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As more and more insurers are covering at-home COVID tests as a prescription benefit, make sure the ones you are dispensing are in date and not recalled. Most home tests have had one or more expiration date extensions, so ones that appear short-dated may have another several months in date. Check the test's website for updates or KPhA's COVID-19 testing resource page for more information - we'll post expiration date updates and recalls that we see on a regular basis. 

Recently, fake versions of two brand-name blood thinners were sold to Americans at pharmacies across Mexico. The pills contained no active pharmaceutical ingredients and could have killed the people they were sold to.

If you have a patient that is thinking about purchasing their medicine while on an upcoming trip, watch this video from the Partnership for Safe Medicines so that you can educate them on why doing so is a dangerous choice: https://youtu.be/En7mKoVoGmU

The Kansas Pharmacists Association Education Committee is pleased to announce the continuing education sessions for the 2022 KPhA Annual Meeting & Trade Show, which takes place Sept. 23-24 in Topeka. Twenty-one classes will be offered over three days, with up to 12 CE hours available to both pharmacists and technicians. Topics range from Immunizations to Remote Patient Monitoring, Mediation Diversion to Succession Planning, and Adverse Drug Events to Interviewing. Registration for the event will open later this month.

KPhA welcomes Kim Colegrove, founder of the Pause First Academy, as the Keynote on Saturday. Kim turned heartache into action when her husband David took his own life three months after retiring from a 30-year career in law enforcement. She channeled her grief into journey of discovery of how long-term and chronic exposure to trauma impacts first responders and front-line workers. Pause First Academy is dedicated to helping frontline workers through resilience training, with a focus on holistic wellness, and work-life balance. Following the keynote, Kim will provide the Lunch and Learn session on meditation.

General Sessions include:

• 2022 Immunization Update by Amanda Applegate, KPhA
  
• A Changing Kansas: Implications for Health and Communities by Charlie Hunt, Johnson County Department of Health and Environment
  
• Kansas Board of Pharmacy Update by Alexandra Blasi, KSBOP
• Self Care Challenge, hosted by KPhA President Kristen Powell
  

Technician Training Day sessions include:

• Training and Retaining by Morgan Moellinger, El Dorado TrueCare
• Understanding Insulin Therapy by Larry Davidow, KU School of Pharmacy

Breakout sessions include:

• Identifying and Managing Medication Diversion by Todd Hixson, Midwest HIDTA
  
• Remote Patient Monitoring Program Implementation and Outcomes by John Rosa, Tria Health
• Pharmacy Robberies, speaker TBD from the Drug Enforcement Administration
  
• Pharmacists Role in HIV Prevention, Frank Fanizza, University Health-Truman Medical Center
• Preceptor Development by Jessica Bates, KU School of Pharmacy
• Succession Planning by Ryan Hellmer, Core First Bank and Trust
• Immunology 101, by Susan King, KU School of Pharmacy
• Solving America's Healthcare Crisis - Deaths Related to Adverse Drug Events by Mindy Smith, Tabula Rasa Healthcare
• New Meds for Severe Migraines by Mary Beth Dameron, University Health-Truman Medical Center
• Interviewing for the Right Fit by Nick Schulte, Stormont Vail Health
• Dealing with Vaccine Hesitancy by Karen Braman, Kansas Hospital Association, and Emily Prohaska, LMH Health

Panel discussions include:

• 2022 New Drug Update, moderated by Amanda Applegate and Tessa Schnelle with data presented by 8 KU School of Pharmacy P4 students
• Make More Money: Let Your Technicians Practice at the Top of THEIR License, by Morgan Moellinger, Nate Rockers and Dared Price

The FDA has launched a website alerting consumers and healthcare providers to counterfeit home tests for COVID-19 - bookmark this website, as it will be updated as new counterfeit products are discovered. 

The first two alerts are for counterfeits of popular home tests, iHealth and Flowflex and the differences may be tough to spot, especially in the iHealth counterfeits. Pharmacies should only purchase tests from trusted wholesalers and should carefully examine the products they get in before accepting their orders. People should be alert to any details that may indicate a counterfeit produce, including misspelled words, missing expiration dates, or unusual phrasing in instructions. Example differences in the Flowflex counterfeits are shown below, but may not be the only differences present.

Do you know a Kansas Pharmacy professional who has gone above and beyond? KPhA is accepting nominations for our most prestigious awards of 2022. Successful nominees must be association members. All awards will be presented at the KPhA Annual Meeting and Trade Show in Topeka during the Awards Gala on Sept. 24.

All nominations are due by June 1, 2022. Award descriptions are included on the nomination forms.

Award categories are:

• Bowl of Hygeia
• KPhA Pharmacist of the Year
• KPhA Outstanding Pharmacy Technician
• Pharmacists Mutual Distinguished Young Pharmacist
• KPhA Champion of Pharmacy
• NASPA Excellence in Innovation
• Sunflower Health Plan MTM Champion
• KsPRN Bill Bays Award

Do you have original research, practice innovation or unique administrative practice that you'd like to share with a large audience? KPhA currently is seeking abstract submissions for poster presentations for the 2022 Kansas Pharmacists Association Annual Meeting & Trade Show.

Posters may be submitted as research in progress, but it must include preliminary results and conclusions. Research must be complete prior to the presentation in September. Encore presentations are encouraged for posters that have been presented at meetings from January 2021 through September 2022. Encore presentations must be finished projects that include full results and conclusions.

The submitting author of the poster should present their work during the poster session of the 2022 KPhA Annual Meeting and Trade Show. All poster presenters must be registered for the conference – either single-day (Saturday, Sept. 24) or the full conference. Conference registration will soon be open!

Submit an Abstract

Abstracts are due by July 31, 2022.

During experiments in animal models, researchers at the University of Kansas have discovered a possible new approach to immunization against Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Their method uses a recombinant methionine (Met)-rich protein derived from corn that was then oxidized in vitro to produce the antigen: methionine sulfoxide (MetO)-rich protein. This antigen, when injected to the body, goads the immune system into producing antibodies against the MetO component of beta-amyloid, a protein that is toxic to brain cells and seen as a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.

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Kansas Pharmacists Association members now have special access to the MedWise® Science Platform, Tabula Rasa HealthCare’s proprietary medication safety technology that helps you deliver concierge services by identifying and mitigating preventable medication-related problems. Participate in the MedWise Advisor™ Certificate Program to gain access to MedWise Science, and to receive clinical and operational training for medication risk mitigation services that can keep your pharmacy competitive.

This is available to KPhA Members only. You must be logged in to the KPhA website to access additional information.

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The Kansas Pharmacists Association is pleased to announce a new partnership with the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations that will benefit Kansas Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians, and Pharmacy Students looking to add Point-of-Care Test and Treat to their clinical offerings. The NASPA Pharmacy-Based Point-of-Care Test & Treat National Certificate Program provides an opportunity to gain the skills and information necessary to develop a testing program such as influenza, Group A Streptococcus, HIV, Hepatitis C, coronaviruses, and chronic diseases.

The target audience for the certificate program is pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, student pharmacists, academia, and pharmacy association staff. While the program is primarily designed for pharmacists, non-pharmacists interested in point-of-care test and treat are also welcome to complete the program. The 20-hour ACPE-accredited certificate program includes comprehensive material regarding key disease states, physical assessment, point-of-care tests and treatment, and business models through:
16 hours of home study (must be completed prior to the live training)
4 hours of live training (conducted virtually) plus a skills assessment

Participants take an online assessment after each of the 12 modules of home study, in addition to a cumulative assessment (must pass 70% within three attempts), and then their proficiency to conduct physical assessments and offer point-of-care testing services is assessed in the live/virtual training. A volunteer patient and some basic supplies, as well as a reliable camera and microphone will be needed for the skills assessment. Upon successful completion of both portions of the program and all program evaluations, participants are awarded a certificate of completion and pharmacists and pharmacy technicians can receive 20 hours of Continuing Pharmacy Education (CPE) credit.

This is available to KPhA Members only. You must be logged in to the KPhA website to access additional course information and links to register for the class.

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For those concerned about medication errors (and tired of packaging that looks damaged!), new renal dose packaging for Paxlovid will be coming soon. The FDA recently authorized new packaging for a course of Paxlovid for patients with moderate renal impairment (eGFR 30-60mL/min). The new packaging should be available in HPOP and from the state program in the next couple of weeks. Cheers for no more stickers, but be sure you're double checking dosages when filling moving forward!