THE PEOPLE WHO ARRIVED in the emergency department on April 15, 2013, had injuries unlike any Nancy Balch had seen in her 12 years as an emergency department pharmacist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Their injuries were severe. At least one person had had a limb blown off. “I’ve seen a lot, unfortunately,” she [...]

ON THE HEELS of ASHP’s Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative Summit in 2010, Cleveland Clinic Florida (CCF) set the goal of giving all patients at the 155-bed academic institution the opportunity to interact with pharmacists as part of their care. It was a lofty goal, one that would stretch the pharmacy department’s staff and resources. In [...]

DIABETES MANAGEMENT can be tricky, especially for patients who have been diagnosed and prescribed oral agents or insulin to help them control their blood glucose. Those with type 2 diabetes often also grapple with hypertension and dislipidemia and must take additional medications. The juggling act these patients face inspired Zachary A. Weber, Pharm.D., BCPS, BCACP, [...]

DISCHARGE FROM HOSPITAL TO HOME or a long-term care facility is a busy time for both patients and care providers. When administrators at Scott and White Memorial Hospital, a 600-bed academic medical center in Temple, Tex., found that the computer-assisted discharge medication reconciliation process wasn’t robust enough, they tapped pharmacy staff for a solution. Seizing [...]

A KEY ELEMENT of advancing pharmacy practice—and a recommendation of ASHP’s Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative—is the expansion of pharmacists’ duties to include writing medication orders. At the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System (CAVHCS), which serves more than 134,000 veterans in a 43-county area of Georgia and Alabama, the clinical pharmacy team has achieved this [...]

PHARMACISTS AND OTHER HOSPITAL WORKERS the allied health professions know that when disaster strikes, they may have to lodge in place at their facilities to ensure that there is no disruption in patient care and assist with any potential evacuation or influx of patients. It’s part of the job. So, when hospitals and health care [...]

The story of how ASHP helped achieve new legislation addressing national drug shortages is one of persistence, a singular focus on a major health care problem, and an all-encompassing commitment to patient safety. “This is really a story about how, when pharmacists work together, we can change our health care environment to keep patients safe,” [...]

  With the October launch of its Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service™ (PhORCAS™), ASHP has pushed aside the typically cumbersome, paper-laden residency application process to make room for a more efficient and convenient alternative. “The residency application process has been slow and labor-intensive,” said Kate Farthing, Pharm.D., BCPS, pharmacy clinical specialist, quality and patient [...]

When Tyler Van Schyndel, Pharm.D., was choosing his pharmacy residency project in 2011, he wanted one that would leave a lasting mark. He chose well. His pilot study demonstrated that pharmacy technicians could efficiently and accurately collect medication histories in the emergency department (ED) of Froedtert Health,Milwaukee. Dr. Van Schyndel’s work was so compelling that [...]