P H A R M A G R A M          

                 ...an educational memo from your Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee

February, 2004

 

Pneumococcal Immunizations – Compliance with Joint Commission Standard:

On January 5^th, the piloting of a new form for the screening and administration of the pneumococcal immunization began on 2700, 3700, and 4500. This form was developed in order to increase our compliance to a JCAHO Practice Standard. Prior to this our compliance was 1% in screening and administration of the vaccine. Our goal is to be 90% compliant within 6 months of the kick off date. The form is multidisciplinary for all adult patients; with the nurse completing the screening portion, the physician completing the order section, and the nurse finalizing the administration section if the vaccine is ordered.

Entacapone (Comtan®) Added to the Formulary:

The Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee has added entacapone to the Formulary.  Entacapone is indicated as an adjunct to levodopa/carbidopa to treat patients with idiopathic parkinsonism who experience signs and symptoms of end-of-dose "wearing-off". Entacapone has no antiparkinson effect of its own.

 

Autosubstitutions Approved by P&T:

v     Hydrochlorothiazide doses greater than 25mg (including combination products such as Maxzide-50) will be converted to 25mg hydrochlorothiazide. The reason for this autosubstitution is the lack of documented benefit with daily hydrochlorothiazide doses greater than 25 mg and the potential for more side effects.

v     Mesna injectable solution will be used in place of the oral tablet dosage form. This procedure has well documented efficacy and will result in considerable cost savings. When given orally the mesna injection should be diluted with either a carbonated beverage, orange juice or apple juice.

v     Valdecoxib (Bextra®), a newer COX-2 inhibitor, will be substituted with a therapeutically equivalent dose of rofecoxib (Vioxx®) when ordered for inpatient use.

Watch Out for Drug Names with Suffixes:

The list of drug names with suffixes such as LA, CR, SR, XT continues to grow. Potential life-threatening reactions can occur when drug orders do not include the suffix. One example is if the immediate-release formulation of nifedipine (Procardia® or Adalat®) is ordered in place of the sustained-released (Procardia XL® or Adalat CC®) dosage form. Other examples are listed below.

Aspirin EC    

Cardizem CD           

Depakote ER                       

Catapres-TTS-1       

Bicillin LA      

Detrol LA

Wellbutrin XL            

Norpace CR             

Tegretol XR              

Sinemet CR              

Augmentin XR          

 

Antiemetic Preprinted Physician Order Forms Available Now:

In order to simplify product selection, provide some guidance to the treatment of nausea and vomiting and to promote rational prescribing, an Antiemetic Preprinted Order form (Form number 113-3112) is now available on all patient care units excluding pediatrics and ante-partum.

 

Visit the Pharmacy Website for Back Issues of the PharmaGram:

You can search for back issues of the PharmaGram at: http://library.osfsaintfrancis.org/druginfo.asp

 

ADE (Adverse Drug Event) Hotline: 655-6805

 

Drug Information Service – 655-2382 (Mon-Fri; 8am – 4pm)