#pam2016

[ivvi-viiv-blog]

Audio design #pam2016 #nichos #muralist #introduction #congress #art sounds #cdmx #df (en Auditorio BlackBerry)

[canadianphtstudent]

Welcome to Pharmacy Awareness Month - Day #29!

Have you ever wondered why it takes a while for you to get your prescriptions after dropping them off? Well, see the video above for 10 reasons!

As the video says, pharmacy is more than just counting pills! 

Despite the video being American, all 10 things are applicable in Canada (including the bits about the registered pharmacy technician)!

Although, one difference that I observed would be that the pharmacy technician can perform compounding if they are competent to do so (and assuming that a recipe is available)!

[canadianphtstudent]

Device Teaching - Puffers (AKA Metered Dose Inhalers)

Welcome to Pharmacy Awareness Month - Day #28!

Puffers also known as metered-dose inhalers are commonly used medical devices. However, are they used properly? The below video demonstrates how to use a puffer!

Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians can help teach patients how to use a puffer and even review a patients’ technique.

However, how would you be able to tell if a patient who really knows how to use their puffer vs one that believes that they know how to use it?

One method that may help involves asking the patient a few questions during a patient interaction, or even tacking-on a few reminder phrases. For example:

How does your puffer taste?

How often do you use your inhaler?

Do you mind taking a few minutes to show me how you use your puffer?

Remember to prime your puffer before you use it!

The answer to these questions/prompt can help you determine if a patient needs further counseling or not! For example, if a patient can taste their Ventolin inhaler (salbutamol) whenever they use it, you would know immediately that their technique should be checked (because they shouldn’t be able to taste it). Or even, if the patient looks at you blankly, when you say prime, they may need a refresher!

Besides, you never know if you would encounter a patient that may have been using their puffer improperly (like in the video below)!

For more information about how to use puffers (with diagrams), please visit the following site: http://www.asthma.ca/adults/treatment/meteredDoseInhaler.php

[canadianphtstudent]

Welcome to Pharmacy Awareness Month - Day #27!

Today’s topic involves why generic drugs cheaper than brand name drugs as according to the video above!

How does this information help a pharmacy technician/pharmacist/patients? This information is useful as it makes health care more affordable in regards to medication costs.

In particular, if you are working in a pharmacy that serves low-income patients this would be important! For these patients, they would benefit significantly from the generic medications being cheaper as they will be able to afford them

[canadianphtstudent]

Welcome to Pharmacy Awareness Month - Day #26!

Have you ever wondered what a pharmacy in a hospital looked like?The video above shows an example of a well-funded and beautiful hospital pharmacy from the United States but is applicable to hospital pharmacies in Canada!

It is important to note that NOT ALL hospital pharmacies look like the one in the video (but if they did that would be awesome!). This is due to a variety of factors that include the age of the hospital, the hospital pharmacy’s budget, the population that the hospital serves and more! 

 This means that hospital pharmacies in Canada may use different medication distribution systems (i.e. dispensing medications in vials instead of repackaged single dose packets), have a different physical layout and may or may not have specialized machinery such as automated dispensing cabinets and medication delivery robots! Regardless, all hospital pharmacies are accredited in Canada (meaning that they all must meet specific standards in order to operate)!

[canadianphtstudent]

Welcome to Pharmacy Awareness Month - Day #25!

Sterile compounding is one of the specialized tasks that pharmacy technicians are trained in. As shown in the video above, it demonstrates various techniques that technicians would use when preparing sterile compounds. 

For example, from the “starting” point of the video (the 4:12 mark) to the 5:57 mark, is a demonstration on how to reconstitute a powdered medication (aka dissolving the powder in a liquid). If you decide to watch the entire video, it demonstrates how to prepare various other preparations!

Please keep in mind that different people, and even facilities, may use different techniques and/or procedures that deviates from the video when sterile compounding!

For example, when removing the needle cap, I prefer to loosen it before removing it instead of using the “wrist-lock” method that the demonstrator is using!

[canadianphtstudent]

Welcome to Pharmacy Awareness Month - Day 22!

Have you ever wondered about how to use a Breezhaler? Well, the video above from the Canadian Lung Association does a great job explaining how to to use it!

As with the Epi-pen post from last week (see here), a Breezhaler is a device that a pharmacy technician can be in a position to teach!

Now what is a Breezhaler? It is a small device designed to help deliver the medication (in the form of a dry powder) to the lungs. 

Currently, there are three different medications that use the Breezhaler that is available on the Canadian market: Onbrez Breezhaler,  Seebri Breezhaler and Ultibro Breezhaler. Additionally, these three medications are typically used to treat patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

For additional information about this medication, consult with your local pharmacist and/or physician!

Additionally, for more information about how to use a particular Breezhaler in the form of a diagram/handout, visit the Novartis website (the manufacturer of both the medication device and medication), and you can find more information about the product.

[canadianphtstudent]

Welcome to Pharmacy Awareness Month - Day #19!

Did you know that any the same drug may have multiple names? Well, they do!

The above video is a great explanation about drug names is applicable to drug naming in Canada!

As the video says, a drug can be called by its chemical name, brand name or its generic name (and potentially more). A brand name is the name of the drug given by the manufacturer, whereas the generic name is the active ingredient (the thing that makes the medication work) and is typically the shortened version of the chemical name. In the pharmacy, we call the drug by either it’s brand name or generic name. 

Now, how does this relate to a pharmacy technician? Well, we are able to tell patients whether or not two medications have the same active ingredient! Additionally, if we do not know the generic name of a brand name or vice versa, then we are able to access various resources to find out! This is particularly useful in situations where patients want the Canadian version of a medication that they received from outside of Canada or if patients are confused about why the same medication are named differently!