Drug Topics - October 22, 2007 - (Page H19)

OCTOBER 22, 2007 DRUG TOPICS HSE 19 Professional Practice Abrahams said the patient protocols he writes and regularly modifies have boosted his credibility among doctors and the hospital’s therapeutics committee. “The credibility of the dialysis pharmacist,” he said, “has reached a level at which the physicians now ask us to help write the protocols and then review them prior to sending them to the therapeutics committee for approval.” Besides acting as teachers, dialysis unit pharmacists also can help prevent medication errors and adverse drug reactions in patients. In addition, pharmacists can help patients maintain healthy hemoglobin levels, which, in the long run, also benefits hospitals, Abrahams and Nguyen agreed. About a year after joining Hartford Hospital’s dialysis unit in 1994, Abrahams saved the hospital $100,000 in the first year by adjusting doses of erythropoietin based on patients’ hematocrit, the proportion of blood volume occupied by red blood cells. More than $250,000 in additional savings came when Abrahams began preparing erythropoietin and vitamin D doses in individual, pre-labeled syringes rather than single-dose vials. With medication for dialysis patients costing $2 million to $3 million annually at Holy Name Hospital, Nguyen has learned to utilize “every drop” of medication in his unit. “Closely watching the amount of medication that is administered is beneficial,” he noted. Staffing difficulties Despite the many benefits to patients and hospitals, relatively few healthcare facilities have pharmacists devoted solely to dialysis patients. Studies suggest that 14% of the nation’s 3,600 dialysis centers—which includes hospitals—have a clinical pharmacist on staff. “It really depends on the patient population,” Nguyen explained. “Some institutions do not have a large dialysis [patient] population. It’s hard to financially justify having someone devoted to the unit.” It’s also hard to find a pharmacist who does not have other demands on his or her time, Abrahams added. The benefits of adding a pharmacist to the dialysis healthcare team, however, far outweigh the difficulty hospital officials may have in financially justifying the job or freeing up pharmacists from their regular duties, industry experts said. Plus, the benefits can be mimicked in other departments, such as organ transplantation and the emergency room. “I think it’s a goal that hospitals should really work toward,” ASHP’s Rubio said. “It’s almost a crime that pharmacists are not involved, given the adverse drug events that have occurred and the number of lives that can be saved by pharmacist involvement.” DT

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Drug Topics - October 22, 2007

Drug Topics - October 22, 2007 Contents Latebreakers Legislative Victory Builds Momentum for Pharmacy Month Letters Health-System Edition R.Ph.s Brace for Payment Denial for Hospital-Acquired Conditions Topical Human Thrombin Helps Arrest Bleeding FDA Panels Fail to Set Target Levels for Renal Patients’ Hemoglobin Warning Letters Raise Patient Safety Concerns for Fentora Ending/Reversing Weight Gain Man Given Fatal Drug Overdose at Staten Island Hospital Pharmacists Playing More Important Role in Dialysis Treatment AHA President R.Ph.'s Here's How You Can Increase Your Value Premier Launches Comprehensive Quality Improvement Project FDA Approves Dexrazoxane for Treatment of Extravasation New Federal, State Reforms to Ease Disaster Relief Kinks 150 Years of American Pharmacy Ten Tips for MTM Success Independent Superstars: The Ones to Watch The New Dynamic Duo A Parkinson's Disease Primer Classified New Products Advertisers Index Viewpoint

Drug Topics - October 22, 2007

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