Medivision presents an excerpt from our 60 minute pharmacy education video Improving Cardiovascular Risk, featuring Sian Carr-Lopez PharmD. on the topic of Hypertension and Cardiovascular Risk.
The full length film, along with many other medical education titles, is available on VHS or DVD from health-e-mall.com, and also includes Robert B. Supernaw, PharmD. and Mary J. Ferrill, PharmD. discussing the roles of hyperlipidemia, cholesterol medications and hypertension.
Hypertension is quantitatively the most important risk factor for
premature cardiovascular disease; it is more common than other risk factors such as cigarette
smoking, dyslipidemia, and diabetes.
Hypertension accounts for an estimated 54 percent of all strokes and 47
percent of all ischemic heart disease events globally. Hypertension increases the risk for a variety of cardiovascular
diseases, including stroke, coronary artery disease, heart failure, and
peripheral vascular disease. Coronary disease in men and stroke in women
are the principal first cardiovascular events noted after hypertension
onset, and in view of the evidence that the mortality rates are rising in younger people in the United States and the increasing impact of cardiovascular diseases in developing countries, greater attention must be given to prevention of these diseases. The increase in cardiovascular risk has primarily been described in terms of elevated systolic pressure in those over age 60 and
elevation in diastolic pressure in younger individuals. Pulse pressure,
which is the difference between the systolic and diastolic blood
pressures and is determined primarily by large artery stiffness, is also
a strong predictor of risk.
High concentrations of total and LDL cholesterol and
low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol predict
cardiovascular risk in both men and women. High triglyceride levels
have been associated with greater risk in women only.The risk of cardiovascular disease increases by an average of 2% for each corresponding 1% rise in total cholesterol.
Clinical studies have shown that statins significantly reduce the risk
of heart attack and death in patients with proven coronary artery
disease (CAD), and can also reduce cardiac events in patients with high
cholesterol levels who are at increased risk for heart disease. While
best known as drugs that lower cholesterol, statins have several other
beneficial effects that may also improve cardiac risk, and that may turn
out to be even more important than their cholesterol-reducing
properties.
Featuring Mary Totten; President, Totten and Associates, Ted Landsmark; President, Boston Architectural Center, and Philip Newbold, President and CEO of Memorial Health System.
This video is designed to assist community developers in gaining a better understanding of the assets and resources in your community. Learn how to create partnerships that makes the most effective use of your community's resources, understand the changing role of the board from community relations to community health, develop a community-focused mission and learn what boards can do to ensure effective involvement in community health and how to identify unmet needs in the community. The full length film, along with
many other medical education titles, is available on VHS or DVD from
health-e-mall.com
Many important initiatives to engage communities in addressing their health care crises are currently underway throughout the United States. National organizations are convening community dialogues and organizing consumer advocacy projects. Foundations and academic centers are identifying effective community strategies, analyzing the secrets of their success, and disseminating them as effective models and
approaches. State governments, many of which are dealing with significant budgetary shortfalls, are monitoring the creative initiatives of certain pioneering communities. In some regions, federal, state, and community stakeholders are working together to improve access and coverage.
Effective collaborations involve a process through which citizens, providers, advocates, government officials, and other stakeholders explore obstacles, differences and alternative strategies for improving access to health care.
Ingenuity and determination are behind efforts in communities that
are successfully overcoming barriers to health care access. The models
vary widely, but all involve diverse community partners who have come
together and reached consensus on strategies. Virtually all the
effective projects involve regular monitoring and cost/benefit analysis,
projecting or demonstrating dramatic savings to local and regional
economies.
Some have tackled the issue of coverage by creating local, nonprofit managed care plans for low-income
workers, other uninsured residents, or people living with chronic
diseases. Among the most promising programs for future sustainability
are those where financing involves cost sharing—in which employers,
employees, government and community funders all contribute.
Other communities have addressed different elements of access. Volunteers and staff members may find
under served patients a “medical home.” Or they may facilitate patients’ enrollment in public programs,
ensure transportation to health care appointments, provide translation
and interpretation services, or case-manage those with chronic and
costly illnesses. Effective community collaborations usually enlist
health care providers, social service agencies, pharmacies, and even
insurance agents to donate or deeply discount their services to support
the newly created systems.
The emphasis of community-based healthcare has been changing; among
other aims, asset based working promotes well-being by building social
capital, promoting face-to-face community networks, encouraging civic
participation and citizen power. High levels of social capital are
correlated with positive health outcomes, well-being and resilience.
Local
government and health services face cuts in funding. Demographic and
social changes such as an aging population and increasing unemployment
mean that more people are going to be in need of help and support; new
ways of working will be needed if inequalities in healthcare are not to
get worse.
It’s important to assess your community’s strengths and assets as well as your needs, as is the ability to focus your efforts on policies and programs that build on your community’s existing assets and resources. Identifying these elements early will help you later as you choose effective policies & programs and begin to act on what’s important to implement policies and programs.
Social community assets involve the extent to which community residents interact with each other for the good of the community. This collective interaction may take the form of participating in community meetings, voting in local and national elections, and helping out with community problems like teen violence or wide-spread drug abuse. It also may involve community mobilization to advocate for projects that may further strengthen the community, such as increased funding for new community centers or after school programs.
Medivision presents an excerpt from our 120 minute medical education video Cancer Update: Diagnosis and Treatment of Urologic Cancers, featuring Richard Williams Md. discussing Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy of Superficial Bladder Cancer.
The full length film, along with many other medical education titles, is available on VHS or DVD from health-e-mall.com, and also includes Seth Lerner, MD., Ron Bukowski, MD., Chris Logothetis, MD. and Michael Sorodsky, MD. discussing testes cancer, bladder cancer, BCG, alternatives to BCG therapy, and metastatic bladder cancer; also covers renal cell cancer - single agent therapies including IL-2 high dose and alpha interferon, combination therapy of IL-2 low dose and alpha interferon, and surgery to treat renal cells.
Superficial bladder carcinoma includes a diverse group of lesions,
ranging from Ta grade I to T1 grade III tumors and high-grade flat CIS.
Although it is crucial to distinguish the small group of lesions that
carry a serious risk of progression to life-threatening muscle invasive
and metastatic disease, the vast majority of superficial tumors have low
rates of progression. Rather, they have a significant tendency to recur
at multiple sites throughout the urothelium.
Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is a
live bacterium related to cow tuberculosis. It is a common treatment for
non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, particularly for cancers that have a
risk of worsening over time. BCG is believed to work by triggering the
body's immune system to destroy any cancer cells that remain in the
bladder after TURBT (transurethral resection of bladder tumor). BCG is in a liquid solution that is put into
the bladder with a catheter. The person then holds the solution in the
bladder for two hours before they urinate. The treatment is usually
given once per week for six weeks, starting approximately two to three
weeks after the last TURBT. Further booster (maintenance) treatments can
extend the benefit of BCG. Intravesical BCG, in combination with TURBT, is the most effective
treatment for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. BCG therapy has been
shown to delay (although not necessarily prevent) tumor growth to a more
advanced stage, decrease the need for surgical removal of the bladder
at a later time, and improve overall survival
Medivision presents an excerpt from our 60 minute medical education video Management of Anorexia and Bulimia, featuring Mary E. Muscari, PhD, CRNP, CS and Marrian Farrell, PhD, RNC, CS.
The full length film, along with many other medical education titles, is available on VHS or DVD from health-e-mall.com and describes the clinical manifestations and potential complications associated with anorexia and bulimia nervosa; the nursing techniques used to prevent and manage the physiologic consequences, and assists the physician in developing an understanding of the psychosocial needs of clients with eating disorders while examining various psychosocial interventions based on appropriate theoretical perspectives for clients with eating disorders.
Competent and comprehensive care of eating disorders must involve understanding the medical aspects of these illnesses, not just for physicians but for any clinician treating them. A therapist must know what to look for, what certain symptoms might mean and when to send a patient for medical evaluation. A dietitian will likely be a team member who performs the nutrition evaluation and must have adequate knowledge of all medical/nutritional aspects of eating disorders. A psychiatrist may prescribe medication for an underlying mood or thought disorder and must coordinate this with the rest of the treatment.
Eating disorder medical complications vary with each individual; some patients who self-induce vomiting have low electrolytes and a bleeding esophagus while others can vomit for years without ever developing these symptoms. It is necessary to have a well-trained and experienced physician as part of the treatment team of an eating disordered patient. Not only do these physicians have to treat symptoms that they find, but they have to anticipate what is to come and discuss what is not revealed by medical lab data. Unfortunately, physicians with special training and/or experience in
diagnosing and treating eating disorders are not very common, and patients who seek psychotherapy for an eating disorder
often have their own family doctors which they prefer over a therapist referral.
Most eating disorder complaints like headaches, stomachaches, insomnia,
fatigue, weakness, dizzy spells, and even fainting do not show up on
lab results. Parents, therapists and doctors too often make the mistake
of expecting to scare patients into improving their behaviors by having
them get a physical exam in order to discover whatever damage has been
done. Patients are rarely motivated by medical
consequences and often have the attitude that being thin is more
important than being healthy, or nothing bad is really going to happen
to them, or they don't care if it does. Furthermore, patients can appear
to be healthy and receive normal lab results even though they have been
starving or vomiting for months or years.
Managing binge eating disorder patients most likely involves the same
medical considerations to be taken into account when treating obese
individuals, such as heart or gallbladder disease, diabetes, high blood
pressure, and so on. Most symptoms of binge eating will be a result of
the accompanying weight gain associated with this disorder. Occasionally
people have binged to the point of becoming breathless when their
distended stomachs press up on their diaphragms. In very rare cases a
medical emergency may occur if the stomach wall becomes so stretched
that it is damaged or even tears.
While many people with an eating disorder will recover fully, relapse
is common and may occur months or even years after treatment. An
estimated 5 to 10 percent of anorexics will die from the disorder; their
deaths most commonly result from starvation, suicide or electrolyte
imbalance. More favorable outcomes for anorexics have been associated
with a younger age of onset of the disorder, less denial, less
immaturity, and improved self-esteem.
The outcome for bulimia nervosa is not as well documented, and
mortality rates are not yet known. It is a chronic, cyclic disorder. Of
those bulimics who are treated for the disorder, fewer than one-third
will be fully recovered three years after treatment, more than one-third
will show some improvement in their symptoms at a three-year follow-up,
and about one-third will resume chronic symptoms within three years.
Medivision presents an excerpt from our 60 minute medical education
video Management of Heart Failure: Secondary to Left Ventricular
Systolic Disfunction, featuring Denise Drummond Hayes MSN, RN, CCRN from
Allegheny University Hospitals.
The full length film, along with
many other medical education titles, is available on VHS or DVD from
health-e-mall.com and discusses the physicians need to differentiate
between heart failure secondary to left-ventricular systolic dysfunction
and heart failure secondary to left-ventricular diastolic dysfunction,
describe the initial pharmacologic management for patients with heart
failure in the setting of reduced left-ventricular systolic function, as
well as the current AHCPR recommendations for patient and family
education and counseling in reference to left - ventricular systolic
dysfunction.
Older people living with heart abnormalities that could lead to heart failure may have never had those abnormalities diagnosed, meaning they miss out on treatments that could help. But deciding whether someone would benefit from taking these drugs in the last stages of life is also important.
The heart naturally gets weaker as people age, but scientists don't often study heart failure in the elderly. A new study looked at 375 people ages 87 to 89 in northeast England, and found that about one-third of them had a reduced ability to pump blood due to a left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Another 20 percent had a diastolic dysfunction; heart muscles that could not relax enough to allow the heart's chambers to fill with blood, which keeps the heart from pumping enough blood to the rest of the body.
These abnormalities increase as people age and develop cardiovascular diseases, such as high blood pressure and coronary artery disease. They can also lead to heart failure.
For 26 percent of the people in the study, the problems had never been diagnosed by a physician.
About 5.8 million Americans have heart failure according the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, and as greater numbers of people age and survive heart attacks in Western countries it's possible that that number will grow.
Doctors say although the symptoms of these heart abnormalities seem common for older people, it's important that they not be dismissed as simply signs of "old age."
There are few treatment options for patients whose hearts don't relax enough to fill with blood, but patients whose hearts don't pump hard enough can take classes of drugs called beta blockers and ACE inhibitors, both of which increase the heart's ability to pump blood effectively. Those drugs come with side effects such as weakness, drowsiness or dizziness that may make it not feasible to give them to an older person.
Medivision presents an excerpt from our 60 minute medical education video Recent Advances in the Management of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), featuring Brenda Toner, PhD.
The full length film, along with many other medical education titles, is available on VHS or DVD from health-e-mall.com and describes the application of symptom-based criteria for diagnosis of IBS, the role of dysmotility and visceral hypersensitivity in IBS, patient care and the role of pharamacotherapeutic agents.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a functional
gastrointestinal disorder long considered a diagnosis of exclusion, has
chronic symptoms that vary over time and overlap with those of non-IBS
disorders. Traditional symptom-based criteria effectively identify IBS
patients but are not easily applied in clinical practice, leaving over 40% of patients to experience symptoms up to 5 years before
diagnosis.
The myoelectric activity of the colon is composed of background slow
waves with superimposed spike potentials. Colonic dysmotility in
irritable bowel syndrome manifests as variations in slow-wave frequency
and a blunted, late-peaking, postprandial response of spike potentials.
Patients who are prone to diarrhea demonstrate this disparity to a
greater degree than patients who are prone to constipation.
Small
bowel dysmotility manifests in delayed meal transit in patients prone
to constipation and in accelerated meal transit in patients prone to
diarrhea. In addition, patients exhibit shorter intervals between
migratory motor complexes (the predominant interdigestive small bowel
motor patterns).
Current theories integrate these widespread
motility aberrations and hypothesize a generalized smooth muscle
hyperresponsiveness. They describe increased urinary symptoms, including
frequency, urgency, nocturia, and hyperresponsiveness to methacholine
challenge.
Visceral hypersensitivity (the experience of pain in internal organs at an increased level than what is normally expected) may also play a role in irritable bowel syndrome
(IBS). This pain sensitivity is usually studied using some variation
of balloon distention in the rectum, and as an overall research
trend people who suffer from IBS experience discomfort and pain in the
rectal area at lower levels of pressure than individuals who do not
suffer from IBS. But the issue is not a simple one; it appears likely that the visceral hypersensitivity seen in some IBS patients is a result of changes
in nervous system functioning on both the level of the intestines and
the brain. At the level of the gut, it seems as if nerve pathways in
the gastrointestinal tract become sensitized to stimulation, resulting
in over-reactivity and resulting in pain amplification. Brain imaging studies provide more clues; in individuals who do not have IBS, rectal distension triggers a response
in parts of the brain that are associated with modulating pain. In IBS
patients, this same rectal stimulation triggers a response in the parts
of the brain associated with vigilance and anxiety -- parts of the brain
that serve to amplify the sensation of pain.
Certain types of psychotherapy have been shown to be effective in
reducing IBS symptoms. Although it is not known precisely why therapy
is beneficial, it is thought to be related to the effect of the therapy
on the close interconnections between the brain and the intestinal system.
Medivision.com is pleased to present an excerpt from our 2 hour educational video; Cardiology Perspectives: Effective Management of Cholesterol, featuring John Kane, MD; Alan Chait, MD; John LaRose, MD; Tom Bersot, MD; Stephen G. Young, MD; Gustav Schoenfeld, MD and Virgil Brown, MD.
The full length video is available on DVD or VHS from health-e-mall.com and discusses the importance of controlling cholesterol in patients with heart disease and other high risk individuals.
High cholesterol is a well-known risk factor in heart disease, the
number one killer of both women and men in the United States, with more
than a million heart attacks and about a half million deaths annually. High cholesterol doesn't cause overt symptoms, and many people are unaware
of elevated cholesterol levels and how it may influence their
cardiac risk. To complicate matters, high cholesterol is not the only
predictor of cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke; somewhere between 30-50 percent of first heart attacks occur in
people with normal cholesterol levels, but it is essential to test and monitor cholesterol levels,
especially for anyone with a family history of heart disease. Lowering
high cholesterol does seem to lessen the risk for developing heart
disease, and reduces the chance of a heart attack or dying of heart
problems if you already have them. However, some research has indicated
that all-cause mortality (that is, dying from any disease, not just
heart disease) actually increases when cholesterol is lowered in those
over age 65.
Genetics and lifestyle both combine in individuals to
create high levels of cholesterol in the blood. Those who are
overweight tend to have increased cholesterol.
Diet is an
important component of controlling cholesterol ratios and maintaining
heart health. Recent evidence indicates that added sugar and
overabundance of flour in the diet are probably greater contributors to heart disease than saturated fat; certain components of full-fat dairy foods may be cardio-protective.
However, a chemically altered type of fat known as trans fatty
acids (TFAs) can worsen cholesterol ratios. TFAs are mostly found in
animal fats and vegetable oils, and are also created in the
hydrogenation process that makes fats more stable, giving them a longer
shelf-life.
In
addition to diet, LDL cholesterol levels appear to be heavily dependent
on genetic factors. Anyone at increased risk of heart disease should have tests for
LDL particle size in addition to the basic lipid profile. Best results
show low numbers of LDL particles overall.
A different cholesterol problem is present when one shows a tendency towards low HDL cholesterol and high
triglycerides. This pattern, sometimes called “Syndrome X,” is
associated with insulin resistance. It is frequently influenced by diet
and lifestyle, but is also genetically driven and appears to affect at
least 30 percent of the population. It carries with it an increased risk
of high blood pressure and diabetes as well as heart disease. Dietary
and nutritional supplement treatments are often quite effective in
treating this pattern, but are a bit different from those for high total
and LDL cholesterol levels.
High cholesterol is treated conventionally with lifestyle changes focusing on
diet, physical activity and weight
management. For patients seen in busy medical practices this
approach is frequently difficult to fully implement and utilize. If
lifestyle changes are not effective, drug therapy is often recommended.
Statin drugs are commonly used to lower cholesterol and protect against
heart disease and heart attacks by blocking an enzyme that is
necessary for the synthesis of cholesterol in the liver. They can be
very effective, and there is growing medical enthusiasm
for them because they also seem to provide antioxidant and
anti-inflammatory properties. These drugs can reduce plaque formation in
coronary arteries by preventing the oxidation of LDL ("bad")
cholesterol, and their anti-inflammatory properties may help prevent
plaque from rupturing.
Despite their benefits, they do have
adverse effects including liver
toxicity: physicians need to monitor liver function carefully in
patients with liver disease of any kind.
Medivision presents an excerpt from our 90 minute medical education video Obstetrics and Gynecology: Understanding the Role of Estrogen, featuring Matan Yemini, MD. on the topic of "What is Menopause?".
The full length film, along with many other medical education titles, is available on VHS or DVD from health-e-mall.com and covers the following topics:
Comprehensive Health Care to the Peri-Menopause, Current Research Trends, Hormone Replacement Therapy and Nursing Perspectives in Menopause Management.
Hormone replacement therapy was recently considered to be a
standard treatment for women with hot flashes and other menopause
symptoms, and was also thought to have
the long-term benefits of preventing heart disease and possibly
dementia. However the use of hormone therapy changed abruptly when a large clinical trial
found that one type of hormone therapy actually posed more health risks than benefits, particularly when given to older
postmenopausal women. As the concern about health hazards attributed to
hormone therapy grew doctors became less likely to prescribe it, and it is no longer recommended for s
heart disease or memory loss.
However, further review of clinical
trials and new evidence show that hormone therapy may still be a good choice
for certain women, depending on their risk factors and on whether they take systemic hormone therapy or low-dose vaginal preparations of estrogen. For women who experience menopause naturally, estrogen is typically
prescribed along with progesterone or progestin because estrogen alone can stimulate growth of the lining of the uterus,
increasing the risk of uterine cancer.
Despite the health risks, systemic estrogen is still the most effective
treatment for menopausal symptoms. The benefits of hormone therapy may
outweigh the risks if you're healthy and:
Experience moderate to severe hot flashes or other menopausal symptoms
Have lost bone mass and either can't tolerate or aren't benefitting from other treatments
Stopped having periods before age 40 (premature menopause) or lost
normal function of your ovaries before age 40 (premature ovarian
insufficiency)
Women who experience an early menopause, particularly those who had
their ovaries removed and don't take estrogen therapy until at least age
45, have a higher risk of:
Osteoporosis
Coronary heart disease (CHD)
Earlier death
Parkinsonism (Parkinson's-like symptoms)
Dementia
Anxiety or depression
Sexual function concerns
Early menopause typically lowers the risk of most types of breast cancer
and ovarian cancer. For women who reach menopause prematurely,
protective benefits of hormone therapy usually outweigh the risks.
To determine if hormone therapy is a good treatment option for you, talk to your doctor about your individual symptoms and health risks. As researchers learn more about hormone therapy and other menopausal treatments, recommendations may change. If you continue to have bothersome menopausal symptoms, review treatment options with your doctor on a regular basis.
Medivision.com presents an excerpt from "Care of the Morbidly Obese Trauma Patient", with Susan M. Gallagher (RN, MSN, CNS) on a nurses' perspective on the challenges of caring for morbidly obese patients in a hospital setting. The full one hour educational video available at health-e-mall.com also features Blanca Crandall, Patricia S. Choban, MD and Rosaline Parson, RN, BSN, CEN, CCRN and covers ways to improve the physical, emotional, and social needs of obese patients; why patients are reluctant to accept care and how that impacts skin and wound care in the hospital setting; common, predictable and preventable skin and wound complications, care suggestions; the value of using appropriate equipment and the safety risks standard hospital equipment may pose for the obese patient.
Obesity is now recognized as a major health problem in the United States; over 32% of the U.S. population is obese and the problem is not limited to adults. Although increases in the prevalence of overweight and obesity have been observed around the world, the United States has the highest prevalence of obesity among the developed nations.
The number of hospitalizations in which obesity was noted on admission has increased significantly compared to the overall increase in hospitalizations for any condition. While obese individuals undergoing weight reduction surgery account for some of these patients, many of them also seek health care for treatment of co-morbidities such as diabetes, sleep apnea, or orthopedic problems or for matters unrelated to the obesity, such as trauma or childbirth. The morbidly obese patient presents particular challenges to nurses providing their care.
Earlier nursing literature on weight reduction surgeries cautioned nurses to have additional staff available to assist in providing care, and to assemble specialized equipment to cope with providing care and transferring a patient with a large body mass, yet the requirement of increased staff to provide care for the morbidly
obese has received only
limited additional attention in the literature.
ICU physicians also need to be aware of physiologic changes occurring with
obesity that become relevant during critical illness. Special challenges are encountered when caring for the
obese patient in the ICU, including airway management, bedside
procedures and testing, nutritional support, drug dosing and nursing care.
Medivision.com presents a segment from our 1 hour educational video "Contemporary Compounding in the Community Practice Setting", featuring Art Matthys, RPh; William Letender, MS, RPh; Dave Mason, RPh and Loyd Allen, PhD.
The full length video is available on DVD or VHS from www.health-e-mall.com and covers the following topics:
-Definitions of the pharmacy, manufacturing, compounding and triad, and areas where pharmacists can solve non-compliance problems using compounding services;
-Lists the unique dosage forms that are available to healthcare professionals, and the factors that exempt pharmacists from the Federal Food and Drug and Cosmetic Act;
-Demonstrates how pharmacists meet the unique needs of patients at their practice sites;
-Demonstrates the value of compounding services in terms of patient compliance and patient needs;
-Identifies areas of practice that could potentially benefit compounding;
-Illustrates a course of action to take when filling a compounded prescription .
Pharmacy compounding is the practice of preparing personalized
medications for patients, in which individual ingredients are mixed together in the exact strength and
dosage form required by the patient. This method allows the compounding
pharmacist to work with the patient and the prescriber to customize a
medication to meet the patient’s specific needs. With the advent of mass drug manufacturing in the 1950s and ‘60s the pharmacist’s role as a preparer of
medications changed to that of a dispenser of manufactured
dosage forms, and most pharmacists no longer were trained to compound
medications. However, the “one-size-fits-all” nature of many
mass-produced medications meant that some patients’ needs were not being
met and compounding has recently experienced a resurgence as modern
technology, innovative techniques and research have allowed more
pharmacists to customize medications to meet specific patient needs. Trained pharmacists can now personalize medicine for patients who need specific strengths, dosage forms, flavors or ingredients excluded from medications due to allergies or other sensitivities.
Two particular areas in which compounding has shown particular benefits are preparations for pain medications and pediatric prescriptions.
Pain is the most common symptom for which individuals seek medical help. Many commonly prescribed, commercially available pain relief medications help the symptoms associated with chronic conditions such as arthritis, fibromyalgia and other nerve and muscle pain, but they can also result in unwanted side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness or stomach irritation. Many patients taking these medications come to accept these conditions as part of daily life, but they may find a better solution through pharmacy compounding. Pharmacy compounding can
provide alternate methods of delivery to make the medication easier; instead of a capsule or tablet, pain medications often can be compounded
as dosage forms such as topical gels, creams or sprays that can be applied directly to the site of the pain and absorbed through the skin. Other delivery options may include a custom-flavored troche that dissolves under the tongue, a nasal spray, or a suppository.
These dosage forms may bypass the gastrointestinal tract, providing
optimal results with less GI irritation and help patients who have
difficulty swallowing pills. On many occasions, multiple medications can be combined into a single
dose providing greater convenience
for the patient. And because patients vary in size, symptoms and pain tolerance,
commercially available medications sometimes may not provide the
appropriate dosage strength for an individual patient; through
compounding a prescriber and pharmacist can customize the dosage to the
exact amount the patient requires and find a dosage form that best
suits the patient’s needs.
Pediatric patients are especially suited for custom compounded prescriptions. For various
reasons, commercially manufactured drug forms sometimes may not meet the
needs of every child. Compounding can benefit young patients in a
variety of ways.
Many children refuse medication because of its texture or color, or
simply because they know it is medicine. But compounded medications may often be transformed into colorful, pleasantly
flavored dosage forms dispensed in childproof packaging. Compounding pharmacists can enhance the taste and color of a medication without changing the
medication’s effectiveness, and utilize custom delivery forms such as
lollipops, gummy treats, topical gels or effervescent drinks. Some compounded medications can be administered using special pacifiers or bottles for infants.
