Drug Education ProgratnS: APhA Annual Meeting Pretnieres Three new programs to aid the pharmacist will premiere at the APhA annual meeting in Anaheim:
Diabetic Patient Checklist A new aid for pharmacists and patients has been developed to assist in the monitoring and compliance of diabetic patients. Designed by APhA's Academy of Pharmacy Practice Section on Clinical Practice, the new Diabetic Patient Drug Monitoring Checklist will give pharmacists a new tool to help assure the safe, effective, and efficient administration of medication. The new checklist is for use with ambulatory diabetic patients. Developed in 1977, it has been field tested by both institutional and community practitioners. Virtually all of their suggestions were incorporated into the final format. The checklist is a patient profile, specially designed to record data necessary to effectively monitor the drug therapy of the diabetic patient. Use of the checklist enables the pharmacist to bring together pertinent information about the patient -blood and urine glucose test results, blood pressure readings, prescribed therapy, special diet, therapy for concurrent diseases, and the patient'sdrug therapy, including a special section for recording insulin type(s), dosage, and dosage changes. The checklist may be used as the sole patient profile, or it may be used in conjunction with existing profiles. It is important that the pharmacist understand that the treatment of diabetes basically involves maintaining an effective control of blood glucose levels. The therapeutic goal of diabetes drug therapy (insulin or oral hypoglycemic) is to lower the patient's blood sugar as much as is realistically possible. Diabetic patients vary considerably in their response to insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents and in their adherence to prescribed therapy-in taking medi-
American Pharmacy VoI.NS19, No.4, Apr.1979/ 211
cations regularly, observing dietary restrictions, and maintaining their ideal body weight . The pharmacist can help maintain the diabetic patient at an adequate control level, and the checklist serves as a convenien t and efficient a ux iliary tool. The checklist will be available in pads of 50, with an instruction booklet containing specific instructions for using the checklist, suggestions for use, a completed sample checklist, and a suggested transmittal form for obtaining blood sugar data from the patient's physician. The transmittal form can be reproduced easily on a 5" by 8" card. It is given to the patient, who asks the physician to complete the form during a regular office visit and then return it to the pharmacist. The checklist pads and instruction booklet will be available from APhA after May 1 for $3.00, prepaid. The Diabetic Patient Drug Monitoring Checklist was prepared with the cooperation and support of Hoechst-Roussel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Pharmacis ts attending the APhA annual meeting in Anaheim will be able to obtain a sample. checklist and instruction booklet at the Hoechst exhibition booth. Aids for Community Awareness In response to hundreds of pharmacists who are often called on to speak at community functions about the use of medications, a new slide/tape presentation and audience participation program has been developed by the APhA Academy of Pharmacy Practice. The unique package, called the National Medication Awareness Test (NMAT), will have its premiere showing at the opening session of the Academy at 9:00 a.m., Monday, April 23, during the APhA annual meeting in Anaheim, CA. NMAT was produced with the cooperation and support of Lederle Laboratories. The NMAT was designed to be conducted by pharmacists as a com-
NMRT ~
munity service program. An audiovisual show serves as a warm-up by reviewing a number of problems and questions most frequently asked by patients and laymen. The format allows a great deal of audience participation, and additional slides are included to support the speaker's answers. The NMAT program discusses such subjects as the purpose of medicines, the reasons for various dosage forms, the need to take medicine properly, and what happens in the body once a medication is taken. It imparts an awareness about medication through a beautiful audiovisual technique, supplemented by a "hands-on" interaction with the practicing pharmacist. The program provides the pharmacist with a detailed outline to stimulate and answer questions. The "test" questions are not intended to test for specific knowledge, but rather to serve as probes to start people thinking about their health and medications. The slide/tape portion of NMAT is approximately 20 minutes long; questions can take up to another 40 minutes, depending on the time allotted to the speaker. The entire presentation will be made at the opening session of APP in Anaheim. A brochure on the NMAT program will be available at that time. For complete details, write: Ronald L. Williams, APP/
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Diabetic Patient Checklist A new aid for pharmacists and patients has been developed to assist in the monitoring and compliance of diabetic patients. Designed by APhA's Academy of Pharmacy Practice Section on Clinical Practice, the new Diabetic Patient Drug Monitoring Checklist will give pharmacists a new tool to help assure the safe, effective, and efficient administration of medication. The new checklist is for use with ambulatory diabetic patients. Developed in 1977, it has been field tested by both institutional and community practitioners. Virtually all of their suggestions were incorporated into the final format. The checklist is a patient profile, specially designed to record data necessary to effectively monitor the drug therapy of the diabetic patient. Use of the checklist enables the pharmacist to bring together pertinent information about the patient -blood and urine glucose test results, blood pressure readings, prescribed therapy, special diet, therapy for concurrent diseases, and the patient'sdrug therapy, including a special section for recording insulin type(s), dosage, and dosage changes. The checklist may be used as the sole patient profile, or it may be used in conjunction with existing profiles. It is important that the pharmacist understand that the treatment of diabetes basically involves maintaining an effective control of blood glucose levels. The therapeutic goal of diabetes drug therapy (insulin or oral hypoglycemic) is to lower the patient's blood sugar as much as is realistically possible. Diabetic patients vary considerably in their response to insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents and in their adherence to prescribed therapy-in taking medi-
American Pharmacy VoI.NS19, No.4, Apr.1979/ 211
cations regularly, observing dietary restrictions, and maintaining their ideal body weight . The pharmacist can help maintain the diabetic patient at an adequate control level, and the checklist serves as a convenien t and efficient a ux iliary tool. The checklist will be available in pads of 50, with an instruction booklet containing specific instructions for using the checklist, suggestions for use, a completed sample checklist, and a suggested transmittal form for obtaining blood sugar data from the patient's physician. The transmittal form can be reproduced easily on a 5" by 8" card. It is given to the patient, who asks the physician to complete the form during a regular office visit and then return it to the pharmacist. The checklist pads and instruction booklet will be available from APhA after May 1 for $3.00, prepaid. The Diabetic Patient Drug Monitoring Checklist was prepared with the cooperation and support of Hoechst-Roussel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Pharmacis ts attending the APhA annual meeting in Anaheim will be able to obtain a sample. checklist and instruction booklet at the Hoechst exhibition booth. Aids for Community Awareness In response to hundreds of pharmacists who are often called on to speak at community functions about the use of medications, a new slide/tape presentation and audience participation program has been developed by the APhA Academy of Pharmacy Practice. The unique package, called the National Medication Awareness Test (NMAT), will have its premiere showing at the opening session of the Academy at 9:00 a.m., Monday, April 23, during the APhA annual meeting in Anaheim, CA. NMAT was produced with the cooperation and support of Lederle Laboratories. The NMAT was designed to be conducted by pharmacists as a com-
NMRT ~
munity service program. An audiovisual show serves as a warm-up by reviewing a number of problems and questions most frequently asked by patients and laymen. The format allows a great deal of audience participation, and additional slides are included to support the speaker's answers. The NMAT program discusses such subjects as the purpose of medicines, the reasons for various dosage forms, the need to take medicine properly, and what happens in the body once a medication is taken. It imparts an awareness about medication through a beautiful audiovisual technique, supplemented by a "hands-on" interaction with the practicing pharmacist. The program provides the pharmacist with a detailed outline to stimulate and answer questions. The "test" questions are not intended to test for specific knowledge, but rather to serve as probes to start people thinking about their health and medications. The slide/tape portion of NMAT is approximately 20 minutes long; questions can take up to another 40 minutes, depending on the time allotted to the speaker. The entire presentation will be made at the opening session of APP in Anaheim. A brochure on the NMAT program will be available at that time. For complete details, write: Ronald L. Williams, APP/
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