Considering the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) to Assess Intercultural Competence at U.S. Pharmacy Schools.

Background: U.S. pharmacy schools need to engage in improving intercultural competence among administrators, faculty, staff, and students.

Community Pharmacists' Experiences and Perception about Transitions of Care from Hospital to Home in a Midwestern Metropolis.

Objectives: (1) To describe the experiences of community pharmacists in transitions of care (TOC) from hospital to home in a Midwestern metropolis; and (2) to develop instruments to measure perceived importance of TOC activities.

Methods: Survey items were developed, including a six-item instrument to capture perceived importance of TOC activities. The items were piloted to examine face validity before dissemination to 310 community pharmacists.

Analysis of Pharmacist Interventions Used to Resolve Safety Target of Polypharmacy (STOP) Drug Interactions.

Background: Statin drug interactions commonly increase the risk of muscle-related toxicities. The medical literature supports consultative pharmacist interventions to resolve drug interactions, but studies demonstrating autonomous pharmacist interventions are lacking.

Objective: To evaluate the complementary impact of using pharmacist-led protocols and pharmacists with prescriptive authority to resolve statin drug interactions.

Examining the Impact of Rehospitalization on Healthcare Cost of Myocardial Infarction Patients in Beijing: A Retrospective Observational Study.

Introduction: To examine the impact of rehospitalization on the healthcare expenditure of myocardial infarction (MI) patients in Beijing.

Methods: Retrospective data of MI patients were retrieved from the Beijing Medical Insurance Database, an administrative database of social medical reimbursement activities for the urban population in Beijing, China. Ten percent of patients diagnosed with MI from January 1 to December 31, 2012 were randomly selected and their first hospitalization was considered as the index event.

Efficacy of Patient Aligned Care Team Pharmacist Services in Reaching Diabetes and Hyperlipidemia Treatment Goals.

The services provided by clinical pharmacy specialists can improve low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and hemoglobin A levels in the veterans enrolled in a disease management clinic.

Suboptimal Treatment of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathic Pain in the United States.

Objective: Approximately one third of patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) also experience neuropathic pain, resulting in a significant health care burden, and reduced quality of life. Pregabalin, duloxetine, and tapentadol extended-release are approved for treating diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (DPNP), but many other medications are commonly used "off-label" with various degrees of success. We examined US health insurance claims to determine the current DPNP treatment patterns.

Cost per responder associated with biologic therapies for Crohn's disease, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Introduction: Biologic therapies have demonstrated efficacy and safety in several chronic systemic disorders. The authors indirectly compared response rates and costs per responder associated with biologic treatments for moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease (CD), psoriasis (Ps), and/or rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: A systematic literature search was performed to identify phase 3 randomized controlled trials of biologics for CD (adalimumab, infliximab), Ps (adalimumab, etanercept, infliximab, ustekinumab 45 mg, ustekinumab 90 mg), or methotrexate-refractory RA (abatacept, adalimumab, certolizumab, etanercept, golimumab, infliximab, rituximab, tocilizumab).