Mike Hennessy Sr, Chairman

™ hosts an annual meeting with our advisory board members to pick their brains and get a temperature check on whether the print publication, website, video offerings, podcasts, and email offerings are meeting the needs of pharmacy professionals.

These meetings are typically conducted in person and held concurrently with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition. This year, because of COVID-19, the editorial team met with our esteemed advisory board members virtually. Although the format was different, the feedback was no less valuable than it has been in other years.

Some areas of focus that the board members discussed produced much food for thought for 

™ and how it can continue to stay ahead of the curve with news, analyses, and cutting-edge video and podcast content, especially post pandemic. Topics included the challenges faced by pharmacists in rural areas; the future of telehealth; the impact of delayed screenings; increases in addiction, alcoholism, and smoking, as well as other mental health issues; long-term patient health consequences resulting from COVID-19; and technician shortages.

It his Editor's Note, Curtis E. Haas, PharmD, FCCP, discusses the strain the pandemic has put on the health care system. He points out that a shift has occurred and that pharmacists, as well as other health care professionals, must be prepared for what this means for them and their patients down the road.

Elsewhere in this issue, Deepali Dixit, PharmD, BCCCP, BCPS, FCCM, and some of her PharmD program students at Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in Piscataway, look at adequate pain assessment and management in the intensive care unit—a complex process. They discuss how it is further complicated by patients' unstable health statuses, which make them unable to communicate their pain accurately.

Other coverage this month addresses brain health; the recent approval of Cabenuva (cabotegravir and rilpivirine), the first long-acting injectable for the treatment of HIV; treatments for small cell lung cancer; and news from the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association 2021 Virtual Annual Conference.

Articles

Although the virtual format of this year's advisory board meeting was different, the feedback was no less valuable than it has been in other years. 

Getting Great Feedback From Our Advisory Board

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is fueling the expansion of treatment methods beyond medications to include digital therapeutics, which are software-based therapies that help manage, prevent, and treat disease.

This does not show any signs of slowing down, and health care may be changed permanently as a result. This month's cover feature, "New Technologies Boost Pharmacists' Role" by Parisa Vatanka, PharmD, CTTS, and Timothy Dy Aungst, PharmD, addresses these issues. According to the authors, "sensor-enabled medications that record and transmit data on medication use have entered the market, supporting patients in managing their health and providing pharmacists with actionable insights to guide medication optimization."

Also in this issue, we focus on treatments for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, community-acquired bacterial pneumonia, and ovarian cancer. We also introduce a new feature on 503B compounding pharmacies, which will appear in every issue.

Meanwhile, Editor-in-Chief Curtis E. Haas, PharmD, FCCP, shares the latest on the COVID-19 pandemic from the health-system perspective in his Editor's Note, noting that the vaccination effort takes a village of health care workers, including health informatics professionals, nurses, providers, scheduling staff, supply chain experts, and, of course, pharmacists.

"The contribution of health-system pharmacists has been nothing short of outstanding and was sorely needed as other health care workers were consumed with bedside care of patients with COVID-19," he writes. "The storage and handling requirements of the 2 vaccines available under emergency use authorization at this time, especially the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, demanded close involvement of pharmacy."

 continues to cover conferences, including the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, which was held virtually in January.

An article in this issue reports on data released at a presentation at that meeting from a phase 1b/2 study investigating onvansertib as a treatment for 

-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer. The data showed that 42% of patients achieved a partial response and 67% demonstrated a durable response, ranging from 6.1 months to 13.7 months.

For more coverage from that conference, as well as other important industry meetings, visit 

COVID-19 is fueling the expansion of treatment methods beyond medications to include digital therapeutics.

Digital Technology Has Changed the Landscape

 goes to press this month, there is a lot of encouraging news on the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) front.

More than 32 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the United States so far.

 Meanwhile, President Joseph R. Biden has announced the initial launch of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for the COVID-19 vaccination, a public-private partnership with 21 national pharmacy partners and networks of independent pharmacies.

New steps will be taken to improve vaccine access, including increasing the supply to states, territories, and tribes, and increasing funding to jurisdictions to help administer vaccines, according to a statement.

 This initiative is intended to help meet the Biden administration’s goal of administering 100 million shots during his first 100 days in office.

Beginning on February 11, the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program will give eligible individuals the chance to be vaccinated at select pharmacies across the country. The participating national pharmacy partners and independent pharmacy networks represent more than 40,000 pharmacy locations and are a key component of the administration’s national strategy to expand access to vaccines.

In addition, the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) asked the Biden administration to include recently retired pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in this campaign. The request was made in a joint letter signed by the APhA and 7 other pharmacy organizations.

 Editor in Chief, notes in this issue, pharmacists and technicians must be ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work, as they will vaccinate millions of Americans in the coming months.

Trygstad urges all those in the profession to “cheer on fellow pharmacists and their support staff. Cheer on nurses and primary care providers and the local health department’s efforts. Of course, not everything has gone smoothly, but now is the time for care teams to work together more than ever.”

, just in time for Valentine’s Day, we hope pharmacists will find our cover story on ways to prevent heart disease useful. This leading cause of death in the United States has risk factors that pharmacists can help patients reduce.

Other coverage in this issue includes articles on diabetes medications that treat heart disease, treating depression, and, for technicians, processing insurance claims and payments.

Huang P, Carlsen A. How is the COVID-19 vaccination campaign going in your state? NPR. February 3, 2021. Accessed February 3, 2021. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/01/28/960901166/how-is-the-covid-19-vaccination-campaign-going-in-your-state

Antrim A. Biden administration launches federal pharmacy program for COVID-19 vaccine administration. 

. February 2, 2021. Accessed February 3, 2021. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/news/biden-administration-launches-federal-retail-pharmacy-program-for-covid-19-vaccine-administration

Murphy J. APhA urges Biden administration to use retired pharmacists, pharmacy technicians in COVID-19 vaccination campaign. 

. February 2, 2021. Accessed February 3, 2021. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/news/apha-urges-biden-administration-to-use-retired-pharmacists-pharmacy-technicians-in-covid-19-vaccination-campaign

As Pharmacy Times® goes to press this month, there is a lot of encouraging news on the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) front.

Pharmacists Are Coming to the Rescue

The new year holds a great deal of promise for oncology pharmacy, along with persistent challenges. Although coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to dominate the health care landscape— forcing cancer care to evolve along with the global pandemic&mdash;many care providers are rising to overcome obstacles inhibiting the delivery of quality patient services.

, we examine just how far we’ve come since the COVID-19 pandemic began in the United States early last year and look forward to where oncology pharmacy is headed.

Our cover article focuses on notable oncology trends for 2021. These trends include the administration of COVID-19 vaccines for patients with cancer, a need that was largely unheard-of at this time last year. On page 47, Jennifer Gershman, PharmD, BCOP, writes that many patients with cancer are expected to be prioritized to receive the vaccine and discusses the availability of doses for immunization against COVID-19 as 2021 progresses.

As vaccination services widely expand and new challenges are confronted, the role of the oncology pharmacist is also evolving. To that end, there is no way to explore 2021 trends without the inclusion of telehealth services, which experienced accelerated growth in 2020, largely because of the pandemic.

The past year also showed the power of technology in bridging care gaps. Video conferencing software and patient data collection through wearable devices are just a couple of ways that technology is assisting cancer care providers more frequently than ever before. Throughout this issue, several articles explore what new methods of care are working for pharmacists and examine potential new technologies on the horizon.

An overview of this year’s oncology drug pipeline is another notable topic in this issue, including what could be the first anti-BCMA chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for multiple myeloma. The article on Page 12 also discusses therapies for hematologic malignancies that have recently received FDA approvals.

Despite the many uncertainties of 2021 and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, oncology pharmacy continues to provide quality care to patients with cancer as we develop new and innovative ways to forge ahead.

Our cover article focuses on notable oncology trends for 2021.