Drug Topics - May 12, 2008 - (Page 36)

36 DRUG TOPICS MAY 12, 2008 www.drugtopics.com Community Practice Giving a talk to the community? Check out these materials Judy Chi ou’ve been invited to give a talk to your community about medication use and you need to get a PowerPoint presentation together quickly? No need to scramble. There’s one already prepared and yours for the asking. The American Pharmacists Association and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices have joined forces to come up with a toolkit you can use. The kit includes: • A brochure for consumers on the growing problem of Y You can use this package of materials to give talks to the public about using medicines safely. This foundation has funds to spare P sst! Are you looking for funding for a study or project? If so, consider the Community Pharmacy Foundation (CPF). The “Use Medicines Safely” campaign is only one of the latest projects to be funded by CPF. Operational since 2002, CPF has reviewed about 400 applications seeking its funding and approved more than 70. It has deep pockets—more than $20 million—to underwrite a lot more projects. Bob Osterhaus (l.) and Philip Burgess serve on CPF’s sixmember board that reviews applications for its funding. How did CPF come into being? It was formed by court order as part of a settlement of a class-action discriminatory pricing lawsuit community pharmacists had filed against drug manufacturers. Thanks to judicious investing and a diversified portfolio, far from depleting its funds, CPF has managed to stay evergreen, according to its treasurer, Bob Osterhaus. What are some projects CPF has funded to date? The Grant Thornton study on dispensing fees, conducted last year, is probably the most well known. Other studies range from how to set up a lipid management program to improving asthma care. The results are posted on CPF’s Web site and are replicable. “We’ve made a difference,” commented CPF president Philip Burgess. To apply for CPF funds, go to www.tcpf.org. unintentional medication misuse • A white paper on medication safety and the role of community pharmacists, meant especially for policymakers • And a C.D. that contains the two tools above as well as PowerPoint slides, speaker’s notes, and health literacy resources All these materials are part of the “America’s Medicine Cabinet: Use Medicines Safely” campaign, funded by the Community Pharmacy Foundation (CPF). They were unveiled at a press conference held at the APhA annual meeting in San Diego in March. Many of these materials can be personalized, according to the speakers. For instance, the consumer brochure has space in the back for pharmacists to affix a sticker of their pharmacy, said Donna Horn, director of patient safety at ISMP, while the slides, which take about an hour to present, can be added to or dropped based on your needs, said Michael Cohen, president of ISMP. What is the goal of this campaign and why did CPF fund it? With increasing reports of patients either taking too many medications or taking them inappropriately, the campaign is designed to highlight the important role pharmacists play as coaches who ensure that their patients are taking drugs safely. But pharmacists have traditionally not done a good job of communicating their value to the public. The campaign seeks to redress that. According to CPF’s executive director Louis Sesti, the campaign will not stop with the launching of the toolkit. Instead, it will be extended to the state level through the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations. Those who want to access the brochure, white paper, or slides can go to APhA’s Web site, pharmacist.com, or to ismp.org. Photos: Judy Chi http://www.drugtopics.com http://pharmacist.com http://www.ismp.org http://www.tcpf.org

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Drug Topics - May 12, 2008 Contents Latebreakers Letters R.Ph.s Say More Needs to be Done to Prevent Pediatric Drug Errors There's a New School of Thought on Use of Beta-Blockers for Hypertension Cover Story Guest Spot Letters Clinical Practice Special Report Professional Practice Broad Label for New Leukemia Therapy Looks Promising Treating Asthma During Pregnancy Safer than Not, Says New Guide In the Pipeline Clinical Q&A APhA Leader's Plan to Leave Office Takes Center Stage at its Conference Policies Passed at a Glance Giving a Talk to the Community? Check Out These Materials This Foundation has Funds to Spare JP at Large Cover Story: Employers and R.Ph.S: A Win-Win Combo FDA's Ilisa Bernstein Discusses Pharmacy Affairs Legal Q&A Manufacturers Unleash a Rash of Poison Ivy Treatments Are OTC Cold Remedies Safe for Kids? Probiotics are All the Rage: How You Can Capitalize on It CMS' Prices for Round One of DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Raising Concerns CVS Caremark's Mentoring Program Recruits and Retains R.Ph.s Antibiotic Resistance Among Community Pathogens Technology Update New Products Advertisers Index Classified Viewpoint

Drug Topics - May 12, 2008

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