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I recently helped a patient who has emphysema, with a poor prognosis. He needed inhalers to help him breathe daily.
The trouble is, despite many visits with the pharmacy team, he could not figure out how to use these inhalers. The next step was to put him on nebulized medications, or medications put into a machine so that they can be inhaled. However, he had recently changed insurance and was having difficulty navigating how to obtain the machine and medications.
I was seeing a teenage patient for her breathing medications and contraception options when she revealed to me how she had been struggling with suicidal thoughts and had tried drinking bleach. She shared that she had never told anyone about this before.
We talked for a while and I was able to get her into seeing a physician that day. I am so glad that she felt comfortable sharing such personal information with me and that we were able to get her the additional help she needed.
Amy Tran, a dual PharmD, MPH student from the University of Minnesota, went to Uganda under the mentorship of assistant professor Melanie Nicol, PharmD, PhD. Nicol, who studies HIV in women, received a seed grant from the University of Minnesota’s Center for Global Health & Social Responsibility (CGHSR).
1st year student Jacob Schally says, “I’ve met some incredible pharmacists and I want to work hard so I can follow in their footsteps.”
Bob, an older man with diabetes, was referred by his primary care physician after developing gangrene in one of his feet.
I met with a woman struggling with a condition that causes her to consistently have reactions to triggers in her environment, including foods and chemicals. In particular, she reacted to inactive ingredients in her medications, which prevented her from being able to take the medications she needed to manage her disease.
With opioid overdose deaths increasing at alarming speed, naloxone, an overdose antidote, provides some hope amidst a grave, serious public health crisis. From 2014 to 2015 alone, opioid-related overdose deaths increased 11 percent in Minnesota.
When I was asked to talk about a recent patient experience, I could not stop thinking of one particular patient. We can call him Bucky, because he loved Wisconsin teams. He is likely on my mind because he has just died and I am going to miss his big personality in our clinic.
Each October, American Pharmacists Month is celebrated and promotes pharmacists as medication experts, an integral member of the health care team, and directly involved in patient care.
Diabetes is a growing concern for people in the United States — over 29 million Americans suffer from this chronic disease today.
“Diabetes is a complicated chronic condition requiring intensive self-care management,” said Greg Rhee, Ph.D., M.S.W. The adjunct assistant professor at the College of Pharmacy believes complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) could be the key to maintaining the healthy lifestyle needed to combat diabetes.