“What’d I miss?” – Week of January 3rd

As usual there were a lot of things that happened during the week, and not all of it was pharmacy or technology related. Here’s a quick look at some of the stuff I found interesting.

– Avatar was #1 at the box office again last weekend. According to Movieweb.com Avatar has made approximately $380,000,000 at the boxoffice, making it the 10th highest grossing move of all time; to date.

– The January 2010 issue of The Annals of Pharmacotherapy has some great articles in it that are a must read. The issue is full of articles exploring the impact of pharmacists on various healthcare services.

– The Annals of Internal Medicine (January 5, 2010 vol. 152, No. 1: 66-67):  Researchers at Cornell University asked participants to measure 5 mL of medication into different sized spoons. Participants were confident in their ability to measure the medication, but the study found that the participants “underdosed by 8.4% when using the medium-sized spoon and overdosed by 11.6% when using the larger spoon.” A similar article appeared in The Journal of Family Practice back in August of 2000. I recommend getting a pediatric oral dosing syringe for measuring medication. Don’t use a kitchen spoon.

– In the same issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine there is an article about the use of low-dose aspirin following GI bleed (Continuation of Low-Dose Aspirin Therapy in Peptic Ulcer Bleeding). Whether or not to continue aspirin for prophylaxis is a very common question from patients that have experience some type of GI problem. The authors of the article conclude that “Among low-dose aspirin recipients who had peptic ulcer bleeding, continuous aspirin therapy may increase the risk for recurrent bleeding but potentially reduces mortality rates. Larger trials are needed to confirm these findings.” In other words it’s a risk versus benefit decision between you and your physician.

– Mobihealthnews: “On December 11 Kaiser Permanente officially rolled out its SMS appointment reminder service, powered by mobileStorm. mobileStorm’s SMS platform enabled Kaiser to create and facilitate appointment reminders, treatment reminders as well as alerts that lab results have returned.” This is a very interesting concept and one that is a little overdue in my opinion. Read more about it here.

– Medscape: “The feasibility of contracting for medication therapy management (MTM) services in a physician’s office was studied.” And the conclusion: “Over a six-month time period, pharmacists in a family medicine practice were unable to receive compensation by Medicare for providing MTM services.” This has been a long standing problem with pharmacist providing services. When is it ever going to change?

– Medical News Today: “Scientists at the University of Maryland, Baltimore have successfully used near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) — a method already used to test farm product quality — to predict how quickly pills dissolve in the body.” – Very cool stuff.

– The Nexus One was officially announced this week. What a great looking device. According to reports, Verizon should have the phone sometime in the spring of this year. Just enough time for me to convince my wife I need one.

– The consumer electronics show (CES) is being held in Las Vegas this week. If you’re into gadgets this would be the place to be. The stream of information coming from CES this week has been intense and interesting. One of my goals before I die is to attend the CES. Now all I have to do is figure out how. Unfortunately “consumers” aren’t allowed to attend. Go figure.

– If you are interested in reading more about the CES show in Vegas I would recommend visiting the following websites: Gizmodo, Endgadget, GottaBeMobile, TechCrunch, jkOnTheRun and Mobileread. That should keep you busy for a while.

– With the release of the meaningful use guidelines, I’ve noticed a significant number of acronyms flying around the internet. If you have a need to decipher one check out the list at Health IT.

– Check out the Ford Work Solutions Truck at GottaBeMobile. Who says technology can’t be fun?

– Pixel Qi finally made an appearance on a device. I’ve been looking forward to these LCD screens for quite some time. They offer readability in direct sunlight, but more importantly can significantly increase your work time between charges by extending your battery life.

– Congratulations to Alabama for winning the national title. What would have happened if Colt McCoy wouldn’t have been injured? We’ll never know.

– The NFL playoffs start today; I’m ready. I’m taking the Jets, Cowboys, Ravens and Cardinals. Wish me luck.

Have a great weekend everyone.