E-News ENews
2020, Issue 5 of 12 May 30, 2020 ncpharmacists.org
Advancing Pharmacy. Improving Health.
General News COVID-19: NC Moves to Phase 2 Opening Last Friday, North Carolina moved to a modified Phase 2 of an overall plan for emerging from the full stay at home Executive Order. After two weeks in Phase 1, the state’s overall key indicators remained stable, but the continued increases in daily case counts signaled a need to take a more modest step forward in Phase 2 than originally envisioned. Click here for an infographic showing what Phase 2 means as compared to the previous Phase 1 and Stay at Home Executive Orders. NCDHHS Launches Interactive COVID-19 Dashboard
Additional changes were made to NC DHHS COVID-19 dashboard to make it more interactive. The dashboard provides an overview on the metrics and capacities that the state is following to inform decisions necessary in responsibly addressing the virus in North Carolina. First Case of MIS-C Reported in North Carolina
While children generally experience mild symptoms with COVID-19, recently a possible link has been found between COVID-19 and multi-system inflammatory syndrome in some children (MIS-C) and teenagers who have current or recent infections. The first reports of this MIS-C came from the United Kingdom in late April. Cases in the United States were first reported in New York City in early May. NC DHHS has requested reporting of suspected cases of MIS-C from all health care providers. The state’s most recent COVID-19 Surveillance Report, updated May 21st, included the reporting of the first case of MIS-C in NC. This syndrome is a very rare condition, but as COVID-19 cases increase, additional reports of MIS-C could follow. MIS-C is not contagious, but because children with this syndrome may become seriously ill, it is important that parents and caregivers know the signs and symptoms their children may have so they can get help right away. Click here for helpful guidance you can provide to parents.
son for the Student Pharmacist Forum, and an advocacy update from Tony Solari, NCAP Lobbyist. Mr. Solari shared information about the passage of SB 704 and the expectations for movement on PBM legislation this session. A plan for addressing the collaborative practice bill was also reviewed, and a preview of the new NCAP advocacy website was provided to the Board. The Board also had a preview of a new association and learning management system for which funds were approved at the March 2020 Board meeting. President-elect Mills provided an update on increased Association communication efforts via social media; and the Board discussed new procedures for selecting delegates for APhA, and reporting processes for all delegations to national associations. The next NCAP Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for June 24th. NABP Compounding Pharmacy Accreditation Program
In January, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy NCAP Board of Directors Met began offering its compounding on May 20th pharmacy accreditation program, which accompanies its existing This month’s Board of Directors inspection services, yielding a meeting included an introduction full-service option for compoundto Anita Yang, the new chairper- ing pharmacies. NABP was able
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to carry out this initiative through the purchase of the FocusScript, LLC United Credentialing and Accreditation Program (UCAP). NABP has confirmed that pharmacy networks recognizing UCAP will accept the NABP Compounding Pharmacy Accreditation. The intent of this new program is to offer pharmacies comprehensive, efficient and cost-effective accreditation services. Click here to learn more about this program and to view a list of accredited sites.
In Case You Missed It NCAP Annual Awards We all work with amazing pharmacists and technicians. If you work with someone who you believe is exemplary, then take a few minutes to review the description of the awards and nominate that individual, if he or she has the characteristics and contributions for a specific award. Who knows maybe you are working with our next Technician-of-the-Year, or our Bowl of Hygeia recipient, or perhaps our next Distinguished Young Pharmacist awardee. To view a list of the awards and criteria, as well as nominate an individual, click here and email your nomination to angie@ncpharmacists.org by July 12th. Call for Nominees for NCAP 2020 Elections
put forth your name for consideration. You must be an NCAP member and you should submit a picture and brief bio along with a statement of interest, as to why you wish to be considered for the ballot for one of the following, by June 30th.
of the Practice Academy andriaeker@gmail.com. Health-System Practice Academy
The Practice Academy will elect a Chair-Elect (3-year term) and three Executive Committee members (3-year terms). Please, send Board of Directors bio to Brock Harris, Past Chair of NCAP will elect a President-Elect the Practice Academy johnbrock(to serve as President in 2022) a harris@gmail.com. Secretary (2-year term) and one At-large Member (3-year term). Please, send requested informaPartner of the Month tion to Past President Debra Kemp dwobbleton@gmail.com. Ambulatory Care Practice Academy
The Practice Academy will elect a Chair-Elect (3-year term) and one Executive Committee member (3year term). As this is a new practice academy, please, send bio to Jenn Wilson, Chair of the Practice Academy j.wilson@wingate.edu. Chronic Care Practice Academy
The Practice Academy will elect a Chair-Elect (3-year term) and two Executive Committee members (3-year terms). Please, send bio to Tasha Woodall, Past Chair of the Practice Academy tasha. woodall@mahec.net. Community Care Practice Academy
The Practice Academy will elect a Chair-Elect (3-year term) and Interested in serving on the NCAP three Executive Committee memBoard of Directors or part of the bers (3-year terms). Please, send Leadership Team for one of our bio to Andria Eker, Past Chair practice academies? It’s time to
This month NCAP is excited to acknowledge Campbell University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences as our Partner-of-theMonth. Specifically we want to highlight a new relationship with the dual Masters of Science Public Health and Doctor of Pharmacy programs. Currently, NCAP is working with three teams of dual-degree students who have completed their public health courses and are now working on their pharmacy requirements. First, our COVID-testing team, Kayla Tunehag, Amy Cowan, Tayler Clark and Emily Steinbock are working as critical members of the NCAP COVID-testing Work Group to create an online resource to help pharmacists who are interested in providing diagnostic and/or antibody testing for COVID in their communities. Second, our Diabetes Prevention Program team, Emily Steinbock and Aubrey LaVoie, are working, with NCAP and our contacts in the NC Division of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and
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Prevention, to create a sustained public health and diabetes care administrative experience for students. Finally, our third public health team, Oliver Valdez and Katlyn Bradford, will be working with NCAP to establish our advocacy strategy for tobacco cessation prescribing and payment. A special thank you to Dr. Bill Taylor who recruited, and is helping to coordinate the work of these student teams.
Continuing Education
NCAP has several continuing education programs to feature this issue. First, we have a new on-demand webinar on the topic of HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis, presented by Drs. Bria Benson and Kiet Nguyen, PGY2 Residents in Infectious Disease with Novant Health. This webinar is free to members and can be accessed here.
Live-Stream CE Series. Three 1.25 hour live CE programs, free for NCAP members, will be presented on Thursday June 11th, 18th, and 25th at 6:30pm. Click here to view, topics, speakers, and learning objectives, as well as access the links to register for these programs.
Event News I hope you all are finding ways to enjoy this spring. It certainly is an unusual one, but as always, it is beautiful, warm and promises new things to come. Currently, all meetings with more than a few people are taking place virtually. It is our hope that we will be able to meet in person when it is time for our Annual Convention, planned for October 29-30th. Meanwhile, we forge ahead making adjustments as needed and finding ways to make the virtual world work to our advantage. Although meeting virtually is not the same experience as meeting in person, we are fortunate to have technology that allows us to see each other, and communicate through a multitude of devices. As we learn to work, successfully, within this new environment, let us remind ourselves this situation is not forever. Until our normal mode of operation is allowed, we will forge ahead, and we are excited to present the following upcoming virtual event.
We also have a live-stream, 90-minute program on Respiratory Infections scheduled for Sunday, June 7th at 6:30pm. Our speaker will be Dr. Travis Jones with Duke University Medical Center. This webinar is part of our regularly scheduled programming for the Catawba Valley Society of Pharmacists, but virtual seats are still available and open to other NCAP members. To register for this webinar click here. Upon registering you will auto- For the past 20 years we have matically be emailed the link to held the NCAP Residency Conferthe webinar. ence in person. COVID-19 is not going to derail this annual event. Finally, coming in June, we will We will be holding Residency be hosting our Summer Kick-Off Conference, in a virtual envi-
ronment, on Friday, July 17th. Although we will miss gathering with all of our state’s residency programs, and meeting the PGY1 and PGY2 residents in mass in Winston-Salem, we look forward to live-stream hosting the event and programming. The planning committee has lined up three speakers and topics. NCAP is working on the registration and virtual hosting logistics. Residency program directors should watch their email for more information next week.
Practice Advancement Greetings from the Practice Advancement Corner! What are we excited about this month, you ask? Students! Yes, Students! After all, Pharmacy students are the future of our profession. They are keen to take on new roles that foster their clinical skills, especially roles that include patient interaction, disease management, and care integration with other health care professionals. To assist them in their journey, and prepare them for entering the workforce ready and willing to address the opioid crisis, NCAP, through its funding from the Cardinal Health Foundations Grant, is pleased to announce the launch of our Opioid Stewardship Certificate Level Training for Pharmacy Students. In collaboration with the four North Carolina Schools of Pharmacy, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Campbell University College of Pharmacy & Health Sci-
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ences, Wingate University School of Pharmacy, and High Point University School of Pharmacy, students complete a series of 4 dynamic, virtual training modules that address • The use of SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) • Fundamentals of Medication-Assisted Treatment
• Chronic Pain Management Best Practices • Harm Reduction Service Concepts.
Schools of Pharmacy, their administrations, faculty, and staff for their support in helping students grow and sustain this vital training.
Most of all, we thank the students for their participation and commitment to their profession and improving the lives of the patients they will serve.
In closing, I would also like to take this opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge our very own NCAP interns. Peter Triggiani
Also, each school will provide student participants with separate interactive and practical sessions for integrating these service concepts into practice. With the current opioid crisis, ingenuity and application is a fundamental part in combating this epidemic. Therefore, upon successful completion of both virtual and interactive learning components, pharmacy students will use their newly acquired knowledge to design and implement an “Opioid Outreach Campaign” to educate, improve, and advance opioid safety practices in the community. A way of “GIVING BACK” if you will. To date, more than 80 student pharmacists from Campbell University are actively registered and in the process of completing their virtual training. Other schools will join suit with the start of the 2020 Fall Semester. NCAP wishes to thank all the
Dani Youmans
Xiaoru Fu
All three come to us from UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and have been with us since spring 2019, giving freely of their time and working tirelessly to help support and sustain our programmatic efforts. They have been an integral part of seeing to the timely release and implementation of many of our current initiatives utilizing their talents to help drive website design, graphic design, research, data analysis, to name a few. Honestly, I do not know what we would do without them.
KUDOS to ALL OF YOU and Thank you for being part of our NCAP family!
FDA News What’s New in May Alunbrig (brigatinib) First-line treatment for adults with anaplastic lymphoma ki-
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nase-positive metastatic non- Sunovion’s sublingual film has resmall cell lung cancer was issued ceived approval for treating Parto Takeda Pharmaceuticals. kinson’s disease ‘off episodes’. Darzalex Faspro (daratumumab and hyaluronidase-fihj) New Formulation
The FDA approved a new formulation of Janssen’s Darzalex (daratumumab) for multiple myeloma. Darzalex Faspro, a subcutaneous fixed-dose formulation, can administered in 3-5 minutes, compared to hours for the IV formulation. Dupixent (dupilumab)
Approval for treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, when topical therapies are inadequate, was granted to Sanofi and Regeneron for use in children age 6-11 years. Farxiga (dapagliflozin)
The FDA approved AstraZeneca’s Farxiga for reducing the risk of cardiovascular (CV) death and hospitalization in adults with heart failure. Ferripox (deferiprone) New Formulation
Twice-a-day tablets by Chiesi Group was approved for transfusional iron overload due to thalassemia syndromes when chelation therapy is inadequate. Kynmobi (apomorphine hydrochloride)
Lynparza (olaparib)
AstraZeneca and Merck received approval for the treatment of patients with homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene-mutated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), Lynparza also gained approval to be used in combination with bevacizumab as maintenance treatment for adults with advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer.
This study guide contains pertinent federal and state level statutes and regulations for the practice of pharmacy in North Carolina. There are 75 “Test Your Knowledge” questions spread throughTecentriq out the sections of the study guide; (atezolizumab) and as an added bonus, the guide Roche was granted first-line contains a mock test with 80 pracmonotherapy for metastatic non- tice questions. The book will be small cell lung cancer in patients shipped in the form of a binder whose tumors have high PD-L1 with loose leaf pages, making it easy to highlight and take notes as expression. you work through the material. Zejula (niraparib)
GlaxoSmithKline gained approval as maintenance treatment for epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer who are in response to platinum-based chemotherapy.
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