Navigating CDC Recommendations for Pneumococcal Vaccines and Contraindications
July 3rd 2025An expert discusses how pharmacists should follow CDC immunization schedules for different age groups and use shared clinical decision-making for patients with prior vaccination history, while considering contraindications primarily related to severe allergic reactions to vaccine components.
Breaking Down Pneumococcal Conjugate vs Polysaccharide Vaccines
July 3rd 2025An expert discusses how the 5 FDA-approved pneumococcal vaccines differ, with newer conjugate vaccines like PCV20 and PCV21 offering broader serotype coverage and better immune memory compared with the older polysaccharide vaccine, though geographic factors may influence vaccine selection.
Precision and Protection: Inside Cone Health’s Robotic Compounding Program
July 2nd 2025Pharmacy leaders from Cone Health discuss how robotic compounding technologies have improved safety, accuracy, and reliability in hazardous and sterile medication preparation across oncology and acute care settings.
Integrating Emotional Healing Through Psychedelics Into Everyday Oncology Practice
July 2nd 2025Manish Agrawal, MD, discusses the implementation of psilocybin-assisted therapy in a community cancer setting, highlighting its potential to provide sustained relief from depression and anxiety and its significant efficacy advantage over selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for patients with cancer.
Advancing Pharmacist Engagement in Biliary Tract Cancer: Disease State and Treatment Considerations
July 1st 2025Courtney Cavalieri, PharmD, BCOP, and Kenneth Tham, PharmD, BCOP, discuss how pharmacists play a crucial role in managing biliary tract cancer patients by providing expertise on biomarker testing, treatment selection between targeted therapies like FGFR and HER2 inhibitors, developing monitoring protocols for unique toxicities such as hyperphosphatemia, and educating patients on side effect management to optimize treatment outcomes in this rare cancer type.
Case-Based Insights on Managing Steroid-Refractory cGVHD After Haploidentical Transplant
July 1st 2025Gianni Scappaticci, PharmD, BCOP, outlines a personalized, evidence-based approach to managing steroid-refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) in a post–haploidentical transplant patient, highlighting the rationale for using ruxolitinib, belumosudil, or their combination based on disease progression and fibrotic features.
Navigating the Complexities of cGVHD Treatment in Pharmacy Practice
June 30th 2025Gianni Scappaticci, PharmD, BCOP, discusses key considerations in therapy selection, limitations of current treatments, and the evolving role of pharmacists in managing chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) through patient education, adherence support, and integration of emerging therapies.
Vulnerable Patients and the Burden of Pneumococcal Disease
June 30th 2025An expert discusses how pharmacists can identify high-risk patients for pneumococcal disease by reviewing medication profiles for immunosuppressants and using electronic medical record vaccine tracking tools, while emphasizing that vulnerable populations face higher morbidity, mortality, and hospitalization rates compared with healthy individuals.
Movement Scores and Beyond: Patient-Reported Outcomes in Tardive Dyskinesia Management
June 30th 2025Panelists discuss how the use of both clinician- and patient-reported scales—such as the Impact TD scale, TDIS, and Impact TD Pro—enhances understanding of tardive dyskinesia’s true impact on daily functioning and quality of life, emphasizing the importance of incorporating patient perspectives to guide early, personalized treatment strategies that improve physical symptoms and overall well-being.
The Role of VMAT2 Inhibitors in Tardive Dyskinesia
June 30th 2025Panelists discuss how tardive dyskinesia in older adults often goes unrecognized due to symptom overlap with normal aging, underscoring the importance of early screening, timely intervention with evidence-based treatments like VMAT2 inhibitors, and a multidisciplinary approach to preserve function, independence, and mental well-being.
Clinical Presentation of Pneumococcal Disease in Children and Adults
June 30th 2025An expert discusses how pneumococcal disease presents differently across age groups, with children primarily experiencing ear infections, whereas adults face more serious, invasive complications such as bacteremia and meningitis, though vaccination efforts have significantly reduced overall incidence rates.
Shifting Therapeutic Urgency and TKI Strategy
June 27th 2025An expert discusses how different tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) mechanisms of action, including asciminib’s allosteric binding vs traditional ATP-competitive inhibitors, influence treatment selection based on off-target effects and adverse effect profiles, with patients with advanced-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) requiring second-generation or higher TKIs for faster response rates.
NCCN Guidelines and Early Response Monitoring in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
June 27th 2025An expert discusses how National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines recommend first-line chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) treatments including imatinib, nilotinib, and newer agents, emphasizing the importance of close monitoring through weekly laboratory tests and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to track BCR::ABL1 transcript levels and ensure patients meet critical milestones at 3, 6, and 12 months.
Psilocybin, Ketamine, and MDMA in Cancer Care: Next Steps in Psychedelic Research
June 24th 2025Manish Agrawal, MD, explores the evolving role of pharmacists in psychedelic-assisted therapy, highlighting ongoing efforts to develop standardized protocols and the emerging involvement of pharmacy teams in patient education and safety.
Psychedelic Group Therapy Expands From Cancer Care to Treat PTSD in Active Duty Military
June 23rd 2025Manish Agrawal, MD, discusses the expanding influence of his group-based psychedelic therapy model in oncology and beyond, highlighting its adaptation in military posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research, the sustained benefits of long-term patient integration, and growing institutional interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Understanding the Impact of Tardive Dyskinesia Across Patient Populations
June 23rd 2025Panelists discuss how the progression of undiagnosed or untreated tardive dyskinesia in older adults can severely compromise independence and quality of life, emphasizing the need for early recognition, risk factor management, and a multidisciplinary approach—including pharmacists—to ensure timely, individualized, and balanced treatment.