The link to the podcast in iTunes is here.Episode 1: The Next Step in Upstairs Care, DownstairsShow Notes:The research and evidence for emergency medicine pharmacists is out there in mass quantity. The ASHP Emergency Care section has done the most complete collection of the existing data and links to the manuscripts.(http://www.ashp.org/emergencycare)Selected citations:Medication errors occur in up to 60% of ED patients - Patanwala AE, Warholak TL, Sanders AB, et al. A prospective observational study of medication [...]

Drug delivery has always been a fascinating subject for me. Some of us may take for granted the countless hours dedicated toward the research, design, and development of new drugs and delivery systems in order to optimize the ability for a drug is able to reach its site of action; essentially, to make sure that the drug that we think will work will actually "do its thing." One such mechanism of enhancing drug delivery is [...]

Part of my responsibility as a pharmacist for the ED includes reviewing medication-related incident reports. I recently came across one case in which a nurse administered 0.3 mg of 1:1000 epinephrine for an anaphylactic reaction by the intravenous (IV) route instead of the intended intramuscular (IM) route. The nurse that gave the medication immediately recognized the error, called the ED attending physician to the bedside, and the patient was closely monitored until the effects of [...]

Pharmacists exist in somewhat of a gray area in terms of the care of emergency department patients. In no other environment are pharmacists generally absent in the medication use process as in emergency departments. Yet, the very nature of the atmosphere of emergency medicine can produce significant and unnoticed medication errors. As pharmacists practicing in the emergency department, we tend to have a different point of view from other clinicians on the team. While the [...]