Tags: medication

Asthma Awareness

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Asthma Awareness

Jason

Did you know that May is Asthma Awareness Month? Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the airways in your lungs (your airways carry air in and out of your lungs). For those that have asthma, the inside lining of their airways become sore, swollen and sensitive. When sensitive, they then react strongly to things that they are allergic to or find irritating. This reaction causes the airways to get even narrower and the lungs get less air… and lungs not getting air is obviously a bad thing!

Symptoms of asthma include

  • Wheezing
  • Coughing, especially early in the morning or at night
  • Chest tightness
  • Shortness of breath

Not all people who have asthma have these exact symptoms, and having these symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean that you have asthma. Doctors will diagnose asthma based on tests that gauge the strength of the lungs, a thorough medical history, and a physical exam. For those that have asthma, when their asthma symptoms become worse than usual, it’s called an asthma attack. Severe asthma attacks may require emergency care and they can even be fatal. Asthma is typically treated with two different kinds of medications: quick-relief medications to stop asthma symptoms and long-term control medicines to help prevent asthma symptoms.

We have been busy this month spreading the word about asthma and helping our patients better manage their asthma. Here are some of the things we have been doing in our stores and pharmacies;

  • Asthma Control Tests – A quick assessment of how well someone’s asthma is being managed
  • Asthma Action Plan Reviews – Making sure patients know what to do when not feeling well
  • Immunization Screenings – Patients with asthma should have flu and pneumonia vaccines
  • Wellness Wednesday Events – Hosted by our Pharmacists and Dietitians in select locations
  • Peak Flow Meters for sale – A tool to help assess asthma control

As always, stop by any of our pharmacies if you have questions about any of your inhalers or medications. Also, check out the Minnesota Department of Health’s asthma webpage. They have a ton of great resources and educational materials that are FREE! 

Jason
Pharmacy Clinical Program Manager

How to Properly Dispose of Your Medications

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How to Properly Dispose of Your Medications

Jason

What do you do with your medications when they are expired or no longer needed? When your medications are no longer needed, they should be disposed of promptly. Patients and caregivers should remove expired, unwanted, or unused medications from their home as quickly as possible to help reduce the chance that others accidentally take or intentionally misuse the unneeded medicine, and to help reduce drugs from entering the environment. There are a couple options for you to consider when disposing of expired, unwanted, or unused medicines.

Your best choices for disposal of unused or expired medicines are:

  • Medicine take-back options
  • Disposal in the household trash

Medicine take-back options

These are generally the preferred way to safely dispose of most types of unneeded medicines. There are two main kinds of take-back options: periodic events and permanent collection sites.

Periodic events

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) periodically hosts National Prescription Drug Take-Back events where temporary collection sites are set up in communities nationwide for safe disposal of prescription drugs. Local law enforcement agencies may also sponsor medicine take-back events in your community. Consumers can also contact their local waste management authorities to learn about events in their area.

Permanent collection sites

Another option for patients and long-term care facilities to dispose of unneeded medicines is to transfer these medicines to permanent collection sites. In your community, authorized permanent collection sites may be in hospital or clinic pharmacies, county offices and law enforcement facilities. Some authorized collection sites may also offer mail-back programs or collection receptacles, sometimes called “drop-boxes,” to assist patients in safely disposing of their unused medicines.

Disposal in the household trash with Deterra® Drug Deactivation System

Coborn’s, Cash Wise and Marketplace Foods offer the Deterra® Drug Deactivation System at all of its pharmacy locations. The Deterra® Drug Deactivation System is a drug disposal bag which gives patients a safe, convenient and affordable way to dispose of unused medications. The bags can be used to deactivate pills, liquids and patches. This process is as simple as filling the bag with the recommended amount of unused drugs, waiting 30 seconds, sealing the pouch and gently shaking it before disposing it in the trash. The bag contains activated carbon which firmly bonds to the drugs and renders them unusable. The Deterra® Drug Deactivation System helps ensure that unused drugs do not end up in the hands of anyone else. It also keeps pharmaceuticals out of landfills where the potentially dangerous/toxic chemicals could end up in nature.

If you have expired or unwanted medications that you need to dispose of, ask our Pharmacists where the nearest take back options are or if the Deterra bags would fit your needs. Thanks!

Jason, 
Pharmacy Clinical Program Manager

Introducing Med Sync

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Jason

One of the most important parts of our jobs as Pharmacists is to help keep our patients, you, healthy. One of the ways we do that is to try and help patients take their medications the way they were intended; the right medication, at the right dose, and the right frequency. Adherence is a term used in healthcare that refers to the extent to which patients take medications as prescribed by their healthcare providers. It is estimated that poor medication adherence;

  • Costs the healthcare system around $290 billion each year
  • Accounts for approximately 125,000 deaths each year
  • Is responsible for 10-25% of all nursing home and hospital admissions

Approximately 69 million people in our country take three or more prescriptions per month, requiring multiple trips to the pharmacy. Many patients say they miss doses of their medication because they forget to refill their prescription before they run out. 

We can reduce your trips to the pharmacy and hopefully improve your ability to take medications as prescribed through a medication synchronization (med sync) program now being offered by our pharmacies. Med sync allows you to pick up of all of your ongoing prescriptions at the pharmacy on a single, convenient day each month. Med sync is especially helpful for people who take multiple, monthly medications, such as those with chronic illness or the elderly, as well as caregivers or family members responsible for helping them manage their prescription refills.

Our med sync program also includes a proactive call a week before each of your appointments or “sync date” at the pharmacy, to review your synchronized medications, and make sure we are aware of any additions, changes, or deletions to your medications. Keeping your pharmacist aware of any changes to your medications resulting from doctor or hospital visits is important in maintaining optimal results from your prescriptions. Your pharmacy will then proactively refill your medications, relieving worries of missed refills or running out of your medications. You will build a relationship with your pharmacist that will help you take your medications properly and regularly, which leads to overall better health. Your appointment is also an ideal time to review other pharmacy-provided health services with your pharmacist, such as a review of your vaccine history to schedule any missing or due vaccinations.

Talk to any of our pharmacy staff today to get set up with Med Sync, start making things easier for yourself and let us help you stay well.

Jason Miller, Pharm. D.
Pharmacy Clinical Program Manager

Medication Recalls

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You may have seen in the news recently all the information around the medication recall for valsartan (a blood pressure medication). That has prompted many to ask us in the pharmacy… what is a medication recall?

First off, be assured that all FDA approved medications are thoroughly tested not only to make sure that they work, but also to make sure that they are safe to take. Once a medication has been approved for use, both the manufacturer and the FDA continues to monitor for unexpected safety issues. When a safety concern is identified a recall is announced. Sometimes there are public reported issues with taking the medications, sometimes the manufacturers discover defects.

Some reasons for medication recalls include;

  • Health concerns – Though all medications are tested for safety initially, it is not until long term use that other safety concerns are often realized.
  • Misbranding – Sometimes a medication is recalled because of incorrect labeling or packaging.
  • Contamination – Medications can often become contaminated with unintended products during production or distribution.

If the recall involves an over-the-counter drug that you are taking, stop taking it at once. You can usually return the product to the place of purchase and ask for a refund — stores generally have return and refund policies when a recall has been issued. Your pharmacist can recommend an alternative medicine to use during the recall. Manufacturers will also have a hotline number to contact for more information.

If the recall involves a prescription drug, call your pharmacist as soon as possible to find out what replacement is needed and how to return the product. Again, the manufacturers will also have a hotline number to contact for additional information.

Keep in mind that medication recalls are very rare, there are many steps in place to ensure your safety… recalls are just one of those steps.

Have a great end of summer everyone!

Jason Miller, Pharm. D.
Pharmacy Clinical Program Manager

ReadyMed Prescription Auto Refill Program

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The simple act of taking your medication the right way may not seem like a complex matter, but non-adherence (or not taking medication as directed by your physician) is a complicated and very common problem. It is estimated that three out of four people in our country do not take their medication as directed. Often times, people do not realize the effects that not taking their medication as prescribed can cause. When patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma, or cardiovascular disease do not take medication as directed, the repercussions can be severe. For instance, not keeping your blood pressure under control can lead to heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure.

It is hard to directly correlate poor health outcomes to non-adherence, but some studies estimate that poor medication adherence takes the lives of 125,000 Americans each year and costs the health care system nearly $300 billion. Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, MD. once stated, “Drugs don’t work in patients who don’t take them.” There are many reasons why someone may not be adherent with their medications;

  • It can be easy to forget to take a dose, or they may run out of refills
  • Some people don’t like to admit they have a medical condition or can be in denial
  • Many medications cause side effects or make people feel poorly when taken
  • Some medications are very expensive! People often try to split doses or take every other day to save money.

At our pharmacies we have solution to help with adherence, ReadyMed. ReadyMed is a prescription auto refill program that will make sure your prescriptions are ready for you when you need them. Our pharmacy team will work to prepare your prescriptions, contact your provider for refills when necessary, notify you when they are ready, and ensure that you have less to worry about! Life is busy, let us help you manage your prescriptions.

Jason Miller, Pharm. D.
Pharmacy Clinical Program Manager

The Opioid Epidemic

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Jason

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are probably aware that we have a prescription drug abuse problem in our country. Medications that we use to help treat pain, anxiety, and other conditions are very potent and when misused can have terrible consequences. 100 Americans die from a drug overdose each day! Let’s look at a few other statistics and discuss ways that we can help address this problem. Continue reading →

May is Asthma Awareness Month

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Jason

Did you know that May is Asthma Awareness Month? Asthma is a chronic disease that affects your airways (your airways are tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs). If you have asthma, the inside walls of your airways become sore, swollen, and sensitive, they may react strongly to things that you are allergic to or find irritating. When your airways react, they get even narrower and your lungs get less air. Continue reading →