Community Pharmacists Identification of Gaps in Care - Statin Utilization for Primary Prevention.

Statins are a highly effective lipid-lowering therapy associated with significant reductions in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) events and death. Despite these benefits, statins are underutilized. Pharmacist-led interventions to increase statin prescribing are effective.

Utilization rates and predictors of sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor use in patients with heart failure with or without type 2 diabetes.

Purpose: Sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have been demonstrated to reduce cardiovascular deaths and heart failure (HF) hospitalizations in patients with HF. Despite this, utilization remains low. The purpose of this study was to characterize SGLT2 inhibitor utilization rates and predictors of use in a population of patients with or without type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Underprescribing of statin therapy in people with HIV at risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Purpose: People with HIV (PWH) are at increased risk for developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The primary objective of this study was to evaluate adherence to guideline recommendations on statin use in PWH for both primary and secondary ASCVD prevention in a single healthcare institution.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed to evaluate statin use for cardiovascular risk reduction in PWH 40 to 75 years of age at an HIV clinic over a 1-year evaluation period.

Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitor Use Among Individuals Age <65 with Type 2 Diabetes and Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction: A Cost-Benefit Analysis.

Background: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients face increased risk of heart failure (HF) as they age. Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT-2i) have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing HF hospitalizations in patients with T2D and HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Diabetes guidelines recommend SGLT-2i therapy for patients with HFrEF; however, SGLT-2i cost is high.

Awareness, perceptions, and attitudes toward community pharmacist clinical services: An analysis of data from 2004 and 2018.

Objective: This study aimed to describe and compare the public's change in awareness and perceptions of, willingness to use, willingness to pay, and interest in insurance coverage for community pharmacist prescriptive authority services and point of care testing over a time span of 14 years.

Methods: This was a retrospective review of anonymous questionnaires administered by student pharmacists in 2004 and in 2018. Questionnaires were administered to individuals who presented to University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy sponsored health fair screenings and at various community pharmacies throughout the state of New Mexico (NM).

Awareness and perceptions of advanced practice pharmacists among health care providers in New Mexico.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate health care provider awareness and perceptions of the 2 types of advanced practice pharmacists (APPhs) in New Mexico: pharmacist clinicians (PhCs) and community pharmacists with independent prescriptive authority (iRPhs).

Methods: A cross-sectional electronic survey was administered to health care providers in New Mexico to describe awareness and perceptions of APPhs and benefits and barriers to collaborative practice with APPhs.

Results: A total of 5905 providers received the emailed survey, and 634 (11%) completed the survey, with 68% of the respondents indicating that they were not aware of the 2 types of APPhs in New Mexico.

Long-Acting Basal Insulins: A Review of the More Recently Approved Agents.

Long-acting basal insulins are used for the management of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Long-acting basal insulins were developed utilizing recombinant DNA technology and have been available since 2000 with the approval of insulin glargine U-100 followed by insulin detemir in 2005. In recent years, diabetes management has become more complex with the approval of insulin glargine U-300 and insulin degludec U-100 and U-200.

Empagliflozin-induced Diabetic Ketoacidosis Unmasking a Type 1 Diabetes Diagnosis.

Empagliflozin is a sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor that inhibits renal glucose reabsorption through an insulin-independent mechanism. This class of drugs is used in the management of type 2 diabetes. A 49-year-old female with type 2 diabetes treated with empagliflozin presented to the emergency department in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).

Health literacy of student pharmacists.

Introduction: The primary purpose of this study was to assess the health literacy levels of doctorate of pharmacy students. A secondary objective was to determine if a correlation exists between age, degree prior to pharmacy school, work experience, and health literacy status among these students.

Methods: Participants were first year doctorate of pharmacy students at an accredited college of pharmacy in the Southwestern United States.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Therapy Use in a Diverse New Mexican Population.

Objective: To describe differences, attitudes, and experiences in use of complementary and alternative medicines and therapy (CAMT) in people living in New Mexico (NM).

Design: Cross-sectional survey study.

Setting: Clinics staffed by the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy faculty between September 2009 and August 2011 in Albuquerque, NM.

Care transitions service: a pharmacy-driven program for medication reconciliation through the continuum of care.

Purpose: A quality-improvement program at University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) encompassing admission, discharge, and postdischarge medication reconciliation activities is described, with a report on initial assessments of the program's impact on rates of medication-related problems (MRPs).

Methods: Pharmacists conducted a five-month evaluation of the UNMH Care Transitions Service (CTS), which serves inpatients admitted to the hospital's family medicine service, providing medication reconciliation and targeted MRP interventions. Selected patients who received CTS services from November 2012 through March 2013 (n = 191) were included in the analysis.

Comparison of the fatty acid composition of the serum phospholipids of controls, prediabetics and adults with type 2 diabetes.

Objective: Although abnormalities in the fatty acid composition of serum and red cell membrane phospholipids of patients with type 2 diabetes are well-documented, lacking are studies of this issue in prediabetic individuals.

Materials/methods: For this cross-sectional study, we recruited 180 subjects (30-80 years), 56 of whom were normal with regard to glucose control (HbA1c, <5.7%), 61 who had prediabetes (HbA1c, 5.

Impact of pharmacist discharge medication therapy counseling and disease state education: Pharmacist Assisting at Routine Medical Discharge (project PhARMD).

Many patients experience adverse events after discharge; numerous are medication related and preventable. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of pharmacist medication counseling and disease education at discharge. Pharmacist Assisting at Routine Medical Discharge is a prospective study of English- or Spanish-speaking adults discharged from internal medicine.

Blood pressure monitoring technique impacts hypertension treatment.

Background: In 2005 the American Heart Association (AHA) released updated recommendations for blood pressure (BP) monitoring in order to ensure accurate BP measurements.

Objective: To determine if current methods of BP assessment in an ambulatory clinic result in significantly different BP measurements than those obtained by following the AHA recommendations and if these BP differences impact treatment decisions.

Research Design: Randomized prospective analysis.

Antiretroviral and statin drug-drug interactions.

Patients living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are at risk for dyslipidemia as a result of the disease itself and from certain classes of antiretroviral therapy. The protease inhibitors and non-nucleoside reverse transcription inhibitors have been associated with elevated triglycerides, total, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol with decreased high-density lipoprotein. These classes of medications affect the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme resulting in both induction and inhibition of numerous CYP enzymes.

The paclitaxel-eluting stent in percutaneous coronary intervention: Part II. Comparison with the sirolimus-eluting stent, economics, and unanswered questions.

The paclitaxel- and sirolimus-eluting stents are currently the only drug-eluting stents approved for use in the United States. These 2 stents differ in terms of mechanism of drug action, the construct of the stent itself, and the drug delivery polymer. Clinical trials have demonstrated superiority of both paclitaxel- and sirolimus-eluting stents when compared with bare-metal stents in terms of reducing restenosis and the need for target vessel revascularization.