Pharmacist perceptions of continuing professional development and goal development in a community health-system.

Introduction: The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) defines continuing professional development (CPD) as a self-directed, ongoing, systematic, and outcomes-focused approach to lifelong learning that is applied into practice. Hospitals and health systems can use the ACPE CPD framework for performance evaluation and to support staff in developing learning goals.

Methods: This was an exploratory study using cross-sectional surveys and pharmacist self-reported CPD data at a community health system in the Southeastern USA.

The high-value pharmacy enterprise framework: Advancing pharmacy practice in health systems through a consensus-based, strategic approach.

Purpose: The high-value pharmacy enterprise (HVPE) framework and constituent best practice consensus statements are presented, and the methods used to develop the framework's 8 domains are described.

Summary: A panel of pharmacy leaders used an evidence- and expert opinion-based approach to define core and aspirational elements of practice that should be established within contemporary health-system pharmacy enterprises by calendar year 2025. Eight domains of an HVPE were identified: Patient Care Services; Business Services; Ambulatory and Specialty Pharmacy Services; Inpatient Operations; Safety and Quality; Pharmacy Workforce; Information Technology, Data, and Information Management; and Leadership.

Strengths in numbers: Assessing the use of StrengthsFinder 2.0 in a pharmacy residency program.

Purpose: To quantify the trends of StrengthsFinder 2.0 domains and traits in pharmacy residents within a single residency program. To recognize and discuss the application of resident StrengthsFinder 2.

Effect of emergency medicine pharmacists on medication-error reporting in an emergency department.

Purpose: The effect of an emergency medicine (EM) clinical pharmacist on medication-error reporting in an emergency department (ED) was studied.

Methods: The medication-error reports for patients seen at a university's ED between September 1, 2005, and February 28, 2009, were retrospectively reviewed. Errors reported before the addition of an EM pharmacist (from September 1, 2005, through February 28, 2006) were compared with those reported after the addition of two EM pharmacists (from September 1, 2008, through February 28, 2009).

Emergency medicine pharmacy.

Emergency medicine pharmacy is in its relative infancy. It is unlike any other area of current clinical practice and encompasses a wide variety of diseases, age groups, and patient populations. Patient care in the ED is provided in a fast-paced environment, often by new physicians and nurses, without the benefit of the numerous safety checks that may exist on a more-conventional service.

Evidence-based, multidisciplinary approach to the development of a crotalidae polyvalent antivenin (CroFab) protocol at a university hospital.

Background: Several thousand people are bitten annually by venomous snakes in the US. While the development of ovine Crotalidae polyvalent immune Fab antivenin (FabAV) for Crotalinae snakebite envenomations has greatly changed the way this clinical presentation is treated, multiple issues complicate its use. From patient assessment and evaluation, to medication preparation and administration, to the management of adverse drug reactions, the use of this antidote carries with it multiple points of possible medication variances.

Cost effectiveness of a clinical pharmacist on a neurosurgical team.

Objective: In 1999, the Society of Critical Care Medicine formally recognized that pharmacists were essential for the provision of high quality care to the critically ill population. This study is a brief quantitative analysis of the benefit provided by a clinical pharmacist in a multidisciplinary neurosurgical setting.

Methods: Patients admitted to the neurosurgical service in the 2 years before and 2 years after the implementation of dedicated neurosurgical pharmacy services were retrospectively reviewed.

Evaluation of a clinical scoring scale to direct early appropriate therapy in heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

Background: Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a serious adverse effect associated with heparin therapy. Current laboratory confirmation for immune mediated HIT often results in false positives and unnecessary treatment, exposing individuals to possible complications. As a result, clinical evaluation has been recommended in conjunction with laboratory testing.

Medication-error reporting and pharmacy resident experience during implementation of computerized prescriber order entry.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the number and type of medication errors reported before and after the implementation of computerized prescriber order entry (CPOE); the involvement of a pharmacy resident in the CPOE implementation process will be described.

Methods: CPOE implementation in the neurosurgical intensive care unit (ICU) began on September 14, 2004. The critical care pharmacy resident, pharmacy faculty preceptor on service, critical care pharmacy team, CPOE implementation team, and director of pharmacy were integral parts of this process.

Enhanced pharmacy training for counter-terrorism and disaster response.

State and federal authorities in the USA have identified pharmacists as important in terrorism detection activities. However few pharmacists are trained for disaster response planning, or providing services at disaster sites. A distance training programme was created by the College of Pharmacy at the University of Kentucky, Chandler Medical Center (UKCMC) in collaboration with an academic Medical Center, urban and rural community pharmacists, experts in pharmacy and infectious disease, and two state pharmacy associations.

Drug costs and bacterial susceptibility after implementing a single-fluoroquinolone use policy at a university hospital.

The University of Kentucky Hospital investigated the feasibility of choosing a sole fluoroquinolone for its formulary in an effort to reduce costs without affecting clinical outcomes. A three-step process was used to plan, implement, and monitor the selection program. Based on the range of clinical indications, safety profile, local susceptibility, cost, and dosing convenience, levofloxacin was chosen over ciprofloxacin and gatifloxacin as the sole fluoroquinolone.

Evolution and operation of a pharmacy residency on-call program.

A pharmacy residency on-call program designed to contribute to residents' competence in patient care and to extend the functions of the pharmacy department is described. The program, which was begun at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center in 1984, offers a supportive environment in which the resident is held accountable for pursuing optimal outcomes of drug therapy. The program provides opportunities for the resident to engage in independent decision-making, care for a wide variety of patients, and manage acute illness.