Summary: The content for these podcasts was adapted from interviews conducted by David Chen on June 15, 2009, during the ASHP 2009 Summer Meeting and Exhibition.

Part 1
FDA Amendments Act of 2007: Implications for Drug Safety and for Pharmacists
Brian M. Meyer, M.B.A.
Director, Government Affairs Division
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
Bethesda, Maryland
(4 minutes)

Part 2
Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies: Pros, Cons, and Essential Components
Rita Shane, Pharm.D., FASHP, Program Chair
Director, Pharmacy Services
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, California
(9 minutes)

Part 3
Restricted Drug Distribution Systems as a Strategy for Ensuring Drug Safety
Bonnie E. Kirschenbaum, M.S., FASHP, FCSHP
Healthcare Consultant, Columnist
Breckenridge, Colorado
(14 minutes)

Interviews Conducted by:
David Chen, R.Ph., MBA
Director, Pharmacy Practice Sections
Director, Section of Pharmacy Practice Managers
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists®

Summary: The content for these podcasts was adapted from interviews that were recorded at the 43rd ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition in December 2008.

Part 1
Focus on Quality Indicators.
Kasey Thompson, Pharm.D.
Vice President of the Office of Policy, Planning, and Communication
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
(12 minutes)

Part 2
Identifying Quality Indicators and Tips for Effectively Working with the Quality Department
Patricia Kienle, R.Ph., MPA, FASHP
Director of Accreditation and Medication Safety for the Pharmacy Services
Cardinal Health
(10 minutes)

Part 3
Does Pay for Performance Impact Your Practice?
Steven M. Riddle, R.Ph., BCPS
Medication Utilization and Quality Improvement Pharmacist
University of Washington
Harborview Medical Center
(14 minutes)

Part 4
Effective Reporting of Quality Performance Metrics
Jannet M. Carmichael, Pharm.D., BCPS, FCCP
VISN 21 Pharmacy Executive
VA Sierra Pacific Network
(13 minutes)

Summary: Botulinum toxin is well known for its cosmetic uses, but the current clinical literature is also replete with studies of the therapeutic use of botulinum toxins type A and type B for a variety of indications, usually characterized by excessive neuromuscular activity or chronic pain, only some of which are FDA approved. It has been challenging for health professionals to draw conclusions from the accumulated studies because of small sample sizes and limitations in study design. Further, since botulinum toxin products are not interchangeable, it is difficult to compare study results. Recently published evidence-based clinical guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) provide much needed evidence-based reviews of the efficacy and safety of botulinum neurotoxin for spasticity, movement disorders, and autonomic disorders and pain.

As the medication-use experts in health systems, pharmacists have the responsibility of ensuring the safe and effective use of botulinum toxin. In order to fulfill this responsibility, they must keep abreast of current clinical guidelines, evolving clinical evidence, and medication safety issues. This program will provide an overview of current and emerging therapeutic uses of botulinum toxin in light of evidence-based guidelines, after first reviewing the pharmacology of botulinum toxin and comparing characteristics of botulinum toxin products that are currently available. Safety considerations related to botulinum toxin will be reviewed, as well as the need to educate patients, their caregivers, and follow-up health care providers about potential systemic effects of botulinum toxin and instructions for seeking immediate medical care, if necessary. Reimbursement issues related to biosimilars and the status of policy and regulatory initiatives related to follow-on biologics that may influence formulary decisions in the future will also be described.

Part 1
Pharmacology of Botulinum Toxin and Characteristics of Available Products
Presented by Evelyn Hermes DeSantis, Pharm.D., BCPS
(26 minutes)

Part 2
Current and Emerging Therapeutic Uses of Botulinum Toxin
Presented by David M. Simpson, M.D.
(42 minutes)

Part 3
Pharmacy Considerations Related to the Use of Biosimilars in Health Systems
Richard G. Wenzel, Pharm.D.
(40 minutes)

Continuing Education
The program was originally presented at the 43rd ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, in December of 2008. Continuing education for this podcast is available until February 28, 2010. To be eligible for continuing education credit, you must complete the post-test and activity evaluation online at the ASHP Advantage CE Testing Center. Its ACPE Universal Activity Number is 204-000-08-473-H04P.

• Credits: Maximum of 2 hours (0.2 CEUs)
• Expected Duration: 2 hours
• Presentation Handout (optional)
• Print Post-Test (optional, for use as a study aid only)
• Take Post-Test

Summary: New responsibilities for pharmacy technicians are being identified throughout the profession of pharmacy, transitioning the position of pharmacy technician from a job to a career. Participants will learn how training and certification are the keys to professional advancement. The use of Certified Pharmacy Technicians can free-up the pharmacist for patient-focused services.

Speakers will highlight the opportunities available for pharmacy technician advancement. A PTCB update including accreditation status and consumer perceptions will also be presented. Evolution and the future of regulation of pharmacy technicians will be reviewed. The session will describe the benefits of creating a career path for technicians with a focus on training, recruitment, and retention.

Part 1
IV Sterile Compounding and Regulatory Affairs: Expanding the Role of Pharmacy Technicians
Presented by Angela Turner Cassano, Pharm.D., BCPS
(32 minutes)

Part 2
Pharmacy Technician Roles inSterile IV Compounding: Challenges, Opportunities, and Competencies
Presented by Barbara Hintzen, BBA, CPhT
(24 minutes)

Part 3
PTCB Certification Matters: Trained, Tested, Trusted
Presented by Melissa Murer Corrigan, R.Ph.
(25 minutes)

Continuing Education
The program was originally presented at the 43rd ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, in December of 2008. Continuing education for this podcast is available until August 31, 2010, for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. To be eligible for continuing education credit, you must complete the post-test and activity evaluation online at the ASHP Advantage CE Testing Center. Its ACPE Universal Activity Number is 204-000-09-563-H04P and for pharmacy technicians 204-000-09-563-H04T.

• Credits: Maximum of 2 hours (0.2 CEUs)
• Expected Duration: 2 hours
• Presentation Handout (optional)
• Print Post-Test (optional, for use as a study aid only)
• Take Post-Test

Summary: Antimicrobial resistance is a major public health crisis because it leads to increased morbidity, mortality, hospital lengths of stay, and healthcare costs. The emergence of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens has been attributed in part to improper antimicrobial use. Resistance can be stemmed by an effective antimicrobial stewardship program in conjunction with a comprehensive infection control program. Clinical pharmacists with infectious diseases training play key roles in this multidisciplinary effort.

On October 1, 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) limited reimbursement for certain hospital–acquired conditions ("never events") that the agency considers preventable in an effort to protect patients from serious harm and death. Some of these "no pay" conditions—vascular-catheter associated infection, catheter-associated urinary tract infection, and certain surgical site infections (after certain orthopedic surgeries and bariatric surgery for obesity)—have implications for antimicrobial use. The specific infectious conditions proposed for 2009 include ventilator-associated pneumonia, Clostridium difficile-associated disease, Legionnaire's Disease, Staphylococcus aureus septicemia, and surgical site infections following elective surgeries. Pharmacists need to understand the implications of CMS reimbursement policies for antimicrobial stewardship in health systems, and use evidence-based strategies to prevent never events and antimicrobial resistance.

This program will describe the relationships between inappropriate antimicrobial use, antimicrobial resistance, and increased morbidity, mortality, hospital length of stay, and healthcare costs.

Faculty: Debra A. Goff, Pharm.D., FCCP

Continuing Education
The program was originally presented at the 43rd ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, in December of 2008. Continuing education for this podcast is available until February 28, 2010. To be eligible for continuing education credit, you must complete the post-test and activity evaluation online at the ASHP Advantage CE Testing Center. Program number 204-000-08-468-H01P.

• Credits: Maximum of 1 hour (0.1 CEUs)
• Expected Duration: 1 hour
• Presentation Handout (optional)
• Print Post-Test (optional, for use as a study aid only)
• Take Post-Test

Summary
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a major public health concern in the United States because of increasing numbers of Americans affected at younger ages, the devastating long-term consequences of the disease, and typically poor success in managing the disease and preventing long-term consequences.

This symposium will provide an overview of recent trends in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in American adolescents and adults and shortcomings in managing the disease and preventing long-term consequences. The need for combination therapy in most patients, the ADA/EASD algorithm for the management of hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes, and the role of the patient's duration of diabetes, measured and goal A1C values, degree of preprandial and postprandial glycemic control, route of administration, adverse effects, and patient preferences in devising a combination therapeutic strategy to improve glycemic control in a patient with an inadequate response to monotherapy will be addressed.

The mechanisms of action, efficacy, and safety of GLP-1 analogs and DPP-4 inhibitors as monotherapy and in combination with other agents also will be described.

Faculty: Susan Cornell, B.S., Pharm.D., CDE, CDM

Continuing Education
The program was originally presented at the 43rd ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, in December of 2008. Continuing education for this podcast is available until February 28, 2010. To be eligible for continuing education credit, you must complete the post-test and activity evaluation online at the ASHP Advantage CE Testing Center. Program number 204-000-08-470-H01P

• Credits: 1 hours (0.1 CEUs)
• Duration: 1 hour
• Presentation Handout (optional)
• Print Post-Test (optional, for use as a study aid only)
• Take CE Post Test

Summary
In 2004, one in five deaths in the United States was attributed to coronary heart disease (CHD). Nearly half of adults and one in ten adolescents have high cholesterol, and approximately 17% of American adults (more than 44 million Americans) have low concentrations of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, which protects against CHD. Abdominal obesity (a large waist circumference), low HDL cholesterol, and elevated triglycerides are components of the metabolic syndrome, a constellation of interrelated cardiometabolic risk factors that contribute to CHD. Other cardiometabolic risk factors include elevated blood glucose and elevated blood pressure. Nearly one in four Americans—an estimated 47 million United States residents—have the metabolic syndrome. The metabolic syndrome manifests at increasingly young ages; roughly one in ten American adolescents has the syndrome.

Lifestyle modification (dietary changes and increased physical activity) is the intervention of choice to address obesity, but it is notoriously unsuccessful. The usefulness of currently available anti-obesity agents is limited by adverse effects. The benefit of raising HDL cholesterol and reducing elevated triglycerides along with reducing elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in decreasing CHD risk is well established. Raising HDL cholesterol also has been shown to reduce the progression of atherosclerosis.

Part 1:
Management of Cardiometabolic Risk: Evidence-Based Treatment Strategies
Joseph Saseen, Pharm.D., FCCP, BCPS, CLS

Part 2:
Chronic Obesity Management: Current Strategies and Future Development
Carrie M. Maffeo, Pharm.D., BCPS, CDE

Continuing Education
The program was originally presented at the 43rd ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, in December of 2008. Continuing education for this podcast is available until February 28, 2010. To be eligible for continuing education credit, you must complete the post-test and activity evaluation online at the ASHP Advantage CE Testing Center. Program number 204-000-08-469-H01P

• Credits: 1 hours (0.1 CEUs)
• Duration: 1 hour
• Presentation Handout (optional)
• Print Post-Test (optional, for use as a study aid only)
• Take CE Post Test

Summary: The clinical and economic consequences of serious bleeding in critically ill patients are significant. Uncontrolled hemorrhage is considered the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Because health system formularies include many agents to promote and inhibit blood coagulation, pharmacists need to know how to use them safely and appropriately.

Transfusion of blood products is often required to manage serious bleeding in critically ill patients; however, there are significant risks associated with transfusion of blood products. Consequently, pharmacologic strategies, including aminocaproic acid, tranexamic acid, desmopressin, and recombinant activated factor VIIa, are being investigated for controlling bleeding and reducing the need for transfusions. Pharmacists practicing in the acute care setting must keep abreast of this evolving body of knowledge to ensure that these agents continue to be used appropriately. Pharmacists involved in medication order review and approval, development and implementation of clinical guidelines and protocols, and formulary decision-making, as well as clinical specialists practicing in critical care, surgical, and emergency care settings need access to current information on agents used to manage bleeding in critically ill patients.

This educational activity will examine conditions that may lead to bleeding and strategies for managing bleeding, including both conventional treatments and emerging therapeutic alternatives. Using patient case examples and an automated audience response system, faculty will engage participants in the clinical decision-making process involved in managing patients with critical bleeding.

Part 1
Bleeding in Medical and Surgical Patients: Common Causes, Mechanisms, and Treatment
Presented by Robert MacLaren, Pharm.D., FCCP, FCCM
(35 minutes)

Part 2
Anticoagulant-Associated Intracerebral Hemorrhage: Conventional and Emerging Therapeutic Strategies
Gretchen M. Brophy, Pharm.D., BCPS, FCCP, FCCM
(35 minutes)

Part 3
Surgery-Associated Bleeding: A Cardiac Surgery Case
Jeremy D. Flynn, Pharm.D., BCPS
(35 minutes)

Continuing Education
The program was originally presented at the 43rd ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, in December of 2008. Continuing education for this podcast is available until February 28, 2010. To be eligible for continuing education credit, you must complete the post-test and activity evaluation online at the ASHP Advantage CE Testing Center. Program number 204-000-08-455-H01P.

• Credits: Maximum of 2 hours (0.2 CEUs)
• Expected Duration: 2 hours
• Presentation Handout (optional)
• Print Post-Test (optional, for use as a study aid only)
• Take Post-Test

Summary: During the week of March 2nd through the 8th in 2008, ASHP and the ASHP Research and Education Foundation marked National Patient Safety Awareness Week with a radio tour. The radio tour emphasized the pharmacists' role in medication safety. Dr. Scott T. Micek, a clinical pharmacist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, was interviewed by 17 radio stations, including CNN Radio. The interviews were designed to educate consumers about the vital patient-care role pharmacists play in hospitals and health systems.

This podcast includes the interview with WIBW in Topeka, Kansas, and the interview with Metro Networks Minneapolis in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Continuing education credits are not available with this podcast.

Summary:

New responsibilities for pharmacy technicians are being identified throughout the profession of pharmacy, transitioning the position of pharmacy technician from a job to a career. Participants will learn how training and certification are the keys to professional advancement. The use of certified pharmacy technicians can free-up the pharmacist for patient-focused services. Speakers will highlight the opportunities available for pharmacy technician advancement. A PTCB update including accreditation status and consumer perceptions will be presented. Evolution and the future of regulation of pharmacy technicians will be reviewed. The session will discuss the benefits of creating a career path for technicians with a focus on training, recruitment, and retention.

Part 1
Pharmacy Technician Certification: The National Standard
Melissa Murer Corrigan, R.Ph.

Part 2
Pharmacy Technician Regulation: An Evolution in Progress
Melissa Madigan, Pharm.D., J.D.

Part 3
Advancing the Practice of Pharmacy Technicians: Standardizing Position Descriptions and Developing a Career Ladder
Bruce Scott, R.Ph., MS, FASHP

Part 4
Panel Discussion
Melissa Murer Corrigan, R.Ph.
Melissa Madigan, Pharm.D., J.D.
Bruce Scott, R.Ph., MS, FASHP
Gay Dodson, R.Ph.

Continuing Education
The program was recorded in Chicago, Illinois in June of 2008. Continuing education for this podcast is available until March 1, 2010. To be eligible for continuing education credit, you must complete the post-test and activity evaluation online at the ASHP Advantage CE Testing Center. Program numbers 204-000-08-439-H04T and 204-000-08-439-H04P

• Credits: 2 hours (0.20 CEUs) Expected Duration: 2 hours
• Presentation Handout (optional)
• Print Post-Test (optional, for use as a study aid only)
• Post Tests
  
  • Pharmacists
    
  • Pharmacy Technicians
    

Summary: This podcast is based on a program that was originally presented live as part of the 2006 ASHP Conference for Leaders, which was held in Chicago, Illinois, October 16-17, 2006. The theme of the conference was "Developing High Performing Staff and Services."

The presentation was written and presented by Kasey K. Thompson, Pharm.D., who is the Director, Practice Standards and Quality Division and Director, Patient Safety at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists in Bethesda, Maryland. It was repurposed as a podcast by ASHP Advantage and made possible by the ASHP Section of Pharmacy Practice Managers.

This podcast was produced by ASHP Advantage and made possible by the ASHP Section of Pharmacy Practice Managers.

C.E. Credits: Not available for this program. Duration: 39 minutes

Downloads:

• Presentation Handout (optional)

Summary: This podcast is based on a program that was originally presented live as part of the Tenth Annual ASHP Conference for Leaders in Health-System Pharmacy. The conference was held October 17 and 18, 2005. The theme of the conference was "Balancing Competing Demands: Practical Strategies for Pharmacy Leaders."

The live program was written and presented by Anne T. Jarrett, Assistant Director of Pharmacy at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Rose Marie Babbitt, Associate Director of Pharmacy at Parkland Health and Hospital Systems in Dallas, Texas; and Rita R. Shane, Director of Pharmacy Services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.

This podcast was produced by ASHP Advantage and made possible by the ASHP Section of Pharmacy Practice Managers.

C.E. Credits: Not available for this program. Duration: 14 minutes

Downloads:

• Written Summary of Conference