EDUCATING LEADERS IN PHARMACY AND PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES SINCE 1886
November 2023
Welcome to the next edition of the Buffalo Pharmacy Bulletin (BPB) where we will continue to explore and discuss social issues in health care and how we as academicians, practitioners and scientists can lead and support these issues. The BPB will also keep you updated on the latest school news, highlighting the outstanding work of our UB SPPS community.
“The best way to ensure we can support and mentor our future pharmacists and research scientists is to make sure we are reviewing and discussing what is currently happening in the dynamic and ever-changing world we live in.”
Do No Harm: Errors, Interactions and Patient Safety
Patient safety is a crucial point of emphasis – arguably the most crucial point of emphasis (the central tenet of the Hippocratic Oath being “First, do no harm”) – for the health professions and the academic programs that prepare future practitioners and researchers. (The principle of “do no harm” is also relevant to how educators engage and prepare their students, but that is a topic best left for another day.)
Although the data vary by source, a general approximation might be that nearly 25% of hospitalized patients in the United States experience some form of harm during their stay. The World Health Organization estimates annually 3 million people die world-wide due to unsafe care. While that statistic is disturbing in its own right, it is especially discouraging given that significant progress in patient safety had been realized during the decade preceding the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
For pharmacists, the focus of patient safety is largely on preventable adverse drug events, which might range from the patient receiving the wrong medication to the patient experiencing an avoidable medication interaction. Such episodes take a significant toll: roughly 700,000 emergency visits and 100,000 hospitalizations each year. In the hospital setting, one in twenty patients experience some form of adverse drug event.
At UB, critical components of both our Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum and our research programs are aimed at addressing the frequency of adverse drug events. Our student pharmacists gain an in-depth understanding of drugs and their use (and potential misuse), how to participate as a member of the healthcare team, and how to communicate with and counsel their patients; with counseling having major impact on equitable access to and quality of care, central tenet of our school’s mission.
Recently, our colleagues, Bob Wahler and Dave Jacobs, along with UB’s Team Alice, received a $1.95 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to address adverse drug events in older adults, a segment of the population at particular risk of medication errors. This is an important and impactful area of research and aligns with the university’s emerging focus on health correlates of an aging population.
As a final and unrelated note, the obvious association with the month of November (at least for those of us who like to cook) is Thanksgiving. In the spirit of the holiday, I wish you all a bit of peace and time to reflect on the things that are important to you.
Best wishes for a happy holiday.
Since 1886, SPPS has been a leader in the education of pharmacy students and pharmaceutical sciences researchers.
We continue our progressive journey into the 21st century with innovative research led by outstanding faculty along with the initiation of progressive educational paths, preparing our students to be the clinical and research leaders of the future.
We invite you to read more about our journey and how we are improving student success and creating solutions to address society’s most pressing health care needs.
We continue to expand our teaching and research enterprise through a transformational faculty hiring initiative.
We are especially interested in qualified candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of our academic community.
Find out more about our Division Head and DDDE Hub Hires and join our journey of growth and discovery.
A group of UB researchers with Team Alice received a four-year, $1.95 million grant from the Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) titled, “Patient-Driven Medication Safety Learning Laboratory in Care Transitions.” This new AHRQ-funded project embraces a multidisciplinary approach, fostering collaboration among investigators from the Jacobs School, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the School of Nursing. The team aims to study how medications are managed by patients and their caregivers or families as well as by health care teams at various points of an older person’s journey through the health care system. They will propose and test new ways to promote the use of safe, age-friendly medications while minimizing potentially harmful ones.
UB CIGBS announces Stop Diabetes Progression, a new global community health site initiative
The UB Center for Integrated Global Biomedical Sciences (CIGBS) has announced plans to launch, Stop Diabetes Progression, a new health initiative, focusing on the creation of community-based education networks in Western New York, Jamaica and Zimbabwe to engage individuals with pre-diabetes and those with an established diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. The goal of this new initiative is to stop the progression of the disease for both groups.
Morse to lead SUNY, West Indies leadership and sustainable development center
Gene Morse, SUNY Distinguished Professor of pharmacy practice, has been appointed executive director of the State University of New York (SUNY) University of the West Indies (UWI) Center for Leadership and Sustainable Development. The Center for Leadership and Sustainable Development conducts research relevant to democratic participation, leadership, and governance, with a focus on solutions to specific problems constraining the achievement of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.
SPPS AMCP 2023 Chapter of the Year Award and Diep awarded AMCP Scholarship
The SPPS student chapter of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) is the recipient of the AMCP 2023 Chapter of the Year Award. This is the first time the SPPS student chapter has won this award.
This award recognizes all that AMCP student chapters accomplish on a year-to-year basis and is awarded to the student chapter that establishes quality, innovative managed care programming for students.
In addition to receiving the Chapter of the Year Award, Emily Diep, PharmD/MBA’25, president, SPPS student chapter of AMCP, was one of two students awarded the Northeast AMCP Affiliate Nexus Scholarship.
Chase and Lee win first place in SSHP Clinical Skills Competition
Livia Chase, PharmD'24, and Aaron Lee, PharmD'24, won first place in the SPPS American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Clinical Skills Competition (CSC) sponsored by the Student Society of Health-System Pharmacists (SSHP).
Chase and Lee competed against other student teams in an interactive analysis of clinical cases and worked together to develop a patient care plan.
They will go on to represent SPPS in the national CSC at the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting in Anaheim, CA in December.
PharmD students promote safe disposal of medications at Drug Take Back Day
On October 28, our PharmD students worked to improve the health and safety of our local community during National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
Students were stationed at two local sites: DeGraff Memorial Hospital and Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital.
They assisted community members in disposing their unwanted medications and handed out flyers about medication safety and proper drug disposal methods using drug disposal pouches.
Pharmaceutical Sciences alumni reconnect at national conferences
This fall, our Pharmaceutical Sciences alumni and friends reconnected at several national conferences!
Guests, including our faculty and current students, reunited with friends and made new connections at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) PharmSci 360 conference in Orlando, FL on October 23 and at the Fourteenth American Conference on Pharmacometrics (ACoP14) in National Harbor, MD on November 7.
Last month, Dean Pollack presented a webinar discussing how advances in pharmacy and the pharmaceutical sciences are leading transformational change in health care and how strategic new initiatives at SPPS are helping to lead these efforts.
Watch the webinar recording Pharmacy: Driving the Future Success of Health Care
SPPS Continuing Pharmacy Education Events
Featuring our new UB Compounding Pharmacy Continuing Education Activity, which meets the new three hour NYS pharmacy CE requirement.
SPPS Event Calendar
View our upcoming SPPS events!
UB Alumni Webinars
Join UB alumni experts from across the globe as they share professional insights and advice during Webinar Wednesdays. Engage in upcoming webinars along with past sessions.
UB Event Calendar
View upcoming events on the UB Events Calendar!
Thank you for reading our November 2023 edition of the Buffalo Pharmacy Bulletin. Please stay in touch! Send us updates on your own personal and professional accomplishments by filling out our alumni update form.
Regards,
Gary Pollack, PhD '84
Dean and Professor