Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists
4055 North Perryville Road
Loves Park, IL 61111-8653
Phone: (815) 227-9292
Fax: (815) 227-9294
www.ichpnet.org

KeePosted
Official Newsjournal of the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists

EDITOR
Jacob Gettig

ASSISTANT EDITOR
Jennifer Phillips

MANAGING EDITOR
Scott Meyers

ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR
Trish Wegner

DESIGN EDITOR
Amanda Wolff

ICHP Staff
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Scott Meyers

VICE PRESIDENT - PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Trish Wegner

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Maggie Allen

INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGER
Heidi Sunday

CUSTOMER SERVICE AND
PHARMACY TECH TOPICS™ SPECIALIST
Jo Ann Haley

ACCOUNTANT
Jan Mark

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
Amanda Wolff

LEGISLATIVE CONSULTANT
Jim Owen

ICHP Mission Statement
Advancing Excellence in the Practice of Pharmacy

ICHP Vision Statement
ICHP dedicates itself to achieving a vision of pharmacy practice where:

Pharmacists are universally recognized as health care professionals and essential providers of health care services.
Patients are aware of the training, skills, and abilities of a pharmacist and the fundamental role that pharmacists play in optimizing medication therapy.
Formally educated, appropriately trained, and PTCB certified pharmacy technicians manage the medication distribution process with appropriate pharmacist oversight.
Pharmacists improve patient care and medication safety through the development of effective public policies by interacting and collaborating with patients, other health care professionals and their respective professional societies, government agencies, employers and other concerned parties.
Evidence-based practices are used to achieve safe and effective medication therapies.
There are an adequate number of qualified pharmacy leaders within the pharmacy profession.
Pharmacists take primary responsibility for educating pharmacy technicians, pharmacy students, pharmacist peers, other health professionals, and patients about appropriate medication use.

KeePosted Vision
As an integral publication of the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists, the KeePosted newsjournal will reflect its mission and goals. In conjunction with those goals, KeePosted will provide timely information that meets the changing professional and personal needs of Illinois pharmacists and technicians, and maintain high publication standards.

KeePosted is an official publication of, and is copyrighted by, the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists (ICHP). KeePosted is published 10 times a year. ICHP members received KeePosted as a member benefit. All articles published herein represent the opinions of the authors and do not reflect the policy of the ICHP or the authors’ institutions unless specified. Advertising inquiries can be directed to ICHP office at the address listed above. Image disclaimer: The image used in the Pharmacy Tech Topics™ advertisement is the property of © 2014 Thinkstock, a division of Getty Images.

Features

The Future of Pharmacy

by Phil Burgess, RPh, Chairperson, Illinois State Board of Pharmacy

Having just returned from the annual APhA meeting in Orlando, I have never been more excited about the opportunities for the pharmacists of the future. The theme of the meeting was “The Power & Promise of Pharmacy”. Numerous presentations were made throughout the meeting demonstrating tangible “real life” ways that pharmacists were having a significant impact on improving patient care within their practice settings.

Over the last several months, I’ve had the opportunity to speak to several different pharmacy groups. Most of these speeches were focused on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its impact on the provision of pharmaceutical care. Without exception, there were pharmacists present that were excited about the future and anxious to learn more ways to maximize aspects of the ACA for them to be able to help their patients and expand services. On the other hand, there were pharmacists who were all “doom and gloom”. This is certainly understandable. The entire profession of pharmacy is continuing to go through this process of examining the role that pharmacists will play in the future.

An eye-opener for me was the almost universal enthusiasm that the pharmacy students attending the APhA meeting exhibited about their professional future. Granted, these students represented the “cream of the crop”, but what an impressive group! The leadership and faculty of the pharmacy schools represented should be justly proud of the students they are mentoring and teaching.

APhA (along with many other pharmacy organizations) are devoting a great deal of time and resourcing to seek legislative change to gain provider status for pharmacists. Basically, this would allow pharmacists to be recognized as providers as part of the health care team, and be reimbursed accordingly for their services to patients. It is important that pharmacists get involved in this effort. In a recent Pharmacy Today article, Dr. Randy McDonough said it best: “All pharmacists have the responsibility and obligation to serve as leaders and advocates in their own profession”.¹

The role of the Board of Pharmacy is not to promote the pharmacy profession per se. However, it certainly has an obligation to support efforts by pharmacists that demonstrate an improvement in patient care and medication safety. In March, Drug Topics published an article showing that Medication Synchronization (aligning refills so that the patient receives their monthly medications at the same time) improves adherence by patients to proper therapy from 56.65% to 89.15%.²The Illinois Pharmacy Practice Act (85/20) clearly gives the pharmacist the authority to make these quantity adjustments. Also in the Practice Act, the definition of Medication Therapy Management (85/3), provides for the pharmacist to provide an expanding range of services working in concert with the physician to improve patient care.

Gaining provider status and improving reimbursement models will certainly help these initiatives. But I urge my fellow pharmacists to not sit back and use this as an excuse for not expanding their services to patients. Some have compared this scenario as the “chicken and the egg”. Which comes first, providing the services or getting paid for it? I believe that as our profession moves forward by demonstrating our value, the appropriate reimbursement models will be forthcoming.

Seize this opportunity!

Make Patient Care Your Priority.

References

McDonough RP. Advocacy: An essential skill for all pharmacists. Pharmacy Today. 2014;20(3):42. Available at: http://www.pharmacist.com/advocacy-essential-skill-all-pharmacists
Talsma J. Med synchronization through community pharmacies brings greater adherence. Drug Topics. 2014 Mar. Available at: http://drugtopics.modernmedicine.com/drug-topics/news/med-synchronization-through-community-pharmacies-brings-greater-adherence

Spring Meeting Highlights
Who Moved My (Grilled) Cheese?

by Scott A. Meyers, Executive Vice President

The 2014 ICHP Spring Meeting is in the books and based on the attendee evaluations, comments on-site, and my own personal observations, it was a hit! The opening General Session over lunch (we’ll talk about the lunch later) on Friday featured Sandra Van Trease, group president for BJC Healthcare, in St. Louis. Ms. Van Trease broached the question: “How can pharmacy staff add to the accountability of ACO’s (Accountable Care Organizations)”? Her thought provoking presentation provided the audience with BJC’s plan to incorporate pharmacy into their ACO and suggested several other options that will be explored as they move forward.

There was a variety of other programming that included real-time on-line polling of the audience using smart phones during Kim Janicek and Jen Phillips’ presentation entitled “Practical Applications of MedWatch Updates”, platform presentations by Jen Arnoldi and Ed Rainville - both central Illinois practitioners - and a pearl session with short, hard-hitting tidbits to take home and use. The afternoon tabletop exhibit break gave attendees an opportunity to learn about the latest and greatest drugs, services, and technology that’s currently available from an enthusiastic band of industry representatives.

Friday Night’s “Shuffle Up and Deal” Texas Hold’em poker fund raiser for the ICHP Pharmacy Action Fund was fun and fulfilling. Participants dined on hamburgers; hot dogs; Mahi Mahi sliders; salads; chips, salsa, and queso; brownies; cookies; beer; soda and wine, after which they headed to their respective tables for a winner take almost all Texas Hold’em tournament. The big winner was a beginner, to prove again that beginner’s luck is no fluke, but several folks walked away with Amazon, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, and iTunes gift cards courtesy of ICHP and our industry friend dealers!

Saturday provided more outstanding programming featuring a variety of speakers and topics. A poster session mid-morning provided an opportunity for participants to learn as they walked and talked to the 20-plus presenters.

Saturday’s lunch featured ICHP’s first in a long-time “Town Hall Meeting” where meeting attendees were supplied a brief update on Council activities from President Mike Fotis, who then opened the floor for comments and questions. It was a very productive hour and a half with many great questions asked and several worthy suggestions made. You’ll see much more to come on Town Halls and their findings.

So let’s get to the title of this article and the earlier comment about Friday’s lunch. Friday’s lunch was by far the number one topic of comments on the general meeting evaluation form. And the comments weren’t necessarily good. “The lunch” featured half of a grilled cheese sandwich, a cup of tomato soup (albeit a small - or as one person stated “half full” - cup of soup) and a handful of kitchen made potato chips. It was a Friday during the Lenten Season but the portions caught the ICHP staff off-guard as well. It’s funny, or maybe if you’ve been running meetings for 20-plus years, it’s not so funny anymore, but comments about the food often appear more frequently than concerns of biased programming (which is good because it means the planning committee is doing their job), program topic selection (which again, kudos to the committee), or even sound and lighting issues. In fact, food and room temperature always take the lead over substantive or constructive concerns and while I realize people pay good money for the meeting including the food, there are times I wonder how much content and context matters? At least from the meeting evaluation point of view.

I know, I know, the planning committee does such a good job that there aren’t usually any complaints about content and context and for that I am truly grateful. And yes, your opinions are encouraged on every aspect of the meeting so that the next one is better and those problems are fixed. But after 35-plus years of attending meetings myself and really a lesson I learned after attending my first meeting, is please bring a jacket, sweater or dress in layers and don’t be afraid to run to the hotel gift shop for a candy bar the next time you’re presented with a light “lite” lunch. Your comments are always welcome but on that Friday, we knew right away that we had a problem. And to the person who complained that there was no bottled water, there were water coolers and glasses (not plastic cups) in the back of every presentation room and the exhibit hall. We do our part to protect the environment! In fact, you won’t see any bottles of water at future ICHP meetings unless you bring them yourself or we’re selling or handing out empty reusable ones!

So, yes, somebody moved everybody’s (grilled) cheese that day! We weren’t happy and we know you weren’t either. We promise to do better next time.

P.S. It was actually my idea to have a childhood favorite of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for lunch on that March Friday in Lent, so guess how I felt?!

Please click here to view 2014 Spring Meeting photos.

Important Update: Change to your Continuing Pharmacy Education (CPE) Credit Submissions
CPE Monitor CPE processing deadlines will now be enforced!

As of May 1, 2014, ACPE and CPE Monitor are enforcing CPE processing deadlines. This means you will have a limited amount of time to complete your CPE submission, both for Live programs and Home Study programs.

If your CPE credit submission to CPE Monitor is after the deadline, CPE Monitor will NOT accept the credit. There is nothing ICHP can do to change that as CPE Monitor and ACPE are in charge of the system and it is set up to reject all late CPE credit submissions beginning May 1, 2014.

Therefore, PLEASE take careful note of all CPE processing deadlines when you attend any CPE programs or when you complete any online home study programs. (Please note: the CPE processing deadline is NOT the same as the program expiration date.)

ICHP always provides a deadline date for processing your CPE. Our deadline is shorter than ACPE’s as we need time to review any CPE Monitor error reports when CPE credit from our online systems is rejected, and contact participants who may have provided incorrect eProfile ID numbers, process any paper evaluation programs and do follow up manual uploads to CPE Monitor, etc.

Our deadlines are important so we have time to correct any problems and re-submit your CPE credit information prior to the final submission deadline at CPE Monitor.

For home study programs done online, complete the post test and submit your evaluation, and your credit is automatically reported to CPE Monitor immediately, so the processing deadline will not affect you. If there is an error in your eProfile ID information, then your credit report is delayed while we follow up with you.

Please honor the ICHP deadlines! Once the CPE Monitor deadline date has passed we are unable to correct any errors or provide you with credit separately with paper statements of credit in place of CPE Monitor. No other documentation will be considered valid accredited CPE credit – everything must go through CPE Monitor now per ACPE mandate.

You may access your CPE history by going to this link and click on the CPE Monitor link to access your CPE credit history: http://www.nabp.net/

If you have any questions, you may email us at members@ichpnet.org.

A Request to be Bold

by Tom Westerkamp, ICHP Past President

ICHP is a vibrant organization, filled with people who are bright, energetic, and yes, I know…busy. We all have multiple responsibilities, and there are many reasons why you can easily say, “I am too busy”. But, I need, and ICHP needs, your help!

As Past-President, I am responsible for gathering names of members who are interested in stepping forward and running for a position within ICHP. I will submit this roster of candidates to the Board of Directors, and I am looking for your help for next year.

I urge you to consider running for a position.

Candidates are being sought for the following positions:

· President-elect
• Treasurer-elect
• House of Delegates Chair-elect

• Director-elect of Governmental Affairs

• Director-elect of Organizational Affairs

• Director-elect of Professional Affairs

• Central Region Director-elect

• Northern Region Director-elect

• New Practitioners Chair-elect

For Job Descriptions of these available positions, please click here.

If anyone has any questions about what it takes to run for one of these positions, all you need to do is call or email me or Scott Meyers. We would be happy to talk to you, even if you are simply thinking about it, and answer any questions you have.

Representing the organization as a leader helps inspire others. It provides a way to give back to the profession, no matter what your practice site is. It’s a way to meet other members, share your experiences, and be recognized. It can help influence the way pharmacy is practiced in Illinois. It is not difficult – the ICHP office staff are amazing and very helpful.

All it takes is a desire to help others....isn’t that why we chose this profession?

Columns

President's Message
What Kind of Pharmacist are You Going to Be?

by Mike Fotis, ICHP President

What kind of pharmacist are you going to be? As a student or resident, did you work to earn your own understanding of the material? Or were you content to simply restate the information that was taught? Did you learn to ask questions, or were you satisfied learning only how to answer questions? Did you practice setting goals or only how to meet goals set by others?

Many pharmacists act to solve problems for their patients and colleagues, while others only identify problems. Informing a prescriber that “this chart I have in front of me lists an important drug interaction between the two medications you want to prescribe” is not a way to help to solve problems. Assessing the risk of a meaningful drug interaction and providing alternative options is an example of helping to solve a problem.

Have you mastered the elements of Evidence Based Medicine (EBM)? Can you use EBM to resist marketing pressures to recommend medications because of their unique mechanism of action, or impressive data from preclinical studies, or data from non-comparative studies? Do you interpret clinical trials on your own and review expert recommendations? Or are you content repeating back what others have stated?

How will you practice pharmacy? Will patients and colleagues from other professions know you and ask for you by name? Or will your name soon become Pharmacy? Will you use your knowledge of rules and regulations to help remove obstacles for patients, or will you add obstacles? Do patients see you as a valuable resource or someone they must work around? Do patients and colleagues view you as someone who does the right thing or someone who keeps the routine going?

When there are choices, will you act in the interest of the patient, a healthcare corporation, or an insurance provider? Will you make an effort every day to make a difference, or do you plan to “mail-it-in”?

When do you plan to sort out all of these issues? Do you think it wise to wait until you are in the middle of a situation and in the heat of the moment?

In the end I guess your whole career comes down to what kind of a pharmacist you are going to be. What will you do? It is entirely your decision, isn't it? However, I think that how you practice will go a long way towards defining what sort of person you are.

My sincere congratulations go out to all of the new Pharmacy/PA/ and Residency graduates. Isn't this exciting?!

Directly Speaking
What do you do when you don’t know what you don’t know?

by Scott A. Meyers, Executive Vice President

I’m sure you’ve heard people say “It’s hard when you don’t know what you don’t know.” Or maybe you’ve heard the proverb attributed to Confucius, Arabic or Persian origin that goes something like this, although depending on the purported origin it varies:

He who knows not and knows not that he knows not is a fool; shun him.

He who knows not and knows that he knows not he is a student; teach him.

He who knows and knows not that he knows is asleep; wake him.

He who knows and knows that he knows is a wise man; follow him.

If you ever think you’re in a situation where you don’t know what you don’t know, or if you don’t know but know that you don’t know, the most important thing you can do is ask! Ask whoever you think may be able to shed some light on the subject. Ask others around involved in the project to make sure everyone knows what everyone else knows. Perhaps collectively, you already know everything you need to know or know where to find the answers.

So why the little life lesson, today? Well, ICHP’s Division of Marketing Affairs is about to launch a much needed membership needs assessment. You’ll receive it via email, and while it might take a few minutes of your time, you might be the proud winner of $50 in Amazon gift cards. All this because we need to find out what we don’t know.

We need to find out if we’re providing value for your membership dues dollars. Of course we think we are, but it’s been a long time since we’ve checked. Two years in fact, and in today’s marketplace, that’s a long time. We’re going to ask you how you like us to communicate to you and the preferred frequency of these communications. We want to know what programs and services we provide to our members free or at a reduced price are still used and appreciated and see if any need to be put out to pasture (discontinued for you city slickers). One open-ended question is going to ask you “What pharmacy-related issue keeps you up at night?” We want you to weigh in on the current website. Is it easy to use? Does it contain the right content? If you think something is missing, what is it?

We’re going to ask pharmacy technicians if they are certified. And if not, why not? The ICHP Champions program will rate a couple of questions, and if you’re asking yourself right now, “What is the ICHP Champions Program?”, we need to know that! There are questions about ICHP’s three existing member networks and if you have considered using them. We’re even going to ask you if you are aware that ICHP offers some dues discount opportunities that can save you money and increase their value as I mentioned above!

This survey isn’t distributed every year, but we try to do it often enough so that we make sure there is little we don’t really know about the wants and needs of our members. And yes, the survey will ask you in a few places if you would like more information about an ICHP product or service or if you would like to get more involved in the Council’s activities. There’s no pressure here, and we really only want genuinely interested individuals. So don’t feel that you need to jump in if you’re not ready. ICHP wants to keep its members…not to mention, keep them happy and well-served.

Please take the time to complete the survey, even if you’re not excited about $50 in Amazon gift cards. You can and should be as honest as possible so that the volunteers and staff can build a better ICHP. We really do need to know what we don’t know!

Leadership Profile
Carrie Vogler, PharmD, BCPS

What is your current leadership position in ICHP?

Marketing Affairs Director-elect

Where did you go to pharmacy school?

Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy

Trace your professional history since graduation. Where have you trained and worked?

I completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at Saint Louis University Hospital.

Currently I am a Clinical Assistant Professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy. My practice site is Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, IL, and my area of focus is internal medicine. In addition, I work part time as a retail pharmacist.

Describe your current area of practice and practice setting.

I round with the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Internal Medicine teams and see 10 to 15 patients during bedside rounds each day. There are three internal medicine teams, and I rotate teams each week with the pharmacy students I’m precepting. One of my passions besides teaching pharmacy students is improving medication reconciliation and providing patient education at the hospital.

What benefits do you see in being active in a professional association such as ICHP?

ICHP provides several opportunities to gain new information as well as network with other pharmacists and technicians. I have found that the more involved I have gotten in the organization, the more I have enjoyed being part of it.

Is there an individual you admire or look up to or a mentor that has influenced your career?

ICHP has led me to some great mentors that have helped guide my career. Kevin Colgan became a mentor to me during a leadership program I completed in pharmacy school. He encouraged me to pursue a residency as well as to get involved in professional organizations.

Do you have any special interests or hobbies outside of work?

I love to travel and spend time with my family. I enjoy taking pictures, cooking, and golfing.

Do you have a favorite restaurant or food?

Since I grew up in Naperville, I love Portillo’s and Giordano’s Pizza. They need to bring these restaurants to Springfield!

What is your favorite place to vacation?

Last May I went on an amazing trip to Iceland, Scotland, and Ireland. The landscapes in Iceland are breathtaking with beautiful waterfalls, floating icebergs, volcanos, and it also has a geothermal spa called the Blue Lagoon.

What is the most interesting/unique fact about yourself that few people know?

I played Ultimate Frisbee at University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana and then played on a Chicago club team while attending pharmacy school.

What adjectives would people use to best describe you?

For those of you who have done StrengthsFinder, my signature themes are communication, learner, woo, achiever, and positivity.

The GAS From Springfield
The (Slow) Beat Goes On!

by Jim Owen and Scott Meyers

Not a lot of progress with this year’s General Assembly as it is an election year, and the budget is up for consideration. When it’s budget time, things don’t move until each deadline, and only the very critically necessary things move at all. In addition, with the 67% tax increase of a few years ago set to expire, this year’s discussions are even more dicey!

The good news is that the biosimilar issues seems to be a non-starter this year, and given that the FDA is soon to release their draft guidelines for biosimilars and interchangeability, we may have dodged a bullet for the time being. Although as Mark Twain claimed, “No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session!” So we’ll keep monitoring the bills that impact pharmacy and health care and shout for your help if something bad starts to move or something good needs a push to get it moving.

In the meantime, this spring is a great time to meet with your legislators when they are home on the weekends. Many fund raising events are popping up all over the state, and many are not the $1,000 a plate high profile dinners we here about on television. Many seek contributions of $40 to $60 per person to meet and greet the candidates, grab a beverage and a bite to eat and maybe run into some friends or health care colleagues. You know your physician and nurse practitioner friends really understand how this game is played. And if, in your opinion, the candidates in your districts aren’t worth supporting, send some campaign contributions to the ICHP Pharmacy Action Fund to support ones that are! Right now the ICHP Pharmacy Action Fund has its $1K Raffle in progress. If you send a contribution between now and the ICHP Annual Meeting in September, you will receive tickets entered into the raffle. The drawing for one winner of the $1,000 prize will be drawn on Saturday morning, September 13th. Tickets may be purchased at the following prices:

Pay: $5 1 Ticket

$25 6 Tickets

$50 15 Tickets

$100 45 Tickets

You can win if you don’t play! To order your tickets go online to obtain an order form that may be mailed or faxed or call the ICHP office with a credit card. Please do not email order forms to the office. Credit card information in scanned and emailed format is not safe.

Here is each bill and its status that we are still watching. Some of them are nearly dead, but we can never be sure until the General Assembly adjourns.

Bill No.	Sponsor	Summary	Status	Position
SB1454	Delgado, D-Chicago	Amends the Wholesale Drug Distribution Licensing Act. Provides that notwithstanding any other provision of law, a distributor licensed and regulated by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, and registered and regulated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, shall be exempt from the storage, reporting, ordering, record keeping and physical security control requirements for Schedule II controlled substances with regard to any material, compound, mixture or preparation containing Hydrocodone. These Controlled Substances shall be subject to the same requirements as those imposed for Schedule III controlled substances. Amends the Illinois Controlled Substances Act. Defines Prescription Monitoring Program Advisory Committee and electronic health record. Provides that Dihydrocodeinone (Hydrocodone) with one or more active, non-narcotic ingredients in regional therapeutic amounts is a Schedule III controlled substance, subject to the requirements for prescribing of Schedule III controlled substances with the exception that any prescription must be limited to no more than a 30-day supply with any continuation requiring a new prescription. Provides that prescribers may issue multiple prescriptions (3 sequential 30-day supplies) for Dihydrocodeinone (Hydrocodone), authorizing up to a 90-day supply. Provides that by January 1, 2018, all Electronic Health Records Systems should interface with the Prescription Monitoring Program application program interface to insure that all providers have access to specific patient records as they are treating the patient. Makes other changes.	Passed Senate as Amended Rules Committee in the House	Neutral
SB1934	Munoz, D-Chicago	Amends the Pharmacy Practice Act. Provides that a pharmacist may substitute a prescription biosimilar product for a prescribed biological product under certain circumstances. Provides that the Board shall adopt rules for compliance with these provisions.	Assignments Committee	Oppose
SB2585	Kotowski, D- Park Ridge	Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code and the Illinois Insurance Code. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Department of Insurance to jointly develop a uniform prior authorization form for prescription drug benefits on or before July 1, 2014. Provides that on and after January 1, 2015, or 6 months after the form is developed, whichever is later, every prescribing provider may use that uniform prior authorization form to request prior authorization for coverage of prescription drug benefits and every health care service plan shall accept that form as sufficient to request prior authorization for prescription drug benefits. Provides that on and after January 1, 2015, a health insurer that provides prescription drug benefits shall utilize and accept the prior authorization form when requiring prior authorization for prescription drug benefits; and that if a health care service plan fails to utilize or accept the prior authorization form, or fails to respond within 2 business days upon receipt of a completed prior authorization request from a prescribing provider, the prior authorization request shall be deemed to have been granted. Exempts certain providers. Sets forth certain criteria for the prior authorization form. Provides that "prescribing provider" includes a provider authorized to write a prescription as described in the Pharmacy Practice Act. Effective January 1, 2014.	Assignments Committee	Oppose
SB2636	Martinez, D-Chicago	Senate Amendment 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause with the bill as introduced with the following change. Replaces references to myoclonic-astatic epilepsy with those of seizures, including those characteristic of epilepsy.	Passed in the Senate Rules Committee in the House	Neutral
SB2674	Harmon, D- Oak Park	Amends the State Finance Act. Adds the Poison Response Fund. Amends the Wireless Emergency Telephone Safety Act. Provides that human poison control centers constitute an enhancement to 9-1-1 services pursuant to federal law. Provides that for surcharges collected and remitted on or after July 1, 2013, $0.1275 per surcharge collected shall be deposited into the Wireless Carrier Reimbursement Fund on the last day of each month, $0.5825 per surcharge collected shall be deposited into the Wireless Service Emergency Fund, $0.02 per surcharge shall be deposited in the Poison Response Fund, and $0.01 per surcharge collected may be disbursed to the Illinois Commerce Commission for administrative costs. Requires the Auditor General to conduct an annual audit of the Poison Response Fund. Permits the Commission to require an annual report of income and expenditures from each human poison control center. Extends the date of repeal of the Act to July 1, 2018 (currently July 1, 2013). Creates the Poison Response Fund. Amends the Public Utilities Act. Extends the repeal of certain Sections relating to 9-1-1 system providers until July 1, 2016 (currently July 1, 2015). Effective immediately.	Passed in the Senate Rules Committee in the House	Support
SB2941	Raoul, D-Chicago	Amends the Criminal Identification Act. Authorizes the court to seal Class 4 felony convictions for possession with intent to manufacture or deliver cannabis without the defendant being required to successfully complete qualified probation under the Act. Authorizes the court to seal Class 3 felony convictions for possession with intent to manufacture or deliver cannabis without the defendant being required to obtain an authorization for sealing from the Prisoner Review Board. This would blind potential employers who are required to do a background check on potential hires. Effective immediately	Passed in the Senate Rules Committee in the House	Oppose
SB3109	McGuire, D-Crest Hill	Amends the Illinois Optometric Practice Act of 1987. Permits a licensed optometrist to prescribe Dihydrocodeinone (Hydrocodone) with one or more active, non-narcotic ingredients only in a quantity sufficient to provide treatment for up to 72 hours, and only if such formulations are reclassified as Schedule II by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.	Passed in the Senate Rules Committee in the House	Oppose
SB3277	Althoff, R-McHenry	Amends the Pharmacy Practice Act. Adds the administration of the Meningococcal vaccine to patients 10 through 13 years of age to the definition of "practice of pharmacy".	Assignments Committee	Oppose Senate Amendment 1
SB3502	Koehler, D- Peoria	Amends the Illinois Controlled Substances Act. Provides that substances containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, their salts or optical isomers, or salts of optical isomers, are Schedule III controlled substances and require a prescription.	Assignments Committee	Oppose
HB3638	Fine, D- Glenview	Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code and the Illinois Insurance Code. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Department of Insurance to jointly develop a uniform prior authorization form for prescription drug benefits on or before July 1, 2014. Provides that on and after January 1, 2015, or 6 months after the form is developed, whichever is later, every prescribing provider may use that uniform prior authorization form to request prior authorization for coverage of prescription drug benefits and every health care service plan shall accept that form as sufficient to request prior authorization for prescription drug benefits. Provides that on and after January 1, 2015, a health insurer that provides prescription drug benefits shall utilize and accept the prior authorization form when requiring prior authorization for prescription drug benefits; and that if a health care service plan fails to utilize or accept the prior authorization form, or fails to respond within 2 business days upon receipt of a completed prior authorization request from a prescribing provider, the prior authorization request shall be deemed to have been granted. Exempts certain providers. Sets forth certain criteria for the prior authorization form. Provides that "prescribing provider" includes a provider authorized to write a prescription as described in the Pharmacy Practice Act. Effective January 1, 2014.	Passed in the House in Assignments Committee in Senate	Neutral
HB4230	Lilly, D-Chicago	Amends the State Finance Act. Adds the Poison Response Fund. Amends the Wireless Emergency Telephone Safety Act. Provides that human poison control centers constitute an enhancement to 9-1-1 services pursuant to federal law. Provides that for surcharges collected and remitted on or after July 1, 2013, $0.1275 per surcharge collected shall be deposited into the Wireless Carrier Reimbursement Fund on the last day of each month, $0.5825 per surcharge collected shall be deposited into the Wireless Service Emergency Fund, $0.02 per surcharge shall be deposited in the Poison Response Fund, and $0.01 per surcharge collected may be disbursed to the Illinois Commerce Commission for administrative costs. Requires the Auditor General to conduct an annual audit of the Poison Response Fund. Permits the Commission to require an annual report of income and expenditures from each human poison control center. Extends the date of repeal of the Act to July 1, 2018 (currently July 1, 2013). Creates the Poison Response Fund. Amends the Public Utilities Act. Extends the repeal of certain Sections relating to 9-1-1 system providers until July 1, 2016 (currently July 1, 2015). Effective immediately.	Rules Committee	Support
HB4484	Reboletti, R-Addison	Creates the Patient Transitions and Continuity of Care Act. Provides that whenever a patient is transferred from a hospital, nursing home, or assisted living facility the transferring hospital, nursing home, or assisted living facility shall provide the receiving hospital, nursing home, or assisted living facility with a form that lists certain specified information about the patient. Provides that the Illinois Department of Public Health shall develop and publish the form that is to be used by the transferring hospital, nursing home, or assisted living facility. Effective immediately.	Rules Committee	Support
HB4575	Lilly, D-Chicago	Appropriates $1,331,100 from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Public Health from the General Revenue Fund for grants to the Illinois Poison Center. Effective July 1, 2014.	Rules Committee	Support
HB4580	Lilly, D-Chicago	Amends the Health Care Worker Background Check Act. Provides that the prohibition against a health care employer or long-term care facility hiring, employing, or retaining an individual in a position with duties involving direct care for clients, patients, or residents, or duties that involve or may involve contact with long-term care facility residents or access to the living quarters or the financial, medical, or personal records of residents, on account of the individual's conviction of committing or attempting to commit one or more of certain specified offenses shall be for a period of (i) 2 years following the date of conviction in the case of a conviction for a misdemeanor and (ii) 5 years following the date of conviction in the case of a conviction for a felony. Effective immediately	Rules Committee	Neutral
HB5631	Gabel, D-Evanston	Amends the Pharmacy Practice Act. Defines "bleeding disorder", "blood clotting product", and "established patient". Establishes certain requirements, standards of care, and business practices that pharmacies and pharmacists shall comply with when dispensing blood clotting products.	Health Care Licenses Committee	Oppose
HB5924	Zalewski, D-Riverside	Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that a person shall not drive or be in actual physical control of any vehicle within this State while there is any amount of a drug, substance, or compound in the person's breath, blood, or urine resulting from the use or consumption of a controlled substance listed in the Illinois Controlled Substances Act in excess of the prescribed amount in the person's prescription for the controlled substance.	Judiciary Committee	Oppose
HB5987	Phelps, D-Harrisburg	Creates the Audits of Pharmacy Benefits Act. Imposes a number of requirements on audits of pharmacy services conducted pursuant to a contract entered into by the pharmacy and the auditing entity on behalf of a health carrier or a pharmacy benefits manager. Requires the entity conducting a pharmacy audit to deliver a preliminary audit report to the pharmacy and to give the pharmacy an opportunity to respond to the report prior to issuing a final audit report. Provides that the entity is also required to implement a process for appealing the findings of the final audit report, and further provides that if either party is unsatisfied with the appeal, that party may seek relief under the terms of the contract. Establishes a number of requirements that the auditing entity must follow when calculating the amounts and penalties that are to be recovered from the pharmacy based on the audit report, and prohibits the entity from receiving payment on any basis tied to the amount claimed or recovered from the pharmacy. Effective immediately.	Rules Committee	Oppose in current form

If you have questions about these or any other bills, please contact us via email at jownenconsulting@aol.com or scottm@ichpnet.org, and we will do our best to help you better understand and advocate for pharmacy.

ICHPeople

Congratulations to Kathy Komperda on the birth of her second son, Alex Jonathan, on April 4, 2014!

Congrats to Trish Wegner who received a shout out in an April email blast from ASHP for the hard work of her and her committee creating a new ASHP Connect community and web-based resource center for Pharmacy Technicians!

ICHP is sad to announce the death of Michael Flagstad, former member of ICHP and Director of Pharmacy at Ingalls Memorial Hospital. Dr. Flagstad was most recently CEO of his own company, Visante. He passed away suddenly on April 15th leaving behind a wife, two children and four grandchildren.

Educational Affairs
Brief Abstracts of the Winning Poster Presentations and the Selected Platform Presentations for the ICHP 2014 Spring Meeting

ICHP Platform Presentation #1 - Winner

Category: Original

Title: Comparison of zolpidem to other drugs associated with falls in hospitalized patients

Purpose: Determine if zolpidem poses a higher risk of falls in hospitalized patient as compared to other medications commonly associated with patient falls.

Methods: Retrospective chart review of inpatient medical records of those patients recorded as having fallen during their hospitalization. Dates of data collection were from October 2012 to January 2013 (4 months). Data collection included select medications (i.e. zolpidem, antidepressants, antipsychotics, antihistamines, benzodiazepines, opioid analgesics) administered up to 24 hours prior to the fall, patients ages and gender. Patients on the pediatric units and in the Emergency Department were excluded. This study was approved by the local Investigational Review Board.

Results: There were 129 patient falls recorded on the hospital units being analyzed. At least one of the drugs associated with an increased fall risk was administered within 24 hours prior to the fall in 108 of the recorded falls. Although zolpidem was administered prior to 8.5% of the falls, opioids (50.4%), antidepressants (33.3%), lorazepam (24%) and antipsychotics (15.5%) were administered significantly more frequently.

Conclusions: Although zolpidem is a risk factor for patient falls in hospitalized patients, the incidence does not appear to be greater than with other medications associated with this hazard.

Authors: Edward C. Rainville, BSPharm, MSPharm, Clinical Pharmacy Manager**1; Daniel G. Ricci, PharmD, Graduate Student2

1 - OSF Saint Francis Medical Center; 2 - University of Wisconsin at Madison

**=submitting author; *=ICHP member

ICHP Platform Presentation #2

Category: Original

Title: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Exacerbation Inpatient Treatment: A Retrospective Chart Review

Purpose: To evaluate inpatient management of COPD exacerbations and adherence to Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guideline recommendations.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted in patients aged 18 to 89 years hospitalized for COPD exacerbation between the dates of April 1, 2013 and June 30, 2013. Subjects were excluded if they received antibiotic or systemic corticosteroid therapy for any reason other than a COPD exacerbation. Data collection for each subject included: smoking history, COPD medication therapy prior to admission and at hospital discharge, presence of cardinal symptoms of a COPD exacerbation at hospital admission, documentation of COPD Assessment Test (CAT) score, inpatient antibiotic and systemic corticosteroid regimens, vaccination screening and administration, time to hospital readmission, and reason for hospital readmission. Inpatient exacerbation treatment was evaluated for adherence to GOLD guideline recommendations.

Results: A total of 60 patients were included in this study. Antibiotics were used inappropriately in 58% of subjects (n=35). A variety of agents were given, of which levofloxacin was most common (n=42). Systemic corticosteroid regimens also varied widely, with total daily doses ranging from 10mg to 120mg. Short-acting bronchodilators, tiotropium, and oral corticosteroids were the most common medications initiated in the hospital that were continued upon discharge.

Conclusions: There is opportunity for improvement in antimicrobial stewardship in COPD exacerbations, specifically symptom-driven antibiotic use and antimicrobial selection. Oral corticosteroid regimens could also be optimized. It is difficult to assess appropriateness of COPD maintenance therapy due to lack of information about baseline disease severity.

Authors: Jennifer D. Arnoldi, PharmD, BCPS, Clinical Assistant Professor**; Mallory K. Klein, PharmD Candidate

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy

**=submitting author; *=ICHP member

ICHP Original Poster Winner

Category: Original

Title: Improving the Pharmacist Orientation Program at a Large Medical Center

Purpose: The Pharmacy Department at Saint Francis Medical Center (SFMC) has seen many changes in the past five years, including a new pediatric pharmacy, an updated practice model, and increased staff and services. We recognized that our orientation model for new pharmacists had not adjusted to keep up with the changes. The purpose of this project is to develop an updated pharmacist orientation model that would allow for a better transition from training to practicing pharmacist at SFMC.

Methods: We surveyed two groups on various aspects of the orientation program: new pharmacists hired in the last 2 years and the pharmacists who served as pharmacist mentors in that same time frame. The initial survey allowed us to identify gaps in our orientation program. Organizational Development Personnel assisted in the development and implementation of a new pharmacist orientation program. As part of the new orientation program, a group of experienced pharmacists were selected to serve as peer sponsors for the new pharmacists. Training was provided to the peer sponsors prior to their involvement with the new pharmacists. The new program was instituted with five new pharmacists between July 2013 and January 2014. A follow-up survey will be distributed to these pharmacists and their peer sponsors in February 2014 to determine improvements realized and gaps still outstanding.

Results: We will analyze the follow-up survey to determine project success and the need for adjustments. All future new pharmacists will be surveyed for ongoing maintenance of the orientation program.

Conclusions: To be submitted

Authors: Jennifer C. Ellison, PharmD, BCPS PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Director, Drug Information Pharmacist**; Karin L. Terry, PharmD, Medication Safety Officer**

OSF Saint Francis Medical Center

**=submitting author; *=ICHP member

ICHP Encore Poster Winner

Category: Encore

Title: Improvement of medication delivery through the use of decentralized pharmacy technicians

Purpose: Previous literature demonstrates the link between uninterrupted nursing time and safe medication administration. Interruptions lead to clerical errors and unclear communication between nursing staff and pharmacy. To maximize efficiency, the use of decentralized pharmacy technicians was investigated.

Methods: This two week prospective study took place between 09/09/2013 and 09/20/2013. Two pharmacy students acting as decentralized pharmacy technicians were placed on a medicine floor. The control unit had similar baseline characteristics as the intervention unit. Medication requests for both units were recorded, as well as a pre and post intervention nursing satisfaction survey. The primary outcome was the number of medication requests (MRs). Secondary outcomes included the number of late doses and the nursing satisfaction with pharmacy.

Results: Medication requests on the intervention unit decreased compared to the control unit during the study period. During the last week of the study period, there were 4 MRs in the intervention unit compared to 34 in the control group (p=0.002, 95% CI [13.33-37.17]). In the intervention unit, the average number of late doses per patient decreased from 36 at baseline to 25 during the study. Finally, nursing satisfaction with pharmacy services improved by 32% during the intervention period.

Conclusions: The results suggest medication requests can be decreased by using decentralized pharmacy technicians. Beneficial results with respect to the timeliness of medication administration and nursing satisfaction with pharmacy services were also seen.

Authors: Brett James Pierce, PharmD, PGY1 Resident1*; Cynthia Herrera, PharmD, PGY1 Resident1; Mary Margaret Lenefsky, PharmD, PGY1 Resident1**; Puja Chandrakant Patel, PharmD Candidate 20142; Dipa Vijay Shah, PharmD Candidate 20142; Noelle RM Chapman, PharmD, BCPS, Pharmacy Manager*1; Michael John Postelnick, RPh, BCPS, AQID, Pharmacy Manager*1

1 - Northwestern Memorial Hospital; 2 - University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy

**=submitting author; *=ICHP member

ICHP Student Poster Winner

Category: Student

Title: Illinois Prescribers’ Attitude on the Utility of Medical Marijuana

Purpose: In August of 2013, Illinois Governor Quinn signed House Bill 1, approving the Compassionate Use for Medical Cannabis Pilot Program. This program attempts to implement rules and regulations that will allow patients with certain debilitating conditions to legally obtain and use medical marijuana under Illinois state law. Our study aims to identify physicians’ knowledge and attitude toward the use of medical marijuana in hopes to guide future education and clinical policy regarding this practice.

Methods: An anonymous, electronic survey was distributed by email to members of the Illinois Association of Family Physicians (IAFP) in their scheduled monthly e-newsletter. The survey questions aimed to identify demographic information, the knowledge level of prescribers as it relates to the new marijuana law and prescribing guidelines, and their attitudes toward the new law.

Results: One hundred eleven IAFP members responded to the survey. Of these participants, 95% were aware that the bill had been signed. 49% were unlikely to prescribe marijuana and 58% of the participants did not feel comfortable prescribing marijuana. No correlation was found between the prescribers’ age or length of time in practice and the likelihood of prescribing marijuana.

Conclusions: In progress

Authors: Oliver Daniel Mills, Pharmacy Candidate**; Chris Herndon, PharmD*

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

**=submitting author; *=ICHP member

New Practitioners Network
Advance Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) Orientation

by Fatima M. Ali, Pharm.D., BCPS

Transitioning from pharmacy student to a professional pharmacist is a difficult process. The level of responsibility shifts from learning how to identify to learning how to manage appropriate treatments for patients. Residencies offer additional training to better prepare student pharmacists who are embarking upon a career in clinical pharmacy. A pharmacy practice residency allows new Doctor of Pharmacy graduates to train under the supervision of clinical preceptors in medication therapy management in a variety of practice settings. However, formalized training for new practitioners to precept pharmacy students does not exist.

New practitioners may find it difficult to precept students, especially if they have had little training or experience toward developing effective precepting skills. Preparing for the very first set of consecutive advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) rotations may be challenging. There are several considerations they must face, including preparing a syllabus, reviewing the APPE manual from the College of Pharmacy, setting up the rotation, selecting topic discussions, making a rotation calendar. In preparation for upcoming rotations, a formalized orientation for APPE students on the first day of their rotation may help streamline the process.

At our institution, Alexian Brothers Medical Center, we have formalized an APPE orientation for incoming APPE students. Alexian Brothers Medical Center is a 387-bed acute care hospital, located in the west suburbs of the Chicagoland area. Our APPE orientation consists of the following sessions on day one and two of the 6-week rotation:

· Tour of the practice site (15 minutes)

• Medication history (15 minutes)

• Types of interventions (15 minutes)

• Meeting with individual preceptor (2 hours)

• Infection Prevention & Control (30 minutes)

• Electronic medical chart overview (30 minutes)

• Lunch (1 hour)

• Kinetics review: focus on aminoglycosides, vancomycin, and warfarin (1 hour)

• Pre-rounding and patient monitoring (30 minutes)

• Patient care plans (30 minutes)

• Bugs & drugs review (2 hours on day 2 of rotation)

Resources provided to our APPE students include but are not limited to the following:

· Handout on the process of performing a medication history

• Blank medication history chart

• Institutional intervention documentation pearls handout

• Blank intervention log

• Isolation precaution guidelines provided by manager of infection control

• Institutional guidelines for aminoglycosides, vancomycin, and warfarin dosing & monitoring

• Institutional kinetics monitoring sheets

• Examples of patient monitoring sheets

• Blank patient care plan handout

The day starts off with a former or current APPE student conducting a tour of the facilities as part of this orientation. The topics listed above are presented by four different clinical pharmacists at our practice site. The students also meet with their individual preceptors in the morning for two hours. This allows the individual preceptor to give an overview of their specific rotation to their assigned students. his session has been changed to occur in the morning to also allow students to attend clinical rounds with preceptors during the morning hours. The Manager of Infection Control presents on infection prevention and control. This allows our APPE students to be aware of the types of signs they may encounter prior to entering a patient’s room. This session also prepares them on how to appropriately enter a patient’s room with proper garb based on the precaution indicated. On day two of the rotation, our Infectious Disease Clinical Pharmacist presents a ‘Bugs & Drugs’ overview seminar for APPE students.

Planning and conducting an orientation may be time-consuming. However, the orientation at our site was well received and appreciated by both preceptors and APPE students. We have had between seven to nine APPE students at orientation from different Colleges of Pharmacies. Anecdotal comments from students have included that the orientation provides a good review of kinetics and antimicrobial therapy. Feedback from students and preceptors included changing the time to meet with individual preceptors between 9-11 am to allow students to attend rounds, having students review antimicrobial therapy prior to the discussion to enhance active learning, and showing the precaution signs at orientation to allow for visual recognition. One of challenges we have faced is when to schedule the orientation, as pharmacy programs are not all synced with their rotation blocks. We schedule the orientation for each block based on when majority of the students are starting at our site. As such, during each orientation we have had one to two students participate in the APPE orientation a week after they have started their rotation. The goal of the APPE orientation is to have all the students know the processes of the institution and familiarize them with the institutional guidelines and resources as close to the beginning of their rotation as possible.

College Connections

Switching Roles: Being the Patient

by Sarah J. Kim, PS3, Chicago State University College of Pharmacy

In my Ambulatory Care Elective, for one week, each student had to role play a patient with multiple chronic disease states. It was a very interesting experience. All of us pretended to have type 2 diabetes in addition to other chronic disease states like hypertension, heart failure, and osteoporosis. I was given many vials of "medications" (actually candy), a home blood pressure monitor, glucose test strips, and a glucometer. Some of us even had to self-inject with insulin (actually normal saline). Prior to this activity, I was confident in the fact that I would be adherent to my "medications" and even perform daily blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring. As pharmacy students, we are continuously reminded how important it is for patients to remain adherent with their medications and to maintain a healthy lifestyle. However, I soon discovered it is not an easy feat to actually perform on a daily basis.

I think the most demanding part of this experience was dealing with diabetes. I had some problems with my glucometer. Several times I would get errors in the machine and I did not feel like pricking another finger to draw blood onto another test strip. I truly did not enjoy sticking myself day after day! Also, it was actually very difficult trying to keep a daily blood glucose log. Since I kept the glucometer at home and did not bring it with me to school, the time of day I took my readings was never consistent. Consequently, I was unable to check my glucose levels twice a day as recommended by the pharmacist.

I was fairly consistent in taking my "medications" but was not adherent over the weekend due to an irregular schedule. On the weekdays, since I woke up around the same time every day, I was able to take my morning medications around the same time. I remembered to take my medications at night during the week, but the times varied depending on what time I would get home. On the weekends, my schedule was more sporadic as I was not home most of the day and forgot to take my medications.

One of the lifestyle modifications I tried was to keep a consistent diet that included lots of vegetables, fruits, poultry, and whole grains. For the week, I cooked my breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and did not eat out. I ate healthy snacks before bedtime, like a banana. While I felt good about eating healthier, it was a lot of work to cook all of those meals. I also walked more during that week for exercise, but I did not do the recommended thirty minutes, five days a week due to the cold weather.

This week-long experience has definitely helped me relate to patients more. I now have a better understanding of the barriers that patients face when making lifestyle changes and taking medications. It is not enough to tell patients how to take medications. It is also important to teach patients different strategies on how to be adherent. I think some of the things I could have done differently is take the glucometer to school so I could have maintained a more consistent blood glucose log and I could have used an alarm to remember to take my medications on time. Overall, this has been a beneficial experience, and I will certainly think about this next time I counsel a patient.

Legislative Day

by Julie Bucek, P3, University of Illinois at Chicago

Despite a smaller turnout than previous years and inclement weather, my third Legislative Day proved to be yet another success. In this year’s “Under the Dome”, I was nervous as I took on more responsibility as the UIC ICHP Student Representative, but it proved to be an important lesson in the art of collaboration. The preparation began last fall as I probed last year’s Student Representative, now the Vice President of our student chapter, for ideas on how to make the day memorable for our students. The brainstorming session was an important reminder of the necessity to pass on our knowledge as student leaders to the next class of students so that they may learn from both our successes and our mistakes. I am so thankful for all of Alexandra Habanek’s words of wisdom.

By early January, the plan was set forth. We arranged our annual talk with Scott Meyers, “Legislative Day 101”, to be part of the Northern Illinois Society of Health System Pharmacists’ meeting. It was an excellent opportunity to explore the legislative process in Illinois and to talk with pharmacist leaders and new practitioners. There were lots of eager new faces in the crowd who came to learn about pharmacy advocacy. In addition, it was the first exposure for many of us to the new bills that would be brought forth to Congress this session. Particularly, we learned of the financial difficulties facing the Illinois Poison Center. Without additional funding, it was slated to close this June, and Illinois would be left the only state without a poison control center. The news shocked many of us and left us feeling even more inspired to travel to Springfield to speak with our legislators about this important issue.

The next step in our plan was to educate the UIC students about the challenges faced by the Illinois Poison Center as well as other important bills affecting our profession this session. In collaboration with our student APhA chapter, we developed a letter writing campaign to get students involved in pharmacy advocacy. With the aid and direction of Executive Vice President Scott Meyers, we drafted two letter templates: one addressed to our Senators urging support of SB3277 allowing pharmacists to administer the meningococcal vaccine to children 10 to 13 years old and the other to our House Representatives urging support of HB4230 and the “2 cent solution” to create a Poison Response Fund to provide funds for continuing operation of the Illinois Poison Center. We campaigned on campus and via e-mail and social media to encourage students to sign up and agree to send a letter to their legislator. The response was overwhelming; and in the end, we were able to send out 130 letters in the weeks leading up to Legislative Day.

On the morning of March 5th, in typical “windy city” fashion, snow hit the streets of Chicago. Students and buses were delayed, and some students even had to cancel at the last minute. It was disappointing at first, but UIC ICHP student chapter President Emma Carroll, Vice President Alexandra Habanek, and I were determined to make the best of it. With some refreshing water, donuts, and a smile, we welcomed the students on to the bus and prepared them for their over 4 hour journey down to the state capitol. Some napped, others studied intently for their upcoming medicinal chemistry exam the next day, and many caught up with fellow students and pharmacists during this well-deserved respite from our usual hectic schedules. Upon arrival, the excitement was in the air. With the presence of employees from the Illinois Poison Center in Springfield, it seemed like our mission was more important than ever.

After a brief introduction from Scott Meyers and Garth Reynolds and a warm welcome from Representative Mike Zalewski, we were off to let our voices be heard. We stopped quickly at the offices of our House Representatives, but unfortunately they were in committee meetings elsewhere in the Capitol. As we arrived at Senator Patricia Van Pelt’s office, we were met with more bad news. She was on a conference call and currently unavailable; but, there was a silver lining. We were able to make an appointment to return just 15 minutes later; and when we returned, all ten of us were invited into her office. As the sun came in through the windows behind us and we all introduced ourselves standing tall and proud in our white coats, I knew this moment would be special. We had been joined by a pharmacist who worked at the Illinois Poison Center who began the discussion. As she spoke on their behalf, the emotion came through her words. Her passion was undeniable, and Senator Van Pelt was well aware of her dedication to the poison center as she listened closely. Asking questions and delving deeper into the “2 cent solution”, we knew we had the Senator’s full attention. As the conversation continued and each student spoke on behalf of pharmacists state-wide on issues like vaccinations and biosimilars, I was so proud to be a member of the profession, a member of ICHP, and to be a student at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy.

When we reconvened at the Illinois State Library for the reception, I was pleasantly surprised to learn of the other students’ successes. It seemed like everyone I spoke with had an opportunity to meet with their legislature and felt they had truly made an impact. One student was even invited to return when the legislators were in session to shadow his Senator for the day. The reception was an excellent opportunity to meet face to face with the legislators to discuss further the topics at hand. As the night wore on and buses began to arrive, I let out a sigh of relief. It was so gratifying to know that all of our hard work had paid off and we had made our mark in Springfield.

Rx for Destruction: Combating Prescription Drug Abuse in the Metro East

by Kimberlee Kabbes, P2, President-Elect and Nathan Lindley, P3, ICHP Liaison, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

In the fall of 2013, a group of second and third year students from SIUE School of Pharmacy (SOP) began the process of developing age-specific presentations for students in middle, junior high, and high school to raise awareness of prescription drug misuse and abuse. The project was set up as an Independent Study course titled “Prescription for Destruction” for the Fall 2013 and Spring 2014 semesters under the guidance of co-facilitators Dr. Lisa Lubsch, PharmD, AE-C and Dr. Jessica Kerr, PharmD, CDE. Local enforcement officials, school administrators, education faculty from the university, and lawyers presented and held discussions with the class about ways to approach students in a unique and effective manner.

Students spent time both inside and outside of class designing facilitator guides for three presentations: one for 4th-6th graders (middle school), one for 6th-8th graders (junior high school), and one for 9th-12th graders (high school). These guides included information on learning objectives, presentation purpose, dialogue suggestions, in-depth activity descriptions, and budget information. While the class from the SIUE SOP will have funding from a school-based grant, a majority of the presentations are designed to be of minimal cost for outside facilitators. Currently, 70 presentations are scheduled to be given to all student age groups from March to May in Madison, St. Clair, and Clinton counties in the St. Louis Metro East area. In addition to a proposed 2,500 students who will attend a health fair where the presentations will be given, the SIUE SOP students hope to reach approximately 4,250 students in eight weeks assuming an average of 25 students per class.

The intent of the students and the course facilitators who designed the presentations and guides is to train other SIUE SOP students, in addition to local middle, junior, and high school faculty and administrators in the area. As a result, all trained individuals will be able to utilize the facilitator guides and present to the appropriate age group when there is a need. At the conclusion of the Spring 2014 semester, the presentations and guides will be passed on to APhA-ASP and SSHP student organizations to continue spreading awareness to young individuals in the area.

Officers and Board of Directors

MIKE FOTIS
President
michael.fotis@northwestern.edu

TOM WESTERKAMP
Immediate Past President
224-948-1528
tom_westerkamp@baxter.com

LINDA FRED
President-Elect

217-383-3253
linda.fred@carle.com

GINGER ERTEL
Treasurer
660-342-5022
gertel@msn.com

CAROL HEUNISCH
Secretary
847-933-6811
cheunisch@northshore.org

TRAVIS HUNERDOSSE
Director, Educational Affairs
thunerdo@nmh.org

JENNIFER ELLISON
Director, Marketing Affairs
Jennifer.C.Ellison@osfhealthcare.org

DESI KOTIS
Director, Professional Affairs

312-926-6961
dkotis@nmh.org

KATHY KOMPERDA
Director, Organizational Affairs
630-515-6168
kkompe@midwestern.edu

FRANK KOKAISL
Director, Government Affairs

fkokaisl@amerisourcebergen.com

MIKE WEAVER
Chairman, House of Delegates
815-599-6113
mweaver@fhn.org

ELIZABETH ENGEBRETSON
Technician Representative
815-756-1521x153346
EEngebretson@northshore.org

DAVID TJHIO
Chairman, Committee on Technology
816-885-4649
david.tjhio@cerner.com

DIANA ISAACS
Chairman, New Practitioners Network
disaacs@csu.edu

JACOB GETTIG
Editor & Chairman, KeePosted Committee
630-515-7324 fax: 630-515-6958
jgetti@midwestern.edu

JENNIFER PHILLIPS
Assistant Editor, KeePosted
630-515-7167
jphillips@midwestern.edu

KATHRYN SCHULTZ
Regional Director North

312-926-6961
kathryn_schultz@rush.edu

JENNIFER ARNOLDI
Regional Director Central
jennifer.arnoldi@st-johns.org

EMMA CARROLL
President, Student Chapter
University of IL C.O.P.
emmacarroll620@gmail.com

JULIE BUCEK
Student Chapter Liaison
University of IL C.O.P.
bucek@uic.edu

NADIYAH CHAUDHARY
President, Rockford Student Chapter
University of IL C.O.P.
nadi925@gmail.com

JANEY YU
President, Student Chapter

Midwestern University C.O.P.
janey.yu@mwumail.midwestern.edu

BERNICE MAN
President, Student Chapter
Chicago State University C.O.P.
bman@csu.edu

TRAMAINE HARDIMON
Student Representative
Chicago State University C.O.P
thardimo@csu.edu

ZAK VINSON
President, Student Chapter
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville S.O.P
zvinson@siue.edu

ALEX MERSCH
President, Student Chapter
Roosevelt University C.O.P.
amersch@mail.roosevelt.edu

JENNIFER AGUADO
President, Student Chapter
Rosalind Franklin University C.O.P.
jennifer.aguado@my.rfums.org

SCOTT MEYERS
Executive Vice President, ICHP Office
815-227-9292
scottm@ichpnet.org

ICHP AFFILIATES

PETE ANTONOPOULOS
President, Northern IL Society (NISHP)

1panton@gmail.com

JULIA SCHIMMELPFENNIG
President, Metro East Society (MESHP)
jschimmelpfen@sebh.org

MEGAN METZKE
President, Sangamiss Society
memiller8@yahoo.com

ED RAINVILLE
President, West Central Society (WSHP)
309-655-7331x
ed.c.rainville@osfhealthcare.org

Vacant Roles at Affiliates —
President, Rock Valley Society; Southern IL Society; Sugar Creek Society; Regional Director, South

Welcome New Members!

New Member	Recruiter
Gia McKnight
Jillian Szczesiul	Kevin Colgan
Karen March
Jessica Cottreau
Rosie Nguyen
Fatima Khaja
Jonathan Pawlik
Julia Sapozhnikov
Maeghan Hilliard	David Hensler
Marilyn Gaither
Shubha Bhat
Cheryl Hayes	Joan Hardman
William Pong	Scott Meyers
Andrea Nolan	Jan Kerestes
Christina Reardon	Jan Kerestes
Christina Wright	Jan Kerestes
Shanel Cook	Jan Kerestes
Bridget Hoy

ICHP Pharmacy Action Fund (PAC) Contributors

Names below reflect donations between May 1, 2013 and May 1, 2014. Giving categories reflect each person's cumulative donations since inception.

ADVOCACY ALLIANCE - $2500-$10000
Edward Donnelly

Dave Hicks

Frank Kokaisl

Michael Novario

LINCOLN LEAGUE - $1000-$2499
Scott Bergman
Kevin Colgan
Ginger Ertel

William McEvoy

Scott Meyers
Michael Rajski

Carrie Sincak
Michael Weaver

Patricia Wegner
Thomas Westerkamp

CAPITOL CLUB - $500-$999
Rauf Dalal

Linda Fred

Ann Jankiewicz

Kathy Komperda

Despina Kotis

Mary Lynn Moody

UIC Student Chapter

Jill Warszalek

GENERAL ASSEMBLY GUILD - $250-$499
Margaret Allen

Pete Antonopoulos

Michael Fotis
Janette Mark

Jennifer Phillips
Edward Rainville
Heidi Sunday

SPRINGFIELD SOCIETY - $100-$249
Jennifer Arnoldi

John Esterly

Travis Hunerdosse

Carrie Vogler

Marie Williams

Cindy Wuller

William Wuller

GRASSROOTS GANG - $50-$99
Susan Berg

Jennifer Ellison

Tory Gunderson

Glenna Hargreaves

Robert Hoy

Mike Koronkowski

Evanna Shopoff

Jerry Storm

CONTRIBUTOR - $1-$49

John Chaney

Irvin Laubscher

Zakarri Vinson

Izabela Wozniak

Click here to make a donation to the PAC.

Upcoming Events

Visit the ICHP Calendar for the most up-to-date events!

Tuesday, May 6

NPN Cubs Game
Wrigley Field | Chicago, IL

Wednesday, May 7 at 12:00pm & Thursday, May 15 at 3:00pm

Champion Webinar: Impact of pharmacist involvement in the transitional care of high-risk patients through medication reconciliation, medication education, and post-discharge callbacks
LIVE Webinar

Tuesday, May 20

NISHP Double Feature (separate registration required for each part)

Part 1 - Non-CPE Program: Iron Deficiency Anemia - Prevalence, Diagnosis and Treatment

Part 2 - CPE Program: Updates in Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Risk Management
Maggiano's | Oakbrook Terrace, IL

Wednesday, May 21

Pharmacy Directors Network Dinner
Via Carducci | Chicago, IL

Tuesday, July 1

Deadline for submissions 2014 Best Practice Award

Thursday, September 11 - 13

ICHP 2014 Annual Meeting

Drury Lane | Oakbrook Terrace, IL

Print Entire Issue

November 2021

KeePosted Info

Features

The Future of Pharmacy

Spring Meeting Highlights Who Moved My (Grilled) Cheese?

Important Update: Change to your Continuing Pharmacy Education (CPE) Credit Submissions CPE Monitor CPE processing deadlines will now be enforced!

A Request to be Bold

Columns

President's Message What Kind of Pharmacist are You Going to Be?

Directly Speaking What do you do when you don’t know what you don’t know?

Leadership Profile Carrie Vogler, PharmD, BCPS

The GAS From Springfield The (Slow) Beat Goes On!

ICHPeople

Educational Affairs Brief Abstracts of the Winning Poster Presentations and the Selected Platform Presentations for the ICHP 2014 Spring Meeting

New Practitioners Network Advance Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) Orientation

College Connections

Switching Roles: Being the Patient

Legislative Day

Rx for Destruction: Combating Prescription Drug Abuse in the Metro East

More

Officers and Board of Directors

Welcome New Members!

ICHP Pharmacy Action Fund (PAC) Contributors

Upcoming Events

Spring Meeting Highlights
Who Moved My (Grilled) Cheese?

Important Update: Change to your Continuing Pharmacy Education (CPE) Credit Submissions
CPE Monitor CPE processing deadlines will now be enforced!

President's Message
What Kind of Pharmacist are You Going to Be?

Directly Speaking
What do you do when you don’t know what you don’t know?

Leadership Profile
Carrie Vogler, PharmD, BCPS

The GAS From Springfield
The (Slow) Beat Goes On!

Educational Affairs
Brief Abstracts of the Winning Poster Presentations and the Selected Platform Presentations for the ICHP 2014 Spring Meeting

New Practitioners Network
Advance Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) Orientation