National Drug Facts Week with Pharmacy Professor Mary Lynn McPherson!

by Mary Lynn McPherson, PharmD, MA, BCPS

This week is National Drug Facts Week! Why do we tell patients to take furosemide on an empty stomach? Ok, it’s not quite “why did the chicken cross the road” but it’s still an important drug fact! The answer is that taking furosemide on an empty stomach doubles the bioavailability and clinical response! If you want to learn about additional awesome drug facts – tune in this Wednesday evening, January 28, 2015 at 6 pm PST/9 pm EST for the #hpm tweet chat!

We’ll also be talking about the utility/futility of medications as patients approach the end of life. What strategies can palliative care teams use to set up hospice programs for success, and help patients achieve appropriate therapeutic goals? How can we have those sensitive conversations with patients, families and caregivers about stopping statins, dementia drugs, HIV medications, ALS meds and more?

National Drug Facts Week is actually sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse and is intended to educate teens about drug abuse and addiction. In that spirit we will also be discussing suspected drug abuse and/or diversion in the home environment. “The dog ate your morphine” you say? “Show me the body!” Ok, that might not be the BEST strategy, but there certainly ARE strategies we can use.

I’m looking forward to a lively discussion this Wednesday evening! See you online!

What: #hpm chat on Twitter
When: Wed 1/28/2015 - 9p ET/ 6p PT
Host: Mary Lynn McPherson Follow @mlmcpherson
Facebook Event Listing: https://www.facebook.com/events/375625979282160/

If you are new to Tweetchats, you do not need a Twitter account to follow along. Try using the search function on Twitter. If you do have a Twitter account, we recommend using nurph.com, for ease of following.

We will be posting the transcript and analytics here after the chat takes place. Chat Transcript and Chat Analytics courtesy of @Symplur

Mary Lynn McPherson, Pharm.D., BCPS, CPE is Professor and Vice Chair of the the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy.