-21 BoP meeting is available on the Board’s website, and a key agenda item is the proposed regulation on standardized, patient-centered prescription labels, which can be viewed here. A variety of concerns have been raised regarding the proposed language and you are encouraged to read it and voice your own opinions to the Board as soon as possible.

PFC CEO Presents Errors CE and Installs Officers
Yesterday, Michael Negrete attended the Marin County Pharmacists Association’s Annual Installation Banquet and presented a 1 hour CE on “using medication error awareness to increase demand for pharmacist services.” After the talk, Michael installed the Association’s 2010 officers including new co-presidents Don Lazzaretto and Aglaia Panos. Don and Aglaia have big plans for their association during 2010 and are fortunate to have the support of a wonderful board.

The Voters Have Spoken!
More than 400 votes were submitted in the first round of voting for PFC’s Third Annual Pharmacy Film Festival. These votes will be combined with input from our panel of judges to decide the finalists from each category which will be shown on the big screen during Outlook 2010. Finalists will be announced next Friday, January 22, when a final round of voting will be held to help determine our winners. Make plans today to attend the Film Festival at the Cinemark movie theater in Long Beach at 4:30pm on February 6 immediately following the CVS student reception. You won’t want to miss this exciting event!

There’s Still Room for Your Bowl-A-Thon Team
PFC believes informing consumers about the harm that results from unsafe medication use can help create a better appreciation and demand for pharmacist services. This is one reason why PFC seeks to educate the public about medication errors, and you can support these efforts by participating in PFC’s Third Annual Charity Bowl-A-Thon to Strike Out Medication Errors. If your school, local association, academy, or company has yet to enter or sponsor a team, do so TODAY (www.pfc.dojiggy.com)! Please note that a limited number of StrikeOut Sponsorships ($5,000) and Spare Sponsorships($2,500) are still available for companies or organizations who’d like to support this important cause. For a list of FAQs about this fun and worthwhile event, please visit www.pharmacyfoundation.org/bowling.pdf.

RPh Second Victim in Drug Error
Drug Topics (http://tinyurl.com/DTstory)
The former supervising pharmacist at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland is nearing the end of a six-month jail term after signing off on a misprepared chemotherapy treatment that killed two-year old Emily Jerry in 2006. "This was a terrible injustice to the pharmacist," said Timothy Vanderveen, vice president of the CareFusion Center for Safety and Clinical Excellence. "This was not a criminal act, this was a system error.” As so often happens, the clinician involved has become a second victim. "I believe fully that what has happened in this case is wrong," said medical safety expert Robert Wachter, MD, professor and chief of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. "The criminal system has no place in dealing with professional mistakes. Even Emily's dad, Chris Jerry, said, 'I know it was a mistake.' The criminal justice system might have a rare role in egregious, reckless behavior, but accountability for professional mistakes should be at the professional level."

Practice Fusion Launches Free e-Prescribing
Practice Fusion (http://www.practicefusion.com) announced the launch of its free e-prescribing system for physicians. Practice Fusion, the fastest growing Electronic Health Record (EHR) community in the country, now offers doctors the ability to electronically transmit prescriptions to pharmacies at no cost. "There are an estimated 1.5 million medication errors each year in the US; that's unacceptable. e-Prescribing is one of the mostly widely accepted tools for reducing medication errors and streamlining practice efficiency," said Ryan Howard, CEO of Practice Fusion. "We're making this technology freely available to any doctor in theUS with no strings attached."

What’s Your Favorite Film?
Voting is now open for PFC’s Third Annual Pharmacy Film Festival. This competition allows individuals from any background to contribute to PFC’s consumer education efforts by creating short videos that promote safer medication use practices. For the 2010 competition, PFC received 19 entries and YOU can help us determine which ones to show on the BIG screen at the Long Beach Cinemark movie theater on February 6 at Outlook 2010. You have until 11:59pm on Wednesday, January 13 to participate in the first round of voting. To view the videos and vote for your favorites, please visit http://tinyurl.com/2010PFCFilmFest today!

There’s Still Room for Your Bowl-A-Thon Team
PFC believes if more consumers knew about the harm that can result from unsafe medication use, there would be a better appreciation and demand for the clinical services that pharmacist can provide. This is one reason why PFC seeks to educate the public about medication errors, and you can support these efforts by participating in PFC’s Third Annual Charity Bowl-A-Thon to Strike Out Medication Errors. If your school, local association, academy, or company has yet to enter or sponsor a team, do so TODAY (www.pfc.dojiggy.com)! Please note that a limited number of StrikeOut Sponsorships ($5,000) and Spare Sponsorships($2,500) are still available for companies or organizations who’d like to support this important cause. For a list of FAQs about this fun and worthwhile event, please visit www.pharmacyfoundation.org/bowling.pdf.

PFC CEO To Speak At Marin Co. Assn Installation Banquet
On Thursday, January 14, Michael Negrete will be speaking about using medication error awareness to increase demand for pharmacist services. The event is being hosted by the Marin County Pharmaceutical Association at the Seafood Peddler in San Rafael, CA and tickets are $30. Individuals interested in attending should mail a check (payable to MCPhA) to Joe Rotenberg at 6 Paseo Mirasol, Tiburon, CA 94920 by January 12.

Casey Johnson 911 call reveals possible 'medication screw-up'
Casey Johnson, the daughter of Jets owner Robert Wood Johnson and great-granddaughter of the founder of Johnson & Johnson, was last heard from, via Twitter, on Dec. 29, and was found dead six days later. Johnson’s landlady called police moments after the baby-oil heiress's "ice cold" body was found on Monday -- even speculating that a medication screw-up may have led to her untimely death, according to a 911 call made public today. The woman, who is not identified, dialed police after Johnson's body was discovered by a maid inside her Los Angeles home. Authorities have yet to rule on a cause of death. Despite that, the woman speculated during the call that Johnson may have died because of drugs. "Very often her medication gets all screwed up. It's probably because of that," the landlady told a police dispatcher during the call. Johnson, who was diagnosed with diabetes as a child and had worked with the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, told the New York Observer in 2000 that she gave herself insulin shots every day.

Brittany Murphy Cause of Death: A Concoction of Herbal and Prescription Drugs to Blame?
Brittany Murphy collapsed suddenly and unexpectedly on Sunday December 20^th in her home in California. Her mother found her, and she and her husband Simon Monjack called 911. Despite their best efforts, emergency workers were not able to revive the actress, and she was pronounced dead upon arrival at Cedar Sinai medical center. The reason behind Murphy's death is still somewhat of a mystery. The LA Coroner contends that the actress died of natural causes, although many of her fans demand answers as to how a seemingly healthy 32 year old woman would suddenly...die. NY Post reports that Simon Monjack said "She was on herbal remedies, that wouldn't speed up her heart. There was nothing here that could endanger her, there was prescription medication in the house for her 'female time' and some cough syrup. That was it." TMZ leaked a list of prescription drugs that were found at the actress's house at the time she collapsed. The list was long, and without having the toxicology results there's no real way of telling if these medications were in her system at the time of her death.

Low-tech list of meds is best
By KYUNG M. SONG The Seattle Times
Do you pop a blue pill every day but can’t remember what it’s for? Are you unwittingly taking hydralazine for high blood pressure instead of the allergy medicine hydroxyzine your doctor intended to prescribe? Never mind the billions of dollars that health care providers are investing in electronic medical records. When it comes to preventing drug errors, a Seattle nonprofit group is dispensing advice that’s decidedly low tech: Jot on paper all the medications you take and carry it with you. “It’s a very basic thing that an individual can do that really affects their health,” said Miriam Marcus-Smith, program director for the Washington Patient Safety Coalition. “I don’t think we should wait for electronic medical records to save us.” The coalition, part of the Seattle-based nonprofit group Foundation for Health Care Quality, recently launched a campaign to urge consumers to take responsibility for avoiding dangers involving prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicine, vitamins and supplements.

CVS Caremark Announces e-Prescribing Agreement with Allscripts
CVS Caremark today announced an agreement with Allscripts (that will position both companies to help accelerate adoption of e-prescribing technology.

As part of this agreement, CVS Caremark will transition the thousands of providers now using the company's proprietary iScribe e-prescribing tool to Allscripts e-prescribing and retire iScribe. "Electronic prescribing is a proven technology that can improve health outcomes by reducing medication errors, leading to lower health care costs," said Glen Tullman, Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts. "With this partnership, CVS Caremark has demonstrated its continuing leadership in the promotion of patient safety by preparing former iScribe physicians to take advantage of the new federal incentives for adoption of electronic health records, which let them not only e-prescribe but automate and connect their clinical operations for higher quality and greater efficiency.”