NEW JERSEY SOCIETY OF HEALTH-SYSTEM PHARMACISTS

2012

ANNUAL MEETING/EXHIBITION & INSTALLATION DINNER

FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2012

HILTON EAST BRUNSWICK 3 TOWER CENTER BLVD. EAST BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY (732) 828-2000

PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

The deadline to submit an abstract for the poster session of the 2012 NJSHP Annual Meeting is February 1, 2012, 11:59 pm EST. Please review the abstract submission form carefully as some submission criteria have changed. The form will be available to download from www.njshp.org. The form must be completed and submitted with an abstract to swilliam@njha.com. Information about the acceptance or rejection of the abstracts will be available by March 1, 2012.

North Chapter

November 18, 2011
Topic:Medication Safety Symposium
Location:St. Joseph’s Wayne Hospital, Meyer Conference Room
224 Hamburg Turnpike
Wayne, NJ
Time:7:00am - 5:00pm
Speakers:Several Presenters on the Program

North Central

November 30, 2011
Topic:Medical Marijuana: Legitimate Medicine or “Reefer Madness”?
Location:Overlook Hospital
99 Beauvior Avenue
Summit, NJ
Time:5:45 - 6:15 PM Registration
6:15 - 6:45 PM Dinner
6:45 - 7:45 PM Presentation
Speaker:Timothy Reilly, PharmD, BCPS, FASCP
Clinical Pharmacist, University Medical Center at Princeton, Princeton, NJ
Clinical Assistant Professor, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ

Central Chapter

November 29, 2011
Topic:Anticoagulation Update
Location:Somerset Medical Center
110 Rehill Avenue
Somerville, NJ
Time:TBA
Speaker:Luigi Brunetti, PharmD, CGP
Clinical Assistant Professor
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy
The State University of New Jersey
Piscataway, NJ

Southern Chapter

November 30, 2011
Topic:Hospital Based Immunizations
Location:Kennedy Corporate Center
1099 White Horse Road
Voorhees, NJ 08043
Time:5:30pm - 8:00pm
Speaker:Helen LoSasso, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Manager Pharmacy Services
Kennedy Health System
Stratford, NJ

December 13, 2011
Topic:Update on Managing Clostridium Difficile Infections
Location:Kennedy Corporate Center
1099 White Horse Road
Voorhees, NJ 08043
Time:5:30pm - 8:00pm
Speaker:Craig Whitman, PharmD, BCPS
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA

Upcoming Events
Residency Roundtable, October 26th
Residents from several hospitals in the area, as well as from Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield will be coming in for an informal question and answer session with the students. They will be sharing about their experiences as a resident and giving advice on applying to residency programs.
Monster Mash, October 28th
Children from neighborhoods around the area come to this event as a safe alternative to trick-or-treating. Student organizations set up activities and give out candy. We will be having an arts and crafts activity for the children.
Internship Roundtable with APhA, November 2nd
Students who have completed summer internships in the pharmaceutical industry, advertising agencies, hospitals and other settings will be speaking about their experiences at these different places. We are collaborating with APhA to host this event.
Hospital Field Trip, November 5th
St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center will be hosting a hospital field trip for the students.
Midyear Review, November 9th
A Rutgers Pharmacy alumnus will be coming to share tips on preparation for the midyear clinical meeting. She will also be going over the application and interview process for residencies and fellowships.

Visit our website www.njshprutgers.weebly.com for information and pictures of our past events.

Please feel free to contact me via e-mail, jkostialik@gmail.com or cell: 973-454-3964 with any questions or comments. - Jennifer Kostialik, NJSHP Rutgers Chapter President

NJSHP is now accepting nominations for state-level officers. Are you interested in getting more involved with NJSHP? Do you know someone who would be great in the following positions? Now’s the time for you to get more involved or nominate a fellow peer. NJSHP can even help you prepare your nomination. Here are the available positions:

* President-Elect (1)
This leadership position offers an individual the opportunity to direct our organization. Term of president-elect is for one year, after which this position assumes the presidency.

* Secretary (1)
This position records the minutes of the Board’s monthly meetings. Additional functions are secondary to the secretary’s participation in other NJSHP related affairs.

* Director of the Council (2)
Two positions will be available. One involves the council on organizational affairs, and the other, council on public policy. Both positions allow an individual with the right motivation to have an impact on the course of the profession of pharmacy practice.

If you want more information about serving as a state-level officer, contact Stella Williams, Administrative Director, at (609) 936-2205 or swilliam@njha.com

Going Green has too many advantages we just couldn't resist!

•You will receive information more timely without the hassles of snail mail.
•Look for our meeting notices and newsletters to arrive in your e-mail so you can print or view.
•With our savings, we'll have more funds to enhance our member programs.
•Plus, going electronic is a great boost for the environment!

Hospital Self-Assessment, National Dashboard Will Help Pharmacists Gauge Progress
10/3/2011 BETHESDA, Md. - The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and ASHP Research and Education Foundation have launched a new Web-based assessment tool and set of national goals and measurements to help hospital pharmacists determine how their health systems align with the recommendations of the Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative (PPMI).

The Hospital Self-Assessment (HSA) tool and the National Dashboard scorecard, located on the PPMI web site, are outcomes of the invitational PPMI Summit held in November 2010. During the summit, hospital pharmacy leaders developed practice model recommendations designed to ensure that pharmacists participate on interdisciplinary teams as the health care professionals who are responsible and accountable for patients' medication outcomes.

Read More

Kate Traynor BETHESDA, MD 17 October 2011 - FDA on October 14 announced the approval of deferiprone oral tablets for the treatment of transfusional iron overload in patients with thalassemia whose previous chelation therapy did not produce an adequate response.

The drug will be marketed as Ferriprox by ApoPharma Inc. of Toronto. The company has not announced a date for the product's U.S. launch.

According to FDA, deferiprone was approved under the agency's accelerated review process on the basis of the drug's ability to reduce serum ferratin levels. In a dozen clinical studies involving a total of 236 patients with transfusional iron overload, serum ferratin levels fell by at least 20% in half of the patients treated with the drug.

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[November 1, 2011, AJHP News] Cheryl A. Thompson BETHESDA, MD 13 October 2011 - This year’s congress of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) opened September 4 with an address by host country India’s president and a ceremony involving an assistant director general of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Nearly 2000 delegates representing national pharmacist and pharmaceutical scientist organizations gathered in Hyderabad to conduct FIP’s business and attend a program of sessions having the overall theme "Compromising Quality and Safety - A Risky Path."

Pratibha Devisingh Patil, the first female president of India, declared the theme "a very appropriate topic," given that the responsible use of safe, good-quality medications is critical in health care.

WHO’s Hiroki Nakatani came to the opening ceremony to sign the joint WHO-FIP statement "Engaging Pharmacists in TB Care and Control." Marianne F. Ivey of The Health Alliance in Cincinnati receives the Distinguished Practice Award from International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) President Michel Buchmann. FIP honored Ivey for her willingness to share her knowledge, experience, and vision for pharmacy in her home country and abroad. Th. (Dick) F. J. Tromp of the Netherlands received the Lifetime Achievement in Pharmaceutical Practice Award. Photo courtesy of FIP.

Joined by FIP President Michel Buchmann, Nakatani said his organization hopes that pharmacists can help people who have tuberculosis access the care and treatment they need.

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New Formats Make this Resource Even More Interactive
10/13/2011 Bethesda, Md. - The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists’ (ASHP’s) popular Interactive Handbook on Injectable Drugs: I.V. Decision Support, by Lawrence A. Trissel, is now available online and was just released on the Apple store as an app for the iPad and iPhone. With extremely fast search results and continually updated information, the new online and mobile app versions expand the interactivity of the current network and CD versions of the publication, setting the standard for IV compatibility resources.

The new versions also feature a streamlined interface, with more simplicity and fewer clicks, providing faster access to valuable compatibility data in easy-to-read tables. Subscribers will receive quarterly updates with the most accurate and current information available.

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Requiring manufacturers to provide notifications of pending drug shortages and creating a national stockpile of drugs in short supply are two solutions that may alleviate the nation's drug shortage issue, according to industry executives and physicians speaking at a recent FDA meeting. There were 204 reported drug shortages as of Sept. 9, compared with 211 for the full year of 2010, according to the University of Utah Drug Information Service. At the meeting, Bona Benjamin of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists said notifications can still be “too little, too late” for pharmacists. “The ability to plan care is key,” she said.

The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) has offered its support to the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy's Medication Management Center. The pharmacist-run call center is designed to provide Medication Therapy Management (MTM) services to patients with diabetes, asthma, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and congestive heart failure. Pharmacists at the center work directly with patients, their providers, and fellow pharmacists to improve patient care and reduce the risk of medication errors and other adverse events. "The model developed by the University of Arizona Medication Management Center is a great example of how integrated pharmacy teams positively benefit patients," said Melissa Murer Corrigan, RPh, PTCB Executive Director and CEO. "Certified Pharmacy Technicians continue to take on innovative roles that allow pharmacists to increase their involvement in direct patient care, which in turn, may reduce the overall cost burden on patients and the health care system."

In order to improve medication adherence and prevent readmissions, Gottlieb Memorial Hospital of Loyola University Health System has introduced an initiative to increase communication between patients and inpatient pharmacists. Under the initiative, clinical pharmacists make rounds to educate hospitalized patients about the medications they receive before they are discharged. The hospital also allows patients and their caregivers to speak with inpatient pharmacists any time during their stay. Additionally, they can contact the pharmacists at the hospital using its "Ask the Pharmacist" consultation line. "We discovered many patients were confused after discharge not only about when and how to take their medications, but also about the need to continue taking those medications," Mary Clausen, assistant director of pharmacy at Gottlieb, said in a statement. "We feel continued access to a hospital pharmacist reinforces our hospital mission of patient-centered care and safety," she said.

A Consumer Reports National Research Center survey shows that the percentage of people who reported skimping on medication and other forms of healthcare this year increased by 9 percentage points from 39 to 48 percent. Of the 2,038 nationally representative adults contacted this year, 49 percent said they currently take at least one prescription medicine. The average number of drugs people reported taking regularly was 4.5. Within that same group, 28 percent took significant risks with their medication to save money, including not filling a prescription (16 percent), taking an expired medication (13 percent), skipping a scheduled dose without asking a doctor or pharmacist (12 percent), splitting pills in half without consent of their doctor or pharmacist (8 percent), and sharing a prescription with someone else (4 percent).

The FDA has updated the Boxed Warning for Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF?) to include the risk of infection from Legionella and Listeria bacteria. Additionally, the Boxed Warning and Warnings and Precautions sections of the labels for all of the TNF? blockers have been revised so that they contain consistent information about the risk for serious infections and the associated disease-causing pathogens. This change was based on an FDA review of infections in patients treated with TNF? blockers. A search of the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) between 1999 and 2010 identified 80 patients who developed Legionella pneumonia after having received one of these medications. The median age of the patients was 56 years. The most frequent indication for TNF? blocker administration in the case series was rheumatoid arthritis. The median duration of TNF? blocker administration prior to onset of Legionella pneumonia was 10.4 months. A search of the English-language medical literature also identified published case reports of 23 patients who developed Legionella pneumonia after being treated with TNF? blockers for rheumatologic disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis. The FDA has received adverse event reports of serious infections due to Listeria monocytogenes in patients treated with TNF? blockers. A search of the English-language medical literature identified 26 published cases of Listeria infection in TNF? blocker-treated patients, including meningitis, bacteremia, endophthalmitis, and sepsis. Many of the reports noted that the patients had also received concomitant immunosuppressive drugs. In addition, the FDA identified fatal Listeria infections in a review of data regarding laboratory-confirmed infections that occurred in pre-marketing Phase II and Phase III clinical trials and from post-marketing surveillance.

The University of Washington- Marathon County has announced the creation of a new 50-hour class intended to prepare students for the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) exam. The class covers topics including dosage calculations, inventory control, and how to dispense prescriptions.

All employees who are in contact with patients at Boston's two biggest teaching hospitals--Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Children's Hospital Boston--must abide by new rules that will require them to be vaccinated against the flu, or they will be suspended or even terminated. The facilities are part of the 10-hospital Eastern Massachusetts Healthcare Initiative, which pledged in July to create mandatory vaccination policies for healthcare personnel as a means of improving patient safety and ensuring that health care workers do not fall ill in the event of an outbreak. The state reported that only 68 percent of healthcare workers received the flu vaccine during the 2009-2010 season. At Beth Israel Deaconess, Dr. Kenneth Sands, senior vice president for health care quality, says medical exemptions will be granted for documented medical problems and religious exemptions will be granted on a case-by-case basis.

A recent research review has found that some atypical antipsychotics may offer modest benefits when used for non-approved conditions, but still retain risks. Researchers performed a review of 162 studies to summarize the benefits and risks of off-label use of atypical antipsychotics. They found that there is some evidence that certain atypical antipsychotics can offer modest benefits when used to treat dementia, generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The drugs do not appear to benefit eating disorders or substance abuse. However, the studies also showed a number of risks associated with taking the medications. In an analysis of 15 studies, 3.5 percent of elderly patients with dementia on atypical antipsychotics died compared to 2.3 percent in the placebo group. Adverse events in elderly patients from some or all of the atypical antipsychotics included significant risks of sedation, heart problems, involuntary movements, and urinary tract infections. In younger adults, the review found that some or all of the medications were associated with appetite and weight gain, sedation, fatigue, involuntary movements, and restlessness.

A new electronic tracking system for certain OTC cold medicines will go into effect Oct. 15 in Washington state. The Washington State Board of Pharmacy has adopted new rules that will replace written logbooks of sales of pseudoephedrine. Washington began placing medicines containing pseudoephedrine behind the counter in 2006, and requiring buyers to fill out a paper form. “With paper logs, law enforcement would have to go pharmacy to pharmacy. It was very cumbersome for them to collect information,” said Doreen Beebe, program manager for the Washington State Board of Pharmacy. “This is a more efficient way of tracking.” The new tracking system works by scanning photo identification with the type and amount of the product, then provides real-time information to cashiers if buyers have exceeded the legal quantity of pseudoephedrine.

Research showing that hand washing increases among medical workers when the organization stresses patient safety is hardly news, but it should be a critical motivator for other infection control practices, one infection control expert says. Russ Olmsted, president of Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc., said in an email to this publication he was "encouraged" to see social scientists "share an interest in the behavioral aspects of patient care" and that he is eager to see additional research. The study Olmsted referenced, "It's Not All About Me: Motivating Hospital Hand Hygiene by Focusing on Patients," found significantly higher compliance with hand hygiene when hospitals posted signs encouraging healthcare personnel to consider the health and safety of their patients, rather than themselves. The study will be published in Psychological Science. "The knowledge from social sciences can also be applied to other interventions aimed at preventing cross infection, such as use the of personal protective equipment when caring for patients on isolation precautions, implementation of infection prevention 'bundles' for devices needed for patient care, e.g. central venous catheters, and even hygiene for the inanimate environment," Olmsted said.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to examine trends in pediatric antibiotic prescribing in physician offices. Data covered the period from 1993-1994 to 2007-2008. The population-based antibiotic prescription rate was defined as the annual average of antibiotic prescriptions recorded for patients aged 14 years or younger in the two-year period, divided by the population in this age group during the same period. The researchers found that antibiotic prescribing rates in physician offices for persons aged 14 or younger decreased 24 percent from 300 antibiotic courses per 1,000 office visits in 1993-1994 to 229 antibiotic courses per 1,000 office visits in 2007-2008. Antibiotic prescribing rates decreased 26 percent for pharyngitis and 19 percent for nonspecific upper respiratory infection. The authors note that although the rate of antibiotic prescribing has declined, it is still "inappropriately high." The researchers recommend further efforts to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for young people.