Experts | University of the Sciences

DEA Drug Take Back Day - April 27 2013 - Proper Disposal of Medications

Do you have excess prescription or non-prescription medications laying around?  Failure to dispose of unused/unwanted medications, particularly controlled substances, presents a significant risk for drug diversion.  Get rid of excess medications at the upcoming DEA Drug Take Back Day, scheduled for April 27th, from 10AM-2PM. See the website, www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/ for locations near you.

If you can't get there, at least follow these simple directions:
1. Mix medicines (do NOT crush tablets or capsules) with an unpalatable substance such as kitty litter or used coffee grounds;
2. Place the mixture in a container such as a sealed plastic bag; and
3. Throw the container in your household trash

For most medicines, DO NOT FLUSH them down the toilet. There are a few you can flush down the toilet - check with your pharmacist to see if yours is one of them.

Forecasting Medication Non-Adherence: A Profitable Approach That Helps Patients

$290 billion a year—a study by the New England Healthcare Institute found this to be the amount spent in the United States as a result of medication non-adherence and other avoidable issues. An analysis by Capgemini Consulting estimated that $188 billion account for pharmaceutical industry losses in the United States for the same reason. With such considerable monetary losses in addition to the health risks associated with non-adherence, the profitable future for health information technology (health IT) is becoming increasingly apparent.

After recognizing the significant financial costs associated with non-adherence, many insurance providers are utilizing new initiatives based on health IT that aim to predict non-adherence in an effort to proactively address the issue. In early 2011, CVS Caremark introduced its Pharmacy Advisor™ Program, which pays special attention to patients with chronic conditions like diabetes, who are likely to be non-adherent.  In April of 2012, Express Scripts^® launched a similar predictive tool called ScreenRx, which detects risk for medication non-adherence and then subsequently provides personalized interventions for those patients. Additionally, companies like RxAnte^© and Allazo Health^© apply behavioral science, predictive analytics and claims data to formulate algorithms that will allow them to determine which patients would be at an increased risk for non-adherence. They then take it a step further by tailoring interventions according to patient characteristics.

So since there’s no magic crystal ball one can look into to predict medication non-adherence, how do these companies determine who to monitor and intervene with? The key to the above-mentioned initiatives is the incorporation of patient behavior in forecasting non-adherence.

One commonly used model in analyzing health behavior is the Health Belief Model (HBM). This model explains that a patient’s behavior when it comes to health is motivated and influenced by varying perceptions. In essence, the HBM finds that perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, perceived barriers and perceived seriousness all contribute to decision making when it comes to health, which in this case, would be in reference to taking their medications.

So how relevant is patient behavior when it comes to medication non-adherence? Express Scripts^® found that 69% of medication non-adherence was attributed to patient behavior factors including simple procrastination and forgetfulness. With even more advancements in health IT, providers will be able to dissect and rationalize reasons for non-adherence and further analyze patient behavior to formulate optimal regimens that will save billions of dollars all while promoting better health outcomes.

 Anita A. Pothen, PharmD’14

CER Lectures and program

University of the Sciences is hosting an informative three-part lecture series focusing on Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER).  The aim of the lecture series is to introduce the campus to the concept of CER and build a foundation of knowledge.  The lectures scheduled for January 30th, February 28th and March 28th.  The topics include CER and health information technology, CER and the use of real-world data and the future of CER.  Speakers include Dr. Jean-Paul Gagnon, Dr. Marcus Wilson and Dr. Sandy Schwartz.  All lectures will be held on campus.  For more information on the lecture series, go here.

This lecture series is a prelude to Mayes' College annual Making the Connections  program.  The Making the Connections program will highlight a panel of speakers from the pharmaceutical industry, payers, providers and patients who will be speaking about the impact of CER on their sector of health care.  The  Making the Connections program will be held April 16th, from 5:30-7:30 at USciences campus.

Medication Disposal and Drug Take Back Days

Failure to dispose of unused/unwanted medications, particularly controlled substances, presents a significant risk for drug diversion - theft from a medicine cabinet. Get rid of excess medications at the upcoming DEA Drug Take Back Day, scheduled for September 29th, 2012 from 10AM-2PM. See the website, www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/ for locations near you.

If you can't get there, at least follow these simple directions:
1. Mix medicines (do NOT crush tablets or capsules) with an unpalatable substance such as kitty litter or used coffee grounds;
2. Place the mixture in a container such as a sealed plastic bag; and
3. Throw the container in your household trash

For most medicines, DO NOT FLUSH them down the toilet. There are a few you can flush down the toilet - check with your pharmacist if yours is one of them.

Research Day Showcases Faculty and Student Research

From metabolic engineering to computational chemistry and from structural prediction of proteins to rational design of new therapeutics, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia showcased the diversity and growth of research pursuits on campus during its 7th Annual Research Day starting on Thursday, April 2, 2009. Posters representing approximately 120 topics were on display.

Research Day recognizes undergraduate and graduate student research efforts, and highlights aspects of faculty scholarly activity to encourage and promote communication and collaboration among investigators. The University is distinctive in that most undergraduate students conduct research with faculty early in their academic careers.

The diverse research activity on display spans several aspects of the University’s scholarly pursuits, including:

• Biological Sciences: Dr. Jennifer Anthony’s research involving the metabolic engineering of E. coli for the production of vitamin A.
  • Chemistry: Dr. Randy Zauhar’s use of computer-aided drug design to identify new antimicrobial lead compounds.
• Pharmaceutical Sciences: Dr. Bin Chen’s evaluation of the effects of vascular-targeting photodynamic therapy on prostate cancer metastasis.
• Physical Therapy: Dr. Therese Johnston’s usage of treadmill training for children with cerebral palsy.
• Social Sciences: Psychology major Mark Paullin’s (Philadelphia, Pa.) study of mild cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease.
• Health Policy: Master in public health major Sekinat Kekere-Ekun’s (Deptford, N.J.) work on the descriptive epidemiology of viral hepatitis in methadone maintenance clients.
• Pharmacy Practice: Doctor of pharmacy students Neha Patel (Fairless Hills, Pa.), Puja Patel (Hillsborough, N.J.), and Isha Shah’s (Bensalem, Pa.) analysis of the usage of ondansetron in non-chemotherapy patients at a community teaching hospital.

Why is Science Important?

The following entry is being reposted from the blog Why is science important?

As a child, one of my favorite activities was venturing to the local science museum, the Franklin Institute. It offered a welcome escape from the mundane duties and concerns of ordinary life. Beyond its columned façade was a wondrous place, full of fantastic push-button displays, the goal for which seemed to be activating as many flashing panels as quickly possible. Sparks would fly, wheels would whirl, and automata would come to life. All this was enormously exciting - a lesson that there was more to life than just eating, sleeping and navigating the nuances of schoolyard banter. The astronomy exhibits, in particular, helped put ephemeral concerns in perspective. To my great relief, I came to realise that my low marks in handwriting would one day be forgotten - all records erased - when the Sun became a red giant and decimated Earth.

Though many years have passed, I have yet to outgrow my childhood wonder. Science has advanced at an incredible pace. It is miraculous to think that denizens of our tiny planet have the ability to map out conditions from the earliest stages of the universe, chart the velocities of enormously distant galaxies, and predict the behaviour of astronomical objects thousands of millions of years hence. Progress in charting inner space has advanced just as spectacularly as that of outer space. Less than a century and a half since Darwin’s bold proposal, our knowledge of genetics, proteomics and related fields has grown at a staggering pace.

Even those uninterested in the details of scientific progress can appreciate the prospects it has brought for an improved quality of life. Innovations in biology, chemistry and other fields have offered effective treatments for once-deadly diseases, artificial materials that improve upon nature, methods for collecting and utilising renewable forms of energy, and tools for environmental improvement. These require an ethical use of science and accountability to the general public. As the 21st century progresses, science education will be the key to fantastic new discoveries harnessed for the benefit of all.

Paul Halpern is a physics professor at University of the Sciences and the author of 11 popular science books to date, including “What’s Science Ever Done for Us? What the Simpsons Can Teach Us About Physics, Robots Life, and the Universe.” His forthcoming book “Collider: The Search for the World’s Smallest Particles” will be published in Summer 2009.

The following entry is being reposted from the blog Why is science important?

As a child, one of my favorite activities was venturing to the local science museum, the Franklin Institute. It offered a welcome escape from the mundane duties and concerns of ordinary life. Beyond its columned façade was a wondrous place, full of fantastic push-button displays, the goal for which seemed to be activating as many flashing panels as quickly possible. Sparks would fly, wheels would whirl, and automata would come to life. All this was enormously exciting - a lesson that there was more to life than just eating, sleeping and navigating the nuances of schoolyard banter. The astronomy exhibits, in particular, helped put ephemeral concerns in perspective. To my great relief, I came to realise that my low marks in handwriting would one day be forgotten - all records erased - when the Sun became a red giant and decimated Earth.

Though many years have passed, I have yet to outgrow my childhood wonder. Science has advanced at an incredible pace. It is miraculous to think that denizens of our tiny planet have the ability to map out conditions from the earliest stages of the universe, chart the velocities of enormously distant galaxies, and predict the behaviour of astronomical objects thousands of millions of years hence. Progress in charting inner space has advanced just as spectacularly as that of outer space. Less than a century and a half since Darwin’s bold proposal, our knowledge of genetics, proteomics and related fields has grown at a staggering pace.

Even those uninterested in the details of scientific progress can appreciate the prospects it has brought for an improved quality of life. Innovations in biology, chemistry and other fields have offered effective treatments for once-deadly diseases, artificial materials that improve upon nature, methods for collecting and utilising renewable forms of energy, and tools for environmental improvement. These require an ethical use of science and accountability to the general public. As the 21st century progresses, science education will be the key to fantastic new discoveries harnessed for the benefit of all.

Paul Halpern is a physics professor at University of the Sciences and the author of 11 popular science books to date, including “What’s Science Ever Done for Us? What the Simpsons Can Teach Us About Physics, Robots Life, and the Universe.” His forthcoming book “Collider: The Search for the World’s Smallest Particles” will be published in Summer 2009.