From the Desk of the CEO

The potential cardiac effects of lamotrigine were added to its label late last year, and in March 2021, FDA released a drug safety communication highlighting the increased risk of arrhythmias in patients with heart disease who use lamotrigine.

Maria G. Tanzi, PharmD

The shift to quality-based incentives continues to emerge in pharmacy. The Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) is currently working to develop pharmacy measures for A1C and blood pressure reporting; adherence to medications for hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes treatment; and antidepressant medication management.

Loren Bonner

At the beginning of the pandemic, the world was desperate to find therapies that could improve outcomes in patients with COVID-19. The urgency brought repurposed drugs into the spotlight, but studies were poorly designed with many limitations and biases.

Clarissa Chan, PharmD

During residency at the University of Washington in Seattle, Traci White, PharmD, spent a lot of time on rotations in the ICU as part of the team providing intensive care to critically ill patients. What struck her about this work, she said, was “You’re looking at paper, numbers, data, and graphs. You’re talking a lot about the patient— you’re discussing everything about that patient. But you have no idea who that patient really is.”

Sonya Collins

According to CDC’s COVID-19 data tracker, as of press time, approximately 52% of the U.S. adult population was fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and 62.8% of U.S. adults have received at least one dose.¹  Vaccine uptake has continued to increase since the initial authorization in December 2020, but more recent data suggest that demand for the COVID-19 vaccine may be reaching a plateau.²

Maria G. Tanzi, PharmD