Generation Rx

     Recently, through the Generation Rx organization, I visited a middle school to talk with eighth grade students regarding medication safety and proper medication disposal.  This was a very enlightening experience to say the least.  While preparing for the presentations I learned some surprising stats, here are a few I thought were interesting:

- 1 in 5 teens report abusing medications that were not prescribed to them.
- Every day, 2,500 youth (aged 12-17) abuse a prescription pain reliever for the very first time.
- 40% of teens consider the abuse of prescription drugs to be much safer than street drugs, which is false.

     The format of the presentation encouraged audience participation, which allowed me to understand what young teens today think of prescription drug abuse and misuse.  Through this interaction I realized the great impact commercial advertising has made on these teens by how well they remembered prescription commercials.  In all three of the classes I presented in, a student had mentioned the Nasonex bee as an advertisement that stuck with them.  I couldn't help but smile because every time a student mentioned that commercial, Antonio Banderas's voice would come to mind.  This scenario helped me realize a very important point, marketing and advertisements can easily persuade a patient to take or not take a certain drug.  With that, it is our responsibility as pharmacists to inform patients whether or not a medication is appropriate for their situation despite what an advertisement recommends.

     The presentation concluded with the showing of a short public service announcement video created by the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy.  This video illustrates the dangers of prescription drug abuse, given three real-life scenarios.  The feedback from the eighth graders was very positive, they were impressed by the quality and message of the video.  I would also have to agree with them on that.  I would like to hear your opinions on this public service announcement, let me know what you think!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWobauzOU0E

-Office of National Drug Control Policy, 2008

 
 

How Fundamental is MTM?

     Ever since my first year of pharmacy school I knew my career had to involve medication therapy management (MTM) in some capacity.  Before I get carried away and elaborate on career goals, I want to define what MTM is.  According to the American Pharmacists Association: "MTM services encompass the assessment and evaluation of the patients' complete medication therapy regimen, rather than focusing on an individual medication product."  A flaw in our health care system today is that patients have multiple providers prescribing different medications without knowledge of a prior diagnoses and drug interactions.  This flaw may lead to serious consequences for patients including drug interactions, duplicative therapies, and unnecessary medications.  MTM is the solution to this flaw because pharmacists have the ability to objectively look at every drug regimen and work with health care providers in a team to achieve optimal therapy plans.  This aspect of pharmacy that would allow me to work as part of the healthcare team while being able to work one on one with a patient, helped me recognize MTM as an essential component in my future career.

     Now that we understand what MTM is, how important is MTM in our society?  Not only does MTM allow patients to play an active role in their health care and saves lives, it also saves money in terms of both provider and patient.  According to HIT Consultant 88% of emergency room admissions were from adverse medication events among the elderly.  Many of which could have been prevented through MTM services.  Unfortunately, many in the community are unaware of this important service.  More community awareness needs to be done to help inform the public of the importance of medication therapy management and improving a patient's quality of life.
  
http://www.hitconsultant.net/2013/03/31/5-ways-healthcare-providers-can-reduce-costly-hospital-readmissions/

http://www.pharmacist.com/sites/default/files/files/core_elements_of_an_mtm_practice.pdf