Many people are now making the connection between how what we eat impacts our state of health and wellness. The quality of food we eat can affect our energy and mood, beyond just quieting a grumbling stomach. With more and more health-food stores, neighborhood co-ops, and farmer’s markets expanding into new neighborhoods, it’s now easier than ever to find fresh, whole, and unprocessed foods.
While it does take some time to transition away from the standard American diet, your body, mind, and spirit will certainly thank you. Even after one day of whole-food based meals, you may feel lighter and more energized. Hopefully it will continue to inspire you and those around you to strive for the highest quality food. Quite honestly, your health and wellness depend on it. Continue reading →
You may find your health-coaching patients asking you about taking herbal and dietary supplements more often these days. As they continue on their quest to improve their health, it’s likely they’ll want to experiment with more “natural” therapies. I personally always approach herbal and dietary supplements with an open and curious mind. But as trusted healthcare professionals, it’s our duty to make sure our patients are taking a safe combination. Herbals have tremendous healing potential but they’re also potent substances that should be respected as such. Continue reading →
I will admit that I never thought much about the canola oil I routinely use for my baking until I asked myself one day, “is there a canola plant”? Canola oil comes from crossbreeding several types of rape plants. The rape plant is part of the mustard family, along with turnips, cabbage, watercress, horseradish, and radish. Traditional rapeseed oil was used for cooking in Europe, India, and Asia. But it naturally contains a high percentage of erucic acid, a toxic fatty acid. These levels have been reduced significantly through the process of crossbreeding, which replaces the erucic acid with oleic acid (a monounsaturated fat). This was done by Canadian scientists in the 1970’s and is the origin of the name, canola oil-“Canadian oil, low acid”. Continue reading →
As pharmacists transition into the new role of health coach, one of the common obstacles involves helping patients overcome their personal barriers. Often times when patients present to you, you are seeing the cumulative results of years of poor lifestyle choices. But it is important to empathize with the fact that these choices are usually connected to some common personal barriers including bad habits, negative attitude, and lack of a support system.
As a practicing pharmacist myself, I began offering diabetes classes at an independent pharmacy in Augusta, GA, around 2005. We tried different times of the day and different days of the week in effort to find the best time that would grab the most patients. Unfortunately, I began with one patient during our first class. Instead of being discouraged, however, I began to use my influence as a pharmacist to grow the classes. While I had only meager success the first few classes (even one month in which no one showed up), we began to quickly grow approximately 6 to 9 months after our first class.
Believe me…I was ready to give up after just a few months of meager success. It reminds me of a common expression that long distance runners use: ‘hitting the wall.’ If you’re a runner like myself, you know that almost every runner experiences a time during their run in which they become tired and are ready to give up. However, runners who work through this time eventually feel much more rejuvenated and are able to complete the course. This same principle can be easily applied to pharmacists attempting to launch the Sweet Spot program in their store(s). Pharmacists who push through the time of ‘hitting the wall’ usually experience great success down the line.
I have several thoughts on why pharmacies working through early struggles tend to be more successful, but I believe it ultimately boils down to patients and physicians seeing consistency in the program. Physicians, for example, weren’t willing to forward patients to our class until they saw consistency in our program. One physician remarked, ‘I just assumed you were having a few ‘Diabetes Days,’ but I realized you actually have a great service you can provide to my diabetes patients on a consistent basis.
If you’re currently ‘hitting the wall,’ be encouraged! Keep your classes consistent. Let your area physicians know you don’t plan on quitting any time soon. If you’re ‘hitting the wall,’ be sure let us know…we’re full of ideas to break through the wall!’
Summary by Annie Isaac, UGA PharmD Candidate (’12), Jason M. VanLandingham, PharmD, BCPS
Depression is associated with an increased risk for coronary heart disease in healthy patients and cardiac morbidity and mortality in patients with coronary heart disease. However, little research has been done to determine the role antidepressants play in this risk. This study was conducted among patients with a diagnosis of depression, to determine the long term risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in patients who have taken antidepressants compared with those who have not.
CreativePharmacist.com and HealthyHeartClub.com was highlighted in the Washington Post! Click here for the link. The article was also syndicated in the LA Times, MSNBC.com, and countless other sites. The article highlights David Pope, PharmD, CDE, Editor-in-Chief of CreativePharmacist.com as well as one of our members, Theresa Tolle, of Bay Street Pharmacy. This is an awesome opportunity to show the power of a pharmacist to the world! If you have a story about a time when you stepped ‘beyond the prescription counter’ to assist a patient with their chronic disease, let us know!
We’ve been busy at CreativePharmacist.com! For many years, we have attempted to assist our patients at the pharmacy in losing weight, lowering blood pressure, and improving cholesterol. In doing so, we’ve always been able to offer the education and information needed to assist our patients in reaching their health goals, but we’ve been unable to provide the ‘healthy accountability’ that we all need to succeed….until now. Check out our new program for pharmacists,www.HealthyHeartClub.com, and let us know what you think! Also, tell us how you are assisting your patients in losing weight, lowering blood pressure, or improving cholesterol in your practice!
Just in case you haven’t seen it yet, CreativePharmacist.com was featured on the cover of the NY Times in August 2010. It is exciting to see how pharmacists are showing how you can operate ‘clinical pharmacy’ in the retail setting! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the article. Also, what clinical services are you offering in your practice?
An interesting situation happened to me a few weeks ago that truly highlights a strong debate within the profession. It was Saturday, and I was staffing the pharmacy by myself. A lady came in with a prescription from a surgeon at Vanderbilt’s plastic surgery department for her 16-year-old daughter for oxycodone IR, to be taken 30 minutes prior to wound dressing changes, and Morphine Sulfate IR, written with a tapering-down dosing regiment with quite a wide window between even the first doses (1Q8h for two days, 1Q12h for two days, then 1Qd for two or three before discontinuing). While I initially questioned the MS IR prescription’s dose, my concern increased because, none to my surprise with the child being on Medicaid, they didn’t pay for the MS IR as it was a second immediate-release narcotic medication after the oxycodone. Continue reading →
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Many people are now making the connection between how what we eat impacts our state of health and wellness. The quality of food we eat can affect our energy and mood, beyond just quieting a grumbling stomach. With more and more health-food stores, neighborhood co-ops, and farmer’s markets expanding into new neighborhoods, it’s now easier than ever to find fresh, whole, and unprocessed foods.