Medication Safety

Apparently some pharmacists are worried about personal health records

by

Healthcare IT Consultant Blog: “Pharmacists’ representatives have claimed that use of private health record services such as Google Health and Microsoft HealthVault could risk fragmentation of electronic patient records. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain said “the proliferation of these systems and indiscriminate use” could lead to information on drug allergies, possible interactions, duplications … Read more

UCSF launches prescription help

by

The Business Journal: “The UCSF School of Pharmacy has launched a new service in Fresno to address the urgent need among Central Valley residents and their health care providers for assistance in managing their prescriptions. The service will start scheduling appointments this week and will officially open for in-person patient consultations on Sept. 1. Through the program, … Read more

EMRs as a tool for patient safety.

by

A short jaunt over to the EMR and HIPPA weblog led me to an interesting article in Time written by Scott Haig, MD. While Dr. Haig touches on a couple of positive features of electronic medical records (EMRs), he like many physicians, focuses on the negatives. He concludes that “Doctors and patients live in a world of painful, pressing questions. The great physicians I’ve known seek answers through personal commitment to each patient and judgment born of practical experience — neither of which I have found in a machine.” I think he is missing the point of an EMR.

Read more

Pharmacists aren’t completely worthless after all.

by

An article in the most recent issue of Archives of Internal Medicine reports the results of adding a pharmacist to a health care team to offer up expertise on appropriate use of medication in heart failure and hypertension. The results showed a 35% reduction in adverse drug events, a 48% reduction in preventable adverse drug … Read more

FDA revises ceftriaxone-calcium warning

by

The FDA has issued an update to the previous alert on the interaction between calcium and ceftriaxone (Rocephin). The original warning was based on reported fatalities involving neonates. The update occurred after Roche (manufacturer of ceftriaxone) conducted two studies using neonatal and adult plasma with varying concentrations of ceftriaxone and calcium. Based on the results, … Read more