Weight management medications for chronic use in 37 veterans affairs medical centers-A medication use evaluation.

Rationale: Controlled trials have demonstrated successful weight loss associated with certain weight management medications (WMMs). However, there are limited real-world data on prescribing patterns and efficacy and safety profiles of WMMs in Veterans Affairs (VA) patients.

Objective: To evaluate: utilization patterns of WMMs liraglutide, naltrexone/bupropion, orlistat, phentermine, phentermine/topiramate, and semaglutide; weight loss at three, six, twelve, and more than 12 months; safety; and treatment barriers.

Improvement of guideline β-blocker prescribing in heart failure: a cluster-randomized pragmatic trial of a pharmacy intervention.

Background: Treatment with specific beta-blockers and doses recommended by guidelines is often not achieved in practice. We evaluated an intervention directed to the pharmacy to improve prescribing.

Methods And Results: We conducted a pragmatic cluster-randomized trial, where facilities (n = 12) with patients (n = 220) were the clusters.

National utilization of antihypertensive medications from 2000 to 2006 in the Veterans Health Administration: focus on thiazide diuretics.

The authors sought to determine the prescribing practices of clinicians treating veterans with hypertension. A descriptive analysis was performed using a national pharmacy database of patients with a diagnosis of hypertension receiving antihypertensive medication in the fiscal years 2000 to 2006. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors were the most frequently prescribed antihypertensive class, with utilization increasing from 56.

Multicenter drug use evaluation of tamsulosin and availability of guidance criteria for nonformulary use in the veterans affairs health system.

Objective: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Pharmacy Benefits Management Strategic Healthcare Group (PBM-SHG) and its Medical Advisory Panel developed national criteria (guidelines) for the appropriate use of tamsulosin in the VA.