About the artist: This month’s cover art, “Old Covered Bridge,” was painted in watercolor
by Miriam Rothchild, a resident of Leisure World in Silver Spring, Maryland.
FEATURES
Overcoming Policy and Reimbursement Barriers to Appropriate Medication Use
Barbara Eilenfield
As prospective payment and federal quality indicators intensify pressure to limit nursing facility medication use, pharmacy providers are crafting innovative programs to help ensure that residents get all the medications they need.
Revising Contracts in the Wake of the ‘PPS Fix’: Using Case Mix Data to Estimate a Facility-Specific Medication Per Diem
Jade Gong
Recently enacted legislation will infuse an additional $2.6 billion into the Medicare nursing facility prospective payment system (PPS) over the next five years. Armed with new cost benchmarking data prepared by ASCP, pharmacy providers are now in a position to negotiate more favorable service contracts. Here’s how.
Nutrition Care: A Growing Area of Responsibility for Consultant Pharmacists
Jan Allen, Caren McHenry Martin
With nutrition-related federal quality indicators now in force, pharmacists who have long viewed weight loss and other nutritional problems as a job for nurses and dietitians must move from the sidelines to the forefront of
nutrition care.
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C O N T E N T S
January 2000/Vo. 15, No. 1
America's Senior Care PharmacistsTM
Research and Reports
Drug Interactions with Erythromycin and Clarithromycin Among Maryland Medicaid Long-Term Care Facility Residents
Diane K. Ammerman, Ilene H. Zuckerman, Van Doren Hsu
Results of this retrospective, cross-sectional study indicate that coprescribing
of two widely used antibiotics and interacting drugs is a significant problem in
long-term care. The study data also suggest that these interactions can be reduced through population screening using administrative claims data.
Clinical Review
Management of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Infection
Penny A. Skaehill
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a multidrug-resistant pathogen with rapidly rising incidence and high associated mortality. This literature review provides current information on the clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of S. maltophilia infection.
Clinical Note
Neuropathy and Muscle Weakness with Chronic Use of Nitrofurantoin: A Case Report
Jeffrey Fudin, Jenny S. Allen
Widely used for treatment of urinary tract infections, nitrofurantoin has been previously linked to peripheral neuropathy when used in high doses for long periods. This case report is the first published English-language report of peripheral neuropathy associated with chronic use of lower-dose nitrofurantoin.
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D E P A R T M E N T S
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Bylines
PPS and QIs: Rising to the Challenge
David K. Buerger
Health Trends
Unintended Consequences of Quality Measurement; Survey Finds Physicians, Patients Still in the Dark on BP Care; Capitation Linked to Increased Pharmacy, Overall Care Costs; Stepwise Approach to Developing Clinical Survey Tools; more
Calendar
Consultant Pharmacist Forum
A New Solution for Weight Loss; Drug Interactions: The Pharmacist’s Forte?; Tetracyclines: More Than Just an Old Class of Antibiotics
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Policy Currents
Florida’s Negative Drug Formulary Subject to Repeal; Quality of Care at Non-Profit vs For-Profit Nursing Facilities; BCBS Plan to Test Controversial Pharmacy Cost Control Strategy; more
Helpful Ideas
Managing Reduced Staffing with a Mission
Barbara Eilenfield
Late Additions
Toll of Medication-Related Problems Far Exceeds Toll of Medical Errors Desribed in IOM Report
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