ABSTRACT
While lidocaine may not be effective for the relief of all cluster or migraine headaches and the pain may recur in some patients, this therapy may offer an important therapeutic alternative for certain migraine patients. Further research may provide more information, such as which headache types best respond to lidocaine, if higher concentrations of lidocaine are more effective, if lidocaine solution is more effective than lidocaine nose spray, and if other local anesthetics are as effective.
Subject(s)
Anesthetics, Local/administration & dosage , Cluster Headache/drug therapy , Lidocaine/administration & dosage , Migraine Disorders/drug therapy , Administration, Intranasal , Clinical Trials as Topic , Cluster Headache/epidemiology , Cluster Headache/physiopathology , Female , Humans , Male , Migraine Disorders/epidemiology , Migraine Disorders/physiopathology , United States/epidemiologyABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: This activity is designed for physicians, pharmacists, nurses, health planners, directors of managed care organizations, and payers of health services. GOAL: To understand current guidelines and consensus statements regarding the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of osteoporosis. OBJECTIVE: List four national or international organizations involved in the development of consensus statements regarding the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of osteoporosis. 2. Discuss the significant differences among different countries regarding the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. 3. List the major risk factors for osteoporosis. 4. Describe the differences in the application of bone mineral density scans, biochemical markers, and ultrasound in evaluating patients with suspected osteopenia and osteoporosis. 5. Distinguish between and briefly discuss therapeutic modalities used in primary prevention, secondary prevention, and treatment of osteoporosis. 6. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of estrogen/hormone replacement therapy. 7. Describe alternatives to estrogen/hormone replacement therapy.
Subject(s)
Disease Management , Osteoporosis/prevention & control , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Consensus Development Conferences as Topic , Cost of Illness , Education, Continuing , Estrogen Replacement Therapy , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Osteoporosis/diagnosis , Osteoporosis/economics , Osteoporosis/therapyABSTRACT
University-based drug information services provided on a contractual basis to the pharmacies of a pharmacy management company are described. Allied Pharmacy Management, Inc. (APM), the manager of 34 institutional pharmacies, 3 community pharmacies, and 6 long-term-care and infusion therapy pharmacies, determined a need to contract for the services of a drug information center. Centers meeting basic criteria were invited to submit proposals. After careful research and negotiations, APM chose the University of Tennessee Drug Information Center for a one-year contract beginning in November 1992. Services provided under the contract include drug information consultations, formulary drug class reviews, new drug monographs, drug-use evaluation (DUE) criteria, literature reviews, and newsletters. Seven months after the contract went into effect, APM-affiliated pharmacy directors stated that they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of the answers to drug information requests, the newsletters, and the drug monographs and agreed overwhelmingly that the contract should be renewed. The contract has been renewed for second and third years. During the first year, the drug information center answered 155 questions and took 121 hours to do so. In the second year there were 244 questions, requiring 161 hours. In year 1 there were 21 formulary class reviews, 6 newsletters, 5 new drug monographs, and 1 set of DUE criteria. There have been 20-25 literature searches during each contract year. The drug information services provided by a university-based drug information center under contract with a pharmacy management company satisfied the directors of the affiliated pharmacies.
Subject(s)
Contract Services , Drug Information Services , Pharmacy Administration/methods , Contract Services/economics , Drug Information Services/economics , Health Services Needs and Demand , Humans , Program Evaluation , Referral and Consultation , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Studies have shown that consumers, in general, do not know everything they should know or would like to know about the medicines they are taking. In addition, several studies report that many older individuals are reluctant to ask questions about the medicines they are taking. This pilot study was conducted to assess the sources from which the elderly obtain their information about prescription and non-prescription medicines and their level of satisfaction with each source. The study results reveal that over half of those surveyed indicated that they received no information about prescription or non-prescription medicines. Further, a large percentage of those surveyed stated that they would like to receive information about non-prescription medicines from a health provider. The findings suggest that pharmacists should routinely provide information to the elderly about all aspects of their medication treatment.
