Association of pharmacist intervention counseling with medication adherence and quality of life: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials.

Objective(s): To assess the association between pharmacist intervention counseling with medication adherence and quality of life. Also, to assess if these associations vary by the focus, structure, training, or robustness of the counseling.

Methods: The initial search identified 1805 references, of which 62 randomized trials (RCTs) met inclusion criteria for the systematic review.

Association of pharmacist counseling with adherence, 30-day readmission, and mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials.

Objective(s): To determine the association of pharmacist medication counseling with medication adherence, 30-day hospital readmission, and mortality.

Methods: The initial search identified 21,590 citations. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 62 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (49 for the meta-analysis) were included in the final analysis.

Pharmacists interventions using Bluetooth technology and telehealth to improve blood pressure-A pilot study.

Objectives: To assess patients' knowledge of blood pressure (BP) and their comfort level with using technology, including a Bluetooth-enabled BP device and pharmacist telemonitoring. The secondary objective was to discover if pharmacist interventions improved BP readings.

Setting: The study took place in Pharmacy Plus and the Family Medicine Department at the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL.

The changing cost to prevent diabetes: A retrospective analysis of the Diabetes Prevention Program.

Objectives: Diabetes prevention interventions are poorly implemented. While health care costs generally increase, 2 factors affect the relative cost of diabetes prevention interventions: the declining cost of metformin (even without insurance) and the new recommendation for vitamin B12 monitoring during metformin treatment. The study's objective was to update the relative health system cost estimate of metformin for diabetes prevention by incorporating the current health system cost of metformin and the cost of addressing potential metformin-associated vitamin B12 deficiency.

Active-learning Strategies for Legal Topics and Substance Abuse in a Pharmacy Curriculum.

To implement active-learning strategies to engage students in learning, applying, and teaching legal and substance abuse topics. Medication Safety course student groups created films on a National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) using a movie genre and presented them in film festival format. Pharmacogenomics course student groups taught ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) topics through presentation of short stories about comic book characters with genetic mutations.

Guidelines for submitting adverse event reports for publication.

Publication of case reports describing suspected adverse effects of drugs and medical products that include herbal and complementary medicines, vaccines, and other biologicals and devices is important for postmarketing surveillance. Publication lends credence to important signals raised in these adverse event reports. Unfortunately, deficiencies in vital information in published cases can often limit the value of such reports by failing to provide enough details for either (i) a differential diagnosis or provisional assessment of cause-effect association, or (ii) a reasonable pharmacological or biological explanation.

Guidelines for submitting adverse event reports for publication.

Publication of case reports describing suspected adverse effects of drugs and medical products that include herbal and complementary medicines, vaccines, and other biologicals and devices is important for postmarketing surveillance. Publication lends credence to important signals raised in these adverse event reports. Unfortunately, deficiencies in vital information in published cases can often limit the value of such reports by failing to provide sufficient details for either (i) a differential diagnosis or provisional assessment of cause-effect association, or (ii) a reasonable pharmacological or biological explanation.

Epidemiology, comparative methods of detection, and preventability of adverse drug events.

Background: Adverse drug events (ADEs) continue to be of concern to all health professionals. Even serious ADEs are underreported in all patient-care environments.

Objective: To discover the incidence and the best detection methods and preventability for ADEs at Al Qassimi Hospital, a 360-bed facility in the United Arab Emirates.

The quality of published adverse drug event reports.

Background: Case reports of adverse drug events (ADEs) are an important source of information.

Objective: To determine what variables are reported in ADE case reports, how causality was assessed for each report, and what criteria are specified for publishing ADE case reports.

Methods: A descriptive analysis of highly significant ADE case reports published in English over a 20-year period was performed.

Risk of myocardial infarction with combination antihypertensive regimens including a dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker in hypertensive diabetics.

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to determine if there was an increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in a high-risk hypertensive diabetic managed care population receiving combination antihypertensive therapy including a dihydropyridine (DHP) calcium channel blocker (CCB).

Methods: A retrospective, population-based, case-control study design was used to determine the risk of MI versus the prescribed antihypertensive drug regimen. During 1997-1999, 6,096 diabetics with hypertension were identified.