Archive for the ‘PCD Staff’ Category

Hello, everyone. This is John, the intern, again blogging to you. Today, I wanted to talk about something important to everyone taking multiple medications. Many times, when I am asked about an over-the-counter therapy or a medication, the question of what other medications you are taking comes up. Whenever you go to the physician or hospital, one of the first things they will ask is what medications you are taking. An easy way to answer the questions is by providing a personal medication record (or PMR for short).

What is a PMR?

A PMR is a list of medications, including herbal supplements and vitamins, that you take. The PMR can also include other information such as allergies, who your primary care physician is, and other items that would be important upon a hospital admission or a visit to a new physician. The PMR can be a quick reference for the physician or pharmacist to help them make the best decision for you and avoid drug interactions that could cause you to not get the most out of your drugs or possibly put you at risk for harm.

Why have a PMR?

A PMR is a quick way to inform your healthcare practitioners of what you are taking, what you have taken, and what may be best for you. A common situation in today’s world is to have many doctors taking care of you. Many people have a cardiologist for heart health, a nephrologist for kidney health, a neurologist, oncologist, or endocrinologist. The list of specialists goes on and on. If your cardiologist places you on a drug, this could potentially effect what antibiotic your primary care doctor will prescribe, or what your endocrinologist will evaluate you for. One way to help inform your physicians and pharmacists quickly and easily is through a personal medication record, because we all know that healthcare professionals have limited time.

Where do I get a PMR?

There are many places to get a PMR. An easy way would be to print off and fill out a form from AARP, the Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons.  Another option is to create one in Excel on the computer or ask one of your healthcare providers if they can print off a template for you. It takes a few minutes to fill out and can save you time and confusion whenever you go to the doctor.

Thanks, again, and feel free to stop in the drugstore with questions.

AARP Personal Medication Record:

http://assets.aarp.org/www.aarp.org_/articles/learntech/wellbeing/medication-record.pdf

Hello, everyone. This is John Bishel, the intern at Plain City Druggist for the month of March, writing this blog posting. If you have not met me, I am currently in my last year of pharmacy school at Ohio State (Go, Buckeyes!) and I have been helping Joe around the pharmacy. I have the opportunity of reaching out to you to talk about the shingles vaccine with this post.

What is shingles?

Shingles is a painful, blistering skin rash due to a virus called varicella-zoster, the same virus that causes chickenpox.  Shingles occurs when the chickenpox virus reactivates.

What is in the shingles vaccine?

The shingles vaccine known as Zostavax® contains a weakened form of the chickenpox virus. The vaccine can help prevent you from getting shingles. As with all things in medicine, the vaccine is not 100% effective, but is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to help prevent shingles in patients 60 years of age and older who have a history of chickenpox.

Who is recommended to get the shingles vaccine?

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that patients with a history of chickenpox (about 9 out of 10 of us) and older than 60 years old receive the Zostavax® vaccine. Zostavax® is not recommended, though, in patients who are currently immunosuppressed, taking immunosuppressive medications such as steroids, pregnant, allergic to gelatin or neomycin (an old antibiotic commonly found in Neosporin®), or allergic to any ingredient in the vaccine. Feel free to ask Joe, Robin, or any of the pharmacists if they believe the vaccine is right for you.

Do I need a prescription from my doctor?

In the state of Ohio, a prescription written within the last 30 days from your physician is required to give you the Zostavax® vaccine in the pharmacy.

Why do pharmacists administer the vaccine?

Because of the cost of the vaccine (~$225) and the restriction that it be administered within 30 minutes of mixing, many doctors’ offices have refrained from providing the vaccine.

Are there side effects?

About 50% of people experience redness, pain, or swelling around the injection site. Other common reactions include itching, warmth, and headache. Most other reactions are rare and can be discussed with your physician or pharmacist.

How much does it cost and is it covered by my insurance?

That is a great question and we can always process a prescription for you to find out. I would recommend calling your insurance company’s 800 number to ask them to estimate the cost for you. Zostavax® is covered for most patients over 60 years old and for those covered by Medicare Part D.

Please feel free to ask any questions that you think of to the wonderful pharmacists at Plain City Druggist. Also ask your doctor at your next visit if they think Zostavax® is right for you.

To read more about shingles or the vaccine please visit these websites:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001861/

http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/z/zostavax/zostavax_ppi.pdf

We want to wish a happy, happy birthday to Loreen Stutzman, who takes care of all the paperwork, payroll, and office work that Joe and I just don’t have time to do. Loreen has been such a blessing to us, conquering all of the problems and tasks that often never left our “to do” lists. But thanks to Loreen, those things are now DONE!

Loreen has worked for us for a little over a year and she has really made our lives hassle-free. We don’t know how we got along before without her! Being a mom, she knows how to multi-task and keep us all on track to complete even the most mundane jobs! And she does it all with a giant smile on her face!

Thank you, Loreen, for all that you do! We hope you will be well enough to celebrate your birthday in style–no upset bellies to prevent feasting on lots of cake!

On March 20, we will be going live with a new computer system that we hope will eventually make our lives and the lives of our customers much, much easier. But until we have learned the ins and outs, things might be a little bumpy in the pharmacy. Please just bear with us and be patient. We promise we’ll try to be geniuses and figure this stuff out as quickly as we can.

Along with the new computer system, we are also getting a new web site and a new IVR system. We will no longer have the pcdruggist.com web site through Corner Drugstore. Rather, our new web site will be www.druggist4u.com. You’ll be able to fill your prescriptions online, get coupons, and find out about the drugstore and our staff by visiting our new and improved site. But don’t forget, the Blog is still available, too–that has not changed. There’s even a link to the Blog at the top of the new web site! Pretty cool.

Many of you have already used the IVR system in the past to automatically refill your prescriptions. This is an upgrade from our previous system and is designed to improve efficiency within the pharmacy and enhance the level of care offered to you. You will be able to continue to order your refills without having to spend time waiting on the phone. In addition, the system informs you when your prescription will be ready for pickup or delivery, so you can time your errands accordingly. And, you can place your refill order any time of the day or night.

When you call the pharmacy, you will hear:

“Hello. Thank you for calling Plain City Druggist. Please choose from the following choices or simply hold for assistance.

If you are calling to refill a prescription and know your prescription number, press 1.

If you are calling from a doctor’s office, press 2.

To speak with a pharmacy staff member, press 3, or continue holding.

To hear our hours of operation and location, press 4.

To repeat these instructions, press 9.”

When you press Option 1, you simply enter in your prescription number by pushing the appropriate numbers on your telephone keypad. You also enter the local phone number where you can be reached if the pharmacist has a question. The system repeats back to you the digits you entered to make sure there wasn’t an error. That’s basically it. If you choose not to use the automated system, you simply stay on the line and your call will automatically be transferred to the pharmacy.

We know it takes time to get used to new things (believe us, we are all feeling the crunch!), so please give the new IVR system a try and let us know what you think. Once you are familiar with the options, and you know what you need to do when you place your call, you can press a digit key on your telephone as soon as the IVR system answers. This will make your call go even faster.

We will be awaiting your responses and suggestions. Please be patient in the next few days as we learn to be even better for YOU!

We just wanted to send our congratulations to Michaela Henderson who was named “Defensive Player of the Year” for the Fairbanks High School Varsity Ladies Basketball team. Michaela, who is only a Freshman, not only lettered, but also received this honor for her rebounding and ball thieving abilities during the 2011-2012 season.

You wouldn’t know it to look at her (she looks so sweet), but Michaela can nab a basketball and be halfway down the court before you even realize she pounced!

We had a lot of fun attending some of Michaela’s games this year and watching her mom, Margie, glow with pride! We can’t wait to cheer Michaela on at more games in the future and watch her grow as a player.

We know we are going to see lots of great things from Michaela, both on and off the court, in the next few years. Way to go, Mic!