Comparing commercial pharmacogenetic testing results and recommendations for antidepressants with established CPIC guidelines.

Introduction: Increasingly, pharmacogenetic testing helps providers with medication selection based upon patient-specific DNA results. While several government-funded organizations work towards consensus and standardization for testing and interpretation, compliance to these best practices remains inconsistent. Pharmacogenetic testing companies often develop proprietary practices for interpreting and reporting, which can lead to incongruency of reported results among companies and potential discrepancies in interpretation.

Designing a pharmacy residency program: focus on a common accreditation challenge.

Purpose: One organization's stepwise approach to achieving full compliance in an area often cited for improvement in pharmacy residency accreditation surveys is described.

Summary: Principle 4 of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) accreditation standard for postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) residencies lists requisite components of program design, conduct, and evaluation; many organizations seeking accreditation are evaluated as being in partial compliance with one or more elements of Principle 4. Several years ago, the Marshfield Clinic, a physician group practice in Wisconsin, launched an initiative to expand its postgraduate medical training program to include a PGY1 pharmacy residency.

Telephonic monitoring and optimization of inhaler technique.

Introduction: Improper inhaler technique is a common problem affecting asthma control and healthcare costs. Telephonic asthma management can increase access to care while reducing costs and hospitalizations. However, no reliable method has been established for telephonically evaluating and correcting inhaler technique.