December 2018 Heart Health

Four case studies in cardiovascular health.

A physician filed a lawsuit against a national pharmacy chain, claiming that some comments made by pharmacists practicing there to his patients had been defamatory.

In summer 2016, Pharmacy Times® published an article titled “‘Right to Try’ Legislation: A Developing Legal Issue Related to Medications” that discussed the basics of a popular health policy issue.

Our pharmacy is the underdog when it comes to big business, but there are tricks to help attract customers and keep ourselves in the game with the Goliath chains.

What is bothering pharmacists this month?

Read about the Rx products featured in December.

Brown bag consults can be essential educational and safety tools to measure and ensure quality care. By asking patients to bring in all their current medications, including OTC, mail-order, specialty, and herbal products, pharmacists can guarantee appropriate and up-to-date care.

Read about the new Generic Products featured in December.

Health care providers often encounter patients with high blood pressure, especially systolic, who come and go without proper treatment and eventually end up in the hospital with a heart attack, kidney failure, or a stroke.

Advanced heart failure leads to significant limitations, affecting functional status, quality of life, and survival, despite optimal medical treatment with evidence-based therapies.

Patients cannot “feel” high cholesterol, and symptoms of the condition often do not present until it is too late.

In the 1970s, investigators discovered that Eskimos, particularly Greenland Inuit, and other populations, such as the Japanese, had very low rates of myocardial infarction and other coronary events, despite consuming large amounts of fat derived from fish.

Can you figure out what these prescriptions are saying?

Hyperkalemia, used to describe an elevated level of potassium in the blood, occurs when there is a disturbance in the balance between intake and elimination or a shift of potassium between the intracellular and extracellular spaces.

Incorporating community pharmacists into team-based care models is recommended as a strategy for improving health care access and quality while reducing health care costs.

I have had the privilege over the past nearly 2 decades to work with a great team of experts at Community Care of North Carolina and its more than 2000 affiliated practices in community-based care delivery and the patient-centered medical home movement.

As health care evolves and large pharmacy chains grow and merge, many patients continue to fulfill their medication needs at their local independent pharmacies.