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UP FRONT
The news you may have missed .......................
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CLINICAL
Pharmacy’s Steps For Addressing Vaccine Inequities
Volume 48 • Number 4 • April 2021
New Models for Practicing At the Top of Your License
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Tips for managing adverse reactions to COVID-19 therapy ...... Choosing Wisely campaign focuses on antibiotics .................
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POLICY
Cold chain strategies for ensuring vaccine safety ................. 13 Navigating the PPE waste stream ..................
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What’s your white bagging payment plan? ....................................
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SPECIALTY PHARMACY
Anti-kickback statutes and other hidden dangers of SP outsourcing ....................
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he first wave of COVID-19 vaccine distribution exposed racial and ethnic disparities in access to health care in America—disparities that were already exposed by the pandemic itself. By late February, reports from all over the country and national data showed that the distribution rates of COVID-19 vaccination were much lower among Black and Latinx Americans than whites. Whether the opening of mass vaccination sites announced in March will ease this vaccination gap for minorities remains to be seen. But several health systems have taken a proactive approach. Whether it’s providing transportation to vaccination sites or conducting registration drives for people with limited access to the internet, these pharmacistcoordinated efforts show the profession is willing to do its part.
linical pharmacists practicing at the top of their license have the opportunity to close provider shortage gaps and improve the quality of patient care, based on the experiences of several innovative states that have implemented advanced practice models. Pharmacists from New Mexico, North Carolina and Illinois are serving as examples of how this practice approach has evolved in recent years, along with the services covered, the unique roles advanced practice pharmacists perform, and current and future challenges to the model.
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USP Compliance Remains a Focus Of TJC Surveyors
ISMP Highlights 2020’s Top 10 Medication Errors and Hazards
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ike most things in 2021, this year’s Joint Commission compounding pharmacy surveys will take a different tack, based in part on the practice pressures of COVID-19. The main development is a continued delay in enforcing recent updates to USP’s Chapters on compounding and hazardous drug handling, along with a pandemic-related interim guidance issued for compounding pharmacies. For pharmacies that scrambled to obtain funding to build cleanrooms and update existing segregated Continued on page 14
he Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) has published its list of top 10 medication errors and hazards for 2020, covering everything from flawed use of programmable IV pumps and inappropriate opioid prescribing to new hazards introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. One expert emphasized the value of having a list to use as a starting point for ensuring medication safety in her hospital during the coming year and beyond. “[2020] was such a hectic year for health care, and many organizations have been struggling just to keep up with the demands of the pandemic, let alone evaluate the safety
Special Focus:
COVID-19 Pandemic More coverage on pages 8, 13, 15
of their medication practices,” said Elizabeth Wade, PharmD, the medication safety officer at Concord Hospital, in Concord, N.H. “Given that institutions need to prioritize where they put their efforts during this time, one of the best ways to improve medication safety is to use the ISMP’s list and conduct a gap analysis to see if these externally reported errors could also happen internally, and proactively implement mitigation strategies to prevent these from happening.” Following are some key points from the ISMP’s list, along with selected recommendations. Additional details and Continued on page 4
