Who says we can't look pretty AND teach & learn at the same time? This Registered Health Information Administrator and Educator sets the societal norms on THIS page, my dear!
Thanks for stopping by!!!!!!
I love teaching my favorite topics (pharmacy & medical billing/coding), probably a little too much... But that's okay because I wouldn't have it any other way ;-) So, here are the drugs that we've been focusing on over the past week...
Are you cheating on your pharmacy? Polypharmacy is a big word that means "shopping around" for pharmaceuticals. The late night run to other sources of medication, over-the-counter, or otherwise. It's dangerous because the "other" pharmacy usually is unaware that any cheating is going on. This can lead to excessive use of the same drug (equivalent drug), drug interactions, and an overall unfavorable health outcomes. So, stop cheating! Or at least introduce them to one another ;-)
Thursday, July 26, 2012
I heard that President Obama signed the Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 ;-) Stay tuned! There's more to come...
This is one my mom definitely needs to read because she just loves Tylenol. Besides, its reputation for reducing fever is out of sight! But we must learn that more is not better.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking manufacturers of prescription combination products that contain acetaminophen, generic of Tylenol, to limit the amount of acetaminophen to no more than 325 milligrams (mg) in each tablet and capsule. The FDA is also requiring manufacturers to update labels of all prescription combination acetaminophen products to include a warning of potential risk for severe liver injury.
Acetaminophen, also called APAP, is a drug that relieves pain and fever and can be found in both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) products. It is combined in many prescription products with other ingredients, usually opioids such as codeine (Tylenol with Codeine), oxycodone (Percocet), and hydrocodone (Vicodin). OTC acetaminophen products are not affected in the change, since excessive amounts of acetaminophen are usually reserved for prescription drugs.
The elimination of higher-dose prescription combination acetaminophen products will be phased in over three years and is not expected to create a shortage of pain medication. Patients and health care professionals are being notified of the new limitation on acetaminophen content, and of the labeling change, via a drug safety communication issued by Center for Drug Evaluation & Research. The FDA reports plans to ensure that prescription combination products containing no more than 325 mg of acetaminophen per tablet are effective for treating pain.
Acetaminophen is also widely used as an over-the-counter pain and fever medication, and is combined with other OTC ingredients, such as in cough and cold medications. Please pay closer attention to the medications and the amounts that you and your loved ones ingest.
Oh, and this is one of my articles that's already published. So, please be sure to cite this if you're thinking about reproducing or referencing it ;-)
In effort to keep my readers abreast to my goings on, I just wanted to post a quick note of a topic of discussion that came up yesterday... How did Adolf Hitler die?
Well, I was lecturing about the difference between bacteriostatic and bacteriocidal antibiotics, when a student blurted out, "suicide!;" that was her word association for "bacteriocide." Later in the evening, the word "genocide" came up, during the discussion of medical diseases specific to certain ethnic groups, i.e. Sickle Cell Anemia, Thalasemia, etc. Then, someone blurted out, "Didn't Hitler die of suicide?" At that moment, I thought to myself, "How did Hitler die?" So, I took a second to look it up....
Apparently, Adolf Hitler, whose mother was a Jew, is said to have committed suicide, possibly by gunshot or cyanide poisoning. His actual cause of death appears to be uncertain. However, had he not killed himself then, he probably would have by now... considering all this talk
over here in the United States about change and all. I'm sure he would have been ecstatic about meeting our President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama ;-)
Yeah... If you live long enough, you too will learn that time brings about a change!
Take care and have a super-duper weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just a gentle reminder that medication errors are often not our fault. Often times, medication errors occur outside the pharmacy. Medical records are the main source documents used in medical malpractice and negligence cases; the Medication Administration Record (M.A.R.), in particular is critical in determining medication errors. Even though we think it's not likely to happen to us or any of our loved ones, start thinking about the firm you want to represent your family in medical malpractice case, if necessary. Because it happens.
Justice is suppose to be blind, but your choice of an attorney should not.
Click on the title above (MEDICAL MALPRACTICE & NEGLIGENCE) to read one of my articles about a medical malpractice situation.
So you think you're special, huh? Well, maybe you're right! Your body chemistry is unique to you, which would also imply that your DNA determines your response to medications, otherwise known as pharmacogenetics. Since every one of us has a different body chemistry, which causes us to have different responses to the same medication. The differences in our responses is called, "pharmacogenomics."
Click on the title above, "PHARMACOGENOMICS," to access my medical article about the need for specialized medical treatment, due to pharmacogenetics
As if sexuality and politics aren't controversial enough... We all know that each of these two topics can get a riot started all on its own; and I would be the one to write about it! Now, we have a union of them both, no pun intended. Representative Frank is now the first member of Congress to marry a same-sex partner. Representative Barney Frank married his lover, Jim Ready, over this past weekend on Saturday, July 7, 2012. Representative Frank originally "came out of the closet" in 1987. Reportedly, Representative Frank is not seeking another term. And of course, you can click the title (Sexuality & Politics) above to get the details.
Well, since the Supreme Court voted in favor of President Obama's Affordable Care Act, I thought I would share the article that I wrote about the Affordable Care Act, which was published in a local newspaper in March 2012. And it reads...
ObamaCare is not the point
Domanique F. Culpepper, MPA, RHIA, RPhT, CPhT
The bottom line is all Americans need access to quality care. Yes, everyone should be required to have health insurance, and here's why. When the average uninsured person gets hurt or becomes sick, their first stop is the emergency room instead of a physician's office. It is common knowledge that health care services cost much more at an emergency room than a physician's office. Common sense should also reveal that a person's right to choose whether or not to have health insurance is less important that the social burden the lack of health insurance poses on the public, as well as health care facilities as a whole.
Though the Hill-Burton Act, which later became Title XVI of the Public Health Service Act, was enacted for the purpose of subsidizing health care costs for the indigent, its purpose would be non-existent if everyone had health insurance in the first place. Sure, there are some who can afford to pay for health care services without health insurance. Perhaps, those individuals may go about financing their health care in a different manner. But for the bulk of the American population, who can not pay cash for annual exams or cardiac catherizations, mandatory health insurance coverage should indeed be in place, and it will, once 2014 comes around.
When focusing on the content of the new federal law that requires everyone to obtain and maintain health insurance, and not the name of it, perhaps the advantages of it will become more noticeable. Two key advantages of the Affordable Care Act include the expansion of health care coverage and improvement of the quality of health care services. In other words, everyone will have access to health care services, which in turn should facilitate the ability of health care providers to properly treat patients in a timely manner. The idea is that preventative maintenance can help control certain diseases, while preventing others. However, the American people must not expect President Obama to solve every single problem (inherited or otherwise), especially when some of the tools are within the power of the people.
Regarding power, coverage is expected to vary from one state to the next. This makes sense because different health conditions affect people in various parts of the United States. Another advantage of the Affordable Health Care Act is that small businesses will not be forced to provide insurance for their employees and contractors. Other major advantages include the removal of penalties for pre-existing health conditions and tax credit for the purchase of a health insurance plan.
Whether this plan is referred to as “ObamaCare” or not, all Americans need to access to quality health care. That is the point. To learn more about how to estimate your health care costs visit www.healthcare.gov
