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Sep 27, 2024 | 
pharmacist.com | Michelle Cathers
Maternal RSV vaccine was first recommended by CDC last year during the 2023 to 2024 season. In a new MMWR report from CDC, the agency found that provider recommendation for that immunization in particular was associated with higher coverage.
According to the CDC survey findings, 33% of eligible pregnant women reported receiving an RSV vaccination to protect their infants from RSV—one of the most common reasons for infant hospitalization.
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Sep 26, 2024 | 
pharmacist.com | Michelle Cathers
How prevalent is iron deficiency among the American public? Researchers of a recent study published in JAMA sought answers and discovered that absolute and functional iron deficiency affect a large proportion of American adults even in the absence of anemia, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, or a current pregnancy.
Out of the study sample of 8,021 adult participants, an estimated 14% of U.S. adults had absolute iron deficiency, and an estimated 15% had functional iron deficiency.
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Sep 12, 2024 | 
pharmacist.com | Michelle Cathers
New research published in JAMA finds a deep concentration of PBM services are evident across all three payer markets, especially Medicare Part D. The research team, led by Dima Qato, PharmD, from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, found that Medicare Part D, along with Medicaid, was dominated by Optum Rx and CVS Caremark, while Express Scripts gravitated toward the commercial market.
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Sep 12, 2024 | 
pharmacist.com | Michelle Cathers
According to the tenth installment of the Pharmacy Workplace and Well-being Reporting (PWWR) series, community pharmacists continue to suffer discrimination, harassment, and aggression on the job, but more are pushing back with legal action.
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Aug 21, 2024 | 
pharmacist.com | Michelle Cathers
Researchers of a new study published in JAMA sought to investigate the neonatal and maternal safety of buprenorphine plus naloxone compared with buprenorphine only in pregnant patients with OUD.
Outcomes comparisons revealed a reduced risk for neonatal abstinence syndrome in those receiving buprenorphine plus naloxone, which also demonstrated a modestly lower risk of small for gestational age and/or admission to a neonatal intensive care unit.
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Aug 16, 2024 | 
pharmacist.com | Michelle Cathers
CDC released a 2024 update to its evidence-based guidance for health care providers related to contraceptive use by their patients. The latest iteration of the U.S. Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use (U.S. SPR), last revised in 2016, considers new evidence and expert feedback to reshape the guidelines.
Noteworthy changes include updated recommendations for provision of medications for the placement of intrauterine devices and for bleeding irregularities during implant use.
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Aug 16, 2024 | 
pharmacist.com | Michelle Cathers
Interventions led by pharmacists and community health workers are most likely to help patients with hypertension achieve disease control, according to research published July 19, 2024, in the American Heart Association’s (AHA’s) journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
With a pharmacist guiding them, participants in the meta-analysis saw their systolic number fall by as much as 7.3 points and their diastolic reading drop by as much as 3.9 points.
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Jun 28, 2024 | 
pharmacist.com | Michelle Cathers
CDC now recommends that older adults who were not immunized against RSV last year, when vaccines first became available, do so late this summer or early this fall ahead of the upcoming RSV season.
CDC’s ACIP voted unanimously to recommend all adults aged 75 years and older receive a single dose of any RSV vaccine, and adults aged 60 to 74 years who are at increased risk of severe RSV disease receive a vaccine.
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Jun 26, 2024 | 
pharmacist.com | Michelle Cathers
FDA is raising awareness for patients and health care providers about the risk of potentially severe allergic-like reactions to compounded drugs that contain sulfites.
Research shows that sodium bisulfite, potassium metabisulfite, and similar agents, which typically are added as preservatives to prevent the breakdown of active ingredients in a drug, can trigger anaphylactic symptoms in susceptible individuals, especially those with asthma.
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Jun 25, 2024 | 
pharmacist.com | Michelle Cathers
Pharmacists’ research is spreading to wider audiences, according to new data. JAPhA’s impact factor, a measure of the importance of a journal based on article citations, has increased substantially. JAPhA is APhA’s peer-reviewed journal and includes research on medication use and health outcomes, health care policy, and pharmacist-provided services.
