A Longitudinal Integrative Course Series to Prepare Students for Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences.

: This paper describes a series of integrative courses intentionally designed to prepare students for Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs) in a block system curriculum. : Three integration blocks are interspersed throughout the didactic curriculum to serve as checkpoints to ensure competency as students progress in the curriculum, rather than waiting until the end to determine competency. Complex patient case discussions and a series of high-stakes assessments are used to reinforce and evaluate cumulative retention of knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Cost-Effectiveness of Treatment Strategies with Biologics in Accordance with Treatment Guidelines for Ankylosing Spondylitis: A Patient-Level Model.

Background: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a form of rheumatic disease caused by chronic inflammation of the axial skeleton. Patients with AS experience significant functional limitations and reduced quality of life. Consequently, AS imposes a substantial economic burden on society due to productivity loss and work disability.

Effectiveness of bariatric surgical procedures: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Bariatric surgery has proved to be an effective strategy in treating obesity. However, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of 3 most common bariatric surgery procedures, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), sleeve gastrectomy (SG), and laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (LAGB), reported inconsistent results. We performed a systematic review and network meta-analysis to synthesize evidence of effectiveness of the 3 common bariatric procedures from relevant RCTs.

Rechallenging Statin Therapy in Veterans With Statin-Induced Myopathy Post Vitamin D Replenishment.

Background: Statins are the primary class of medications used to lower cholesterol and reduce risks for coronary heart disease. However, statin muscular adverse effects are one of the main reasons for statin nonadherence and a barrier to cardiovascular risk reduction.

Objectives: The primary objective of our study was to examine the effect of replenishing vitamin D on statin-induced myopathy in veteran patients who failed to maintain statin therapy in a pharmacist-run ambulatory care setting.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2): positive advanced breast cancer.

Purpose: The EMILIA trial demonstrated that trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) significantly increased the median profession-free and overall survival relative to combination therapy with lapatinib plus capecitabine (LC) in patients with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer (ABC) previously treated with trastuzumab and a taxane. We performed an economic analysis of T-DM1 as a second-line therapy compared to LC and monotherapy with capecitabine (C) from both perspectives of the US payer and society.

Methods: We developed four possible Markov models for ABC to compare the projected life-time costs and outcomes of T-DM1, LC, and C.