Evaluation of a dedicated pharmacist staffing model in the medical intensive care unit.

Purpose: Published studies have shown that pharmacists on medical rounds reduce the incidence of preventable adverse drug events (ADEs). However, the impact of a dedicated pharmacist who provides consistent patient care in a critical care unit remains to be evaluated.

Objective: To determine the impact of a pharmacist who is permanently assigned to the medical intensive care unit (MICU) on the incidence of preventable ADEs, drug charges, and length of stay (LOS) in the MICU.

An experiment using hypothetical patient scenarios in healthy subjects to evaluate the treatment satisfaction and medication adherence intention relationship.

Background: Treatment beliefs and illness consequence have been shown to impact medication adherence in patients with years of asthma experience. These relationships are unknown in patients with early experience.

Objective: The purpose was to test the relationship between illness consequence, treatment beliefs, treatment satisfaction and medication adherence intentions in healthy subjects exposed to an asthma scenario.

Intending to adhere or to not adhere: results from an experiment in healthy subjects testing illness perceptions and behavioral intentions in asthma.

Background: Although illness perceptions have been theorized to predict medication adherence, evidence has been limited to cross-sectional studies.

Objective: This study evaluated the impact of illness identity, consequence, cause and personal control on medication adherence intentions in healthy subjects exposed to a scenario describing asthma-related illness perceptions.

Methods: An experimental design (2×2×2×2 factorial design) was used to create 16 asthma patient scenarios.

Expanding Consumer Medication Access: The Time Is Now.

The US FDA is proposing an expanded over-the-counter (OTC) medication policy to improve patient access to medications under the supervision of a pharmacist. Higher levels of medication access via multiple medication categories are common in other industrialized nations. Pharmacists are well trained and widely available.

Employer-based patient-centered medication therapy management program: evidence and recommendations for future programs.

Objective: To evaluate a patient-centered employer-based medication therapy management (MTM) program.

Design: Randomized controlled study.

Setting: Health promotion program at the University of Michigan from June 2009 to December 2011.