Implementation of transitions-of-care services through acute care and outpatient pharmacy collaboration.

Purpose: The implementation of a practice model designed to reduce hospital readmissions through optimal deployment of pharmacy staff on multidisciplinary care collaboration teams is described.

Summary: In response to Affordable Care Act provisions aimed at reducing preventable hospital readmissions, the pharmacy department at The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) led the implementation of a new pharmacy services model spanning both inpatient and outpatient settings. Key components of the model include (1) increased pharmacist participation in multidisciplinary rounds, (2) targeted medication reconciliation and patient education, (3) postdischarge phone monitoring of selected patients, and (4) bedside discharge medication delivery performed by a "transitions pharmacist extender.

Development and implementation of a postdischarge home-based medication management service.

Purpose: The development and implementation of a postdischarge home-based, pharmacist-provided medication management service are described.

Summary: A work group composed of pharmacy administrators, clinical specialists, physicians, and nursing leadership developed the structure and training requirements to implement the service. Eligible patients were identified during their hospital admission by acute care pharmacists and consented for study participation.

An evidence-based systematic review of kudzu (Pueraria lobata) by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration.

An evidence-based systematic review of kudzu (Pueraria lobata) by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration consolidates the safety and efficacy data available in the scientific literature using a validated, reproducible grading rationale. This article includes written and statistical analysis of clinical trials, plus a compilation of expert opinion, folkloric precedent, history, pharmacology, kinetics/dynamics, interactions, adverse effects, toxicology, and dosing.

Comparing approaches to integrating refugee and asylum-seeking healthcare professionals in Canada and the UK.

In this paper, we examine barriers to the integration of refugee doctors and nurses in Canada and the United Kingdom. Key obstacles impeding the integration of internationally trained health professionals are well documented, but less attention has been paid to the integration of refugee health professionals, particularly in Canada. Based on documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews with 46 Canadian and 34 UK stakeholders, our research shows that there are no simple solutions to mitigating the core obstacles that prohibit the professional integration of refugee doctors and nurses into host countries.

An evidence-based systematic review of kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration.

An evidence-based systematic review of kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) by the Natural Standard Research Collaboration consolidates the safety and efficacy data available in the scientific literature using a validated, reproducible grading rationale. This article includes written and statistical analysis of clinical trials, plus a compilation of expert opinion, folkloric precedent, history, pharmacology, kinetics/dynamics, interactions, adverse effects, toxicology, and dosing.