Pharmacist- versus physician-initiated admission medication reconciliation: impact on adverse drug events.

Background: Medication reconciliation (MR) has proven to be a problematic task for many hospitals to accomplish. It is important to know the clinical impact of physician- versus pharmacist-initiated MR in the resource-limited hospital environment.

Methods: This quasi-experimental study took place from December 2005 to February 2006 at an urban US Veterans Affairs hospital.

Role of buprenorphine in the management of heroin addiction.

Objective: To review buprenorphine and explore its role in the treatment of heroin dependence.

Data Sources: Articles were identified through a search of MEDLINE (1966-February 2005) using the key terms buprenorphine, heroin, opioid, addiction, and methadone.

Data Synthesis: Buprenorphine appears to provide potential advantages over methadone.