Tags: wellness

Introducing Med Sync

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Jason

One of the most important parts of our jobs as Pharmacists is to help keep our patients, you, healthy. One of the ways we do that is to try and help patients take their medications the way they were intended; the right medication, at the right dose, and the right frequency. Adherence is a term used in healthcare that refers to the extent to which patients take medications as prescribed by their healthcare providers. It is estimated that poor medication adherence;

  • Costs the healthcare system around $290 billion each year
  • Accounts for approximately 125,000 deaths each year
  • Is responsible for 10-25% of all nursing home and hospital admissions

Approximately 69 million people in our country take three or more prescriptions per month, requiring multiple trips to the pharmacy. Many patients say they miss doses of their medication because they forget to refill their prescription before they run out. 

We can reduce your trips to the pharmacy and hopefully improve your ability to take medications as prescribed through a medication synchronization (med sync) program now being offered by our pharmacies. Med sync allows you to pick up of all of your ongoing prescriptions at the pharmacy on a single, convenient day each month. Med sync is especially helpful for people who take multiple, monthly medications, such as those with chronic illness or the elderly, as well as caregivers or family members responsible for helping them manage their prescription refills.

Our med sync program also includes a proactive call a week before each of your appointments or “sync date” at the pharmacy, to review your synchronized medications, and make sure we are aware of any additions, changes, or deletions to your medications. Keeping your pharmacist aware of any changes to your medications resulting from doctor or hospital visits is important in maintaining optimal results from your prescriptions. Your pharmacy will then proactively refill your medications, relieving worries of missed refills or running out of your medications. You will build a relationship with your pharmacist that will help you take your medications properly and regularly, which leads to overall better health. Your appointment is also an ideal time to review other pharmacy-provided health services with your pharmacist, such as a review of your vaccine history to schedule any missing or due vaccinations.

Talk to any of our pharmacy staff today to get set up with Med Sync, start making things easier for yourself and let us help you stay well.

Jason Miller, Pharm. D.
Pharmacy Clinical Program Manager

National Diabetes Awareness Month

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November is National Diabetes Awareness Month

November is here, that means that along with elections, we get to talk about diabetes again. Once again I’ll just provide a brief recap, or overview of diabetes, then highlight some of the things that we are doing in our pharmacies to help patients with diabetes.

What exactly is diabetes?

Diabetes is a progressive disease in which your body is unable to efficiently process sugar to use as energy. Your pancreas makes a hormone called insulin that is used to move sugar from your blood into your cells to use for energy or store for later. When you have diabetes, your body doesn’t make enough insulin or your cells don’t respond to insulin. When this happens, you are unable to get the sugar from your blood into your cells.

There are two main types of diabetes; Type 1 and 2. Type 1 diabetes (formerly known as insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes) is caused when your own immune system attacks and destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Type 2 diabetes is caused by your body not producing enough insulin or your body not responding to the insulin being produced, called insulin resistance.

Is diabetes that big of a problem?

The answer is YES! The most recent statistics reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that in 2015, it’s estimated that 9.4% (30.3 million) of the U.S. population had diabetes, 1 in 4 didn’t know they had diabetes. With numbers like this, diabetes is a growing epidemic. In the last 20 years, the number of adults diagnosed with diabetes has more than tripled as the American population has aged and become more overweight.

Are you at risk for developing prediabetes or type 2 diabetes?

You’re at risk for developing prediabetes or type 2 diabetes if you:

  • Are overweight
  • Are age 45 or older
  • Have a parent, brother, or sister with type 2 diabetes
  • Are physically active less than 3 times a week
  • Have ever had gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant) or given birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds

So what can you do to reduce your risk of developing prediabetes or type 2 diabetes?

  • Maintain a healthy weight
  • Lose weight if you’re overweight
  • Regular physical activity – 150 minutes per week
  • Eat healthier

How can we help?

  • We will be offering prediabetes screenings at our pharmacies through the month of November
  • We will also be offering free blood glucose testing at pharmacies this month
  • Having diabetes makes you more likely to contract Hepatitis B and Pneumonia. We offer immunizations for both at our pharmacies (don’t forget your flu shot)
  • Talk to our pharmacy staff about our PharmaSmart program to help monitor your blood pressure
  • Join our RX Savers club for access to affordable medications to treat diabetes
  • Free Glucocard meter and 50 count test strips for $9.99.
  • Dietitian approved, month-long diabetic menu and shopping lists

As always, stop by any of our pharmacies if you want any more information or help with your diabetes concerns. Thanks!

Jason Miller, Pharm. D.
Pharmacy Clinical Program Manager

Antibiotic Resistance

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Antibiotics are medicines that fight bacterial infections. Used properly, they can save lives. But there is a growing problem of antibiotic resistance. It happens when bacteria change and become able to resist the effects of an antibiotic. Antibiotic resistance is one of the most urgent threats to the public’s health. Antibiotic resistant bacteria can cause illnesses that were once easily treatable with antibiotics to become untreatable, leading to dangerous infections. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are often more difficult to kill and more expensive to treat. In some cases, the antibiotic-resistant infections can lead to serious disability or even death.

Overuse and misuse of antibiotics allows the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Every time a person takes antibiotics, sensitive bacteria (bacteria that antibiotics can still attack) are killed, but resistant bacteria are left to grow and multiply. This is how repeated use of antibiotics can increase the number of drug-resistant bacteria. Antibiotics are not effective against viral infections like the common cold, flu, most sore throats, bronchitis, and many sinus and ear infections. Widespread use of antibiotics for these illnesses is an example of how overuse of antibiotics can promote the spread of antibiotic resistance. Smart use of antibiotics is key to controlling the spread of resistance.

To help prevent antibiotic resistance

  • Tell your healthcare professional you are concerned about antibiotic resistance.
  • Ask your healthcare professional if there are steps you can take to feel better and get symptomatic relief without using antibiotics.
  • Take the prescribed antibiotic exactly as your healthcare professional tells you.
  • Safely dispose of leftover medication.
  • Ask your healthcare professional about vaccines recommended for you and your family to prevent infections that may require an antibiotic.
  • Never skip doses.
  • Never take an antibiotic for a viral infection like a cold or the flu.
  • Never pressure your healthcare professional to prescribe an antibiotic.
  • Never save antibiotics for the next time you get sick.
  • Never take antibiotics prescribed for someone else.

Antibiotic resistance is a growing concern in the healthcare community, it will take a combined effort from providers and patients to help address this, following the tips above will certainly help. Thank you and be well!

Jason Miller, Pharm. D.
Pharmacy Clinical Program Manager

Medication Recalls

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You may have seen in the news recently all the information around the medication recall for valsartan (a blood pressure medication). That has prompted many to ask us in the pharmacy… what is a medication recall?

First off, be assured that all FDA approved medications are thoroughly tested not only to make sure that they work, but also to make sure that they are safe to take. Once a medication has been approved for use, both the manufacturer and the FDA continues to monitor for unexpected safety issues. When a safety concern is identified a recall is announced. Sometimes there are public reported issues with taking the medications, sometimes the manufacturers discover defects.

Some reasons for medication recalls include;

  • Health concerns – Though all medications are tested for safety initially, it is not until long term use that other safety concerns are often realized.
  • Misbranding – Sometimes a medication is recalled because of incorrect labeling or packaging.
  • Contamination – Medications can often become contaminated with unintended products during production or distribution.

If the recall involves an over-the-counter drug that you are taking, stop taking it at once. You can usually return the product to the place of purchase and ask for a refund — stores generally have return and refund policies when a recall has been issued. Your pharmacist can recommend an alternative medicine to use during the recall. Manufacturers will also have a hotline number to contact for more information.

If the recall involves a prescription drug, call your pharmacist as soon as possible to find out what replacement is needed and how to return the product. Again, the manufacturers will also have a hotline number to contact for additional information.

Keep in mind that medication recalls are very rare, there are many steps in place to ensure your safety… recalls are just one of those steps.

Have a great end of summer everyone!

Jason Miller, Pharm. D.
Pharmacy Clinical Program Manager

Practice Sun Safety

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Summer is here in full force! We have already had several days over 90 degrees with multiple heat advisories being issued as well. We wait a long time for this weather, and put up with some pretty ridiculous winter weather as well, but it is important to protect yourself from the powerful effects of the sun.

As great as the sunshine feels, there are two types of light from the sun that can harm your skin, UVA and UVB. The UVA rays can prematurely “age” your skin, they cause wrinkling and age spots. The UVB rays are what cause the “sunburn” effect. The main reason we want to protect our skin from the sun is that excessive exposure to either UVA or UVB rays can cause skin cancer.

There are three main strategies to focus on sun safety;

  • Avoid the sun during its’ strongest hours – 10am to 2pm
  • Wear protective clothing – Pants, shirts with long sleeves, sunglasses, hats.
  • Use sunscreen – Apply generously and reapply often.

Most questions around sun safety come from sunscreen. Make sure you are using a sunscreen that protects from both UVA and UVB rays, it will usually say that it covers both types or it will be labeled as a broad spectrum or full spectrum sunscreen. Also, use a sunscreen with an appropriate SPF rating. SPF stands for sun protection factor, which is a measure of how well it protects against the UVB rays. The SPF rating is calculated on how long it takes to sunburn skin that has been treated with sunscreen compared to skin with no sunscreen protection. Of note since we live in the land of 10,000 lakes, water resistant sunscreen will maintain the SPF for up to 40 minutes while swimming, very water resistant means the SPF is maintained for up to 80 minutes. You can apply sunscreen to children as young as age 6 months. Keep younger children in the shade as much as possible.

When you use sunscreen:

  • Apply generous amounts of sunscreen to dry skin before you go outdoors.
  • Use sunscreen on all skin that will be exposed to the sun; face, ears, hands, arms and lips. If you’re like me and you don’t have much hair on your head, apply sunscreen to the top of your head or wear a hat.
  • Reapply sunscreen every two hours — and immediately after swimming or heavy sweating even if you’re using a product that’s water resistant or very water resistant.
  • You can still get sunburned on cloudy days, use sunscreen even when it’s overcast.

Have fun out there, practice good sun safety, and have a great summer!

Jason Miller, Pharm. D.
Pharmacy Clinical Program Manager

National Nutrition Month!

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Hello friends!

It’s March which means it’s almost Spring, but more importantly it means it’s National Nutrition Month! We may be bias, but March is by far our favorite month at the grocery store. Not only is it a month to celebrate food, it’s also a time to celebrate nourishing our bodies.

Every year, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ March campaign emphasizes the importance of making informed food choices and building a healthy relationship with food. In 2018, the theme is “Go Further with Food.” What does this mean exactly? Well, it means a few different things. First, we can have more energy and do more when we fuel are bodies with nourishing foods. Second, when we are more aware of what food we have on hand and how much we buy at the grocery store we can reduce food loss and waste which also means saving money! That being said, let’s talk about my top 5 tips for “Going Further with Food”:

  1. Include a healthful variety of food. Remember, each food group contains different types of nutrients and in different amounts. It’s importance we get a good balance of these nutrients daily, but don’t be afraid to mix things up! Have a banana with oatmeal for breakfast every morning? Mix things up and add berries!
  2. Consider what you have on hand. Before going to your local Coborn’s, Cash Wise Or Marketplace Foods, make a mental or physical note of what your already have in your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer. When we are aware of EVERYTHING we have on hand before going to the grocery store we often are able to use up those items that may be otherwise thrown out.
  3. Buy only the amount of food that can be eaten or frozen within 4 days. Say what? Yes, you read that right. This is because items that are fresh or prepared should be eaten or frozen within a few days after preparing. Unfortunately, that hotdish sitting in the fridge you made last week needs to be tossed. To make sure that doesn’t happen again, be aware of how much you will eat within those days and freeze the rest. Hello, easy heat and eat meal!
  4. Be mindful of your portion sizes. If we paid attention to our serving sizes and hunger cues I can guarantee we would not only feel better, we would also be reducing food waste as we would be more in-tune with how much we eat.
  5. Move. Although this isn’t a food tip, it’s still a VERY important part of overall health. Find activities you enjoy (even in the winter!) and be physically active most days of the week.

We’d love to hear how you will be celebrating National Nutrition Month this year! Tune in to our Healthy Tip Tuesdays on Facebook Live each week and join us for lots of great topics on nutrition and even some great giveaways! 

Healthy and Happy Eating,
Emily, RD, LD 

May is Asthma Awareness Month

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Jason

Did you know that May is Asthma Awareness Month? Asthma is a chronic disease that affects your airways (your airways are tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs). If you have asthma, the inside walls of your airways become sore, swollen, and sensitive, they may react strongly to things that you are allergic to or find irritating. When your airways react, they get even narrower and your lungs get less air. Continue reading →