DISRxUPT

In today's healthcare system, we constantly aim to enhance quality, decrease cost, improve the patient experience, optimize the provider experience, and implement effective population health initiatives. But how do we know if these goals are met? In short, we need data, and the electronic health records used today are filled with such data. Thus, the intersection of technology with clinical experience is invaluable in today's healthcare environment. However, few clinicians are comfortable collecting and analyzing this data on their own. While the learning curve may seem daunting, even simple computing skills can provide great value in healthcare today.

In this episode of DISRxUPT, Dr. Adam Berstein brings us up to speed on the importance of data analytics in pharmacy and beyond. In addition to working in health systems, health tech, and managed care environments as a pharmacist, Adam is the founder and CEO of Sparx Analytics, which exists to empower clinicians to analyze data effectively. Listen to discover how data analytics can be leveraged to optimize clinical and operational outcomes in healthcare today!

The medication use process has a great impact on the world around us. For example, 40% of the world's rivers contain harmful levels of pharmaceuticals. Using one inhaler with propellant has an equivalent environmental impact as driving a gasoline-powered car over 100 miles. Billions of plastic bottles are thrown into landfills annually. Improper use and disposal of antimicrobials contribute to antimicrobial resistance. What can we do about these issues to steward the health of our planet?

In this episode of DISRxUPT, Dr. Shellyza Sajwani discusses the concept of climate conscious pharmacy. Shellyza is a Canadian pharmacist and the cofounder of Climaceutics Health Solutions, a social entrepreneurship initiative that offers cost-neutral and profitable tools, certifications, and consultation to community pharmacies looking to reduce their carbon emissions and pollution while also improving their resilience to extreme weather events. Listen to discover how the medication use process impacts our planet and how we can take action to minimize these effects!

Primary care services around the world are suffering from a lack of resources, including the US and the UK. This growing issue requires creative problem-solving and trailblazers who will lead the necessary changes to meet the primary care needs of all patients. Enter the Pharmacy First Service, which allows patients to consult community pharmacists directly for minor ailments and short-term illnesses to receive self-care advice, straightforward diagnostic services, and certain medicines without needing an appointment with a general practitioner or prescription!

Our international guest is Kimberly Sonnex, an assistant professor at the University of Nottingham, England, and a UK-registered pharmacist. In this episode, we discuss the intricacies of the Pharmacy First service and what they have learned in the first months after its launch. Tune in to discover how pharmacies can be the first "port of call" for short-term and self-limiting illnesses within healthcare systems!

For decades, the pharmaceutical industry hummed to the rhythm of small-molecule drugs - oral pills and injections that community and hospital pharmacies dispensed regularly. However, a seismic shift is underway with biologics, radionuclear agents, nanomedicines, and other novel therapeutics becoming more prevalent. At the heart of this transformation is gene therapy, poised to rewrite the score of care for many medical conditions. In some diseases gene therapy may be the answer to provide a complete cure, and pharmacists are at the front lines of this wave of change.

How do these agents work, and how are they delivered? Listen as we talk with Jill Blind, Pharmacy Manager of Investigational Drug Services at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. In this episode, we discuss the science behind gene therapy, her experiences with gene therapy and cellular therapy, and how pharmacists are intricately involved in developing and distributing these novel treatments.

Pharmacists have been identified as the most accessible healthcare professional. With this in mind, pharmacists are perfectly positioned to impact many public health problems faced today. Whether related to smoking cessation, vaccination, health screening, diagnostic testing, nutritional deficiencies, the opioid crisis, or maternal-fetal health, pharmacists can transform the health of communities around the nation and the world!

Listen as we talk with Myriam Shaw Ojeda, Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy. She also serves as the Director of Pharmacy Extension and Public Health Initiatives with the Ohio Pharmacists Association and is a 2019 alumna of the Cedarville University School of Pharmacy. In this episode, she explains how pharmacists can impact public health in myriad ways.

Is pharmacogenomic testing helpful in geriatric patients? You bet, and Dr. Tamara Ruggles is leading the way in this area. Tamara is no stranger to breaking through barriers and improving patient care through entrepreneurship, innovation, collaboration, and relationship-building. She is a Board Certified Geriatric Pharmacist with over ten years of experience as a consultant pharmacist in the long-term care setting. Tamara is the owner and operator of Specialty Pharmacy Consulting and The Deprescribing Clinic. She also hosts the LTC Pharmacy Podcast on the Pharmacy Podcast Network. She is passionate about antimicrobial stewardship, pharmacogenomics, deprescribing, and reducing anticholinergic burden.  Tamara and her husband live with their seven children in Bismarck, North Dakota.

In this episode of DISRxUPT, Tamara tells how she started her own consulting business and later founded The Deprescribing Clinic, which leverages pharmacogenomic testing to tailor medication regimens for her patients. We also delve into antimicrobial stewardship, deprescribing in older adults, podcasting, and even a little college basketball! Listen and be inspired by Tamara's passion for improving the lives of her patients in novel ways.

Pickleball is one of the newest sports that has taken the United States by storm. So what does pharmacy have to do with pickleball? Well, probably a lot more than you think! For any athlete to stay at the top of their game (including pickleballers), many factors must be considered: mental toughness, nutrition, physical training, functional movement, metabolic health, and even supplements and medications. Some of these medications are taken chronically, while others are used to treat injuries of all types. Few people understand the comprehensive needs of athletes better than our guest on this episode, Dr. Brandon Welch.

Brandon serves as the clinical sports wellness pharmacist for Baptist Health South Florida. He is also the founder of Pharmacy Athlete and President of the Sports Pharmacy Network. Brandon is a certified sports nutritionist, nutrigenomics specialist, consultant pharmacist, and wellness coach. For years, he has taught athletes effective and practical ways to improve their metabolic health and optimize human performance. Brandon has worked with elite athletes ranging from “weekend warriors” to professional athletes in the ATP, NFL, NHL, and PGA. Listen as he explains what Sports Pharmacy entails and how this industry is ripe for innovation and expansion!

Most pharmacists enter the profession with a strong desire to serve the needs of people. However, few of these pharmacists are aware of opportunities to serve internationally in full-time medical missions. This service is not for the faint of heart; it requires creativity to provide care in resource-limited areas, the sacrifice of luxuries and comforts of home, the endurance of unexpected hardships, and a steadfast commitment to the mission of making the gospel known. Listen as our guest shares his perspective on serving as a pharmacist and medical missionary in West Africa. Learn how he uses creative problem-solving to meet the needs of the people he serves, how he keeps focused on the most difficult days, and how his Christian faith motivates his desire to make both a temporal and eternal impact on the people of West Africa.

Being an entrepreneur can be a grueling task. Long hours, sleepless nights, anxieties, and failures can take their toll. However, we all have the opportunity to leverage these challenges to learn, grow, and succeed. Casondra Seibert, PharmD, BCGP, FASCP, is evidence of just that. After completing her PharmD degree at the Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) and completing a PGY1 residency in geriatric/underserved populations with the University of Cincinnati, Casondra became the Director of Clinical Pharmacy Services for RxArchitects. Her practice is primarily consulting with a special interest in pharmacist impact assessments in the post-acute and long-term care (PALTC) setting. Casondra serves as an adjunct faculty member for the University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy. She precepts students, acts as site coordinator for pharmacy residents, and guest lectures within the geriatric elective. Casondra is published in areas of senior care pharmacy, pharmacist impact, opioid stewardship, and clinical technology development. She currently serves as the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP)’s Quality Impact Project Chair and an Ohio ASCP Board Member. The organization recently recognized Casondra as the 2023 ASCP National Educator of the Year. Listen as Cas shared her perspectives on how she lives life to the fullest as a pharmacist who continues to push patient care to new heights.

Have you ever come up with a helpful idea for yourself that also could provide value to others? That's the story of Pyrls, a new player in the drug information space. Derek Borkowski identified a personal need for a streamlined resource to identify appropriate counseling points for patients in the community pharmacy. With a lot of grit, the acquisition of new skills, and the right teammates, Derek's idea of "drug information made easy" transformed into a web-based and mobile app solution trusted by pharmacists, physicians, physician associates, nurse practitioners, nurses, dentists, and professional students.

Listen as we hear Derek tell the story of Pyrls, the lessons he has learned along the way, and his thoughts about how technological innovation will continue to transform drug information and the practice of pharmacy in the future.