Fast Facts Medication Adherence

Helping your patients to use their medications safely and appropriately is a critical aspect of clinical practice, but it can be challenging. The published literature on the topic of adherence is vast, and constantly growing and evolving. It is not feasible, nor necessarily helpful, to comprehensively summarize all the available evidence. Instead, this book aims to provide all health professionals with a succinct and handy resource on medication adherence. Importantly, the book focuses on practical information that can inform, and be applied in, day-to-day clinical practice. Table of Contents: • Terminology and definitions • Epidemiology • Identifying non-adherence • Interventions to support adherence

Helping your patients to use their medications safely and appropriately is a critical aspect of clinical practice, but it can be challenging. The published literature on the topic of adherence is vast, and constantly growing and evolving. It is not feasible, nor necessarily helpful, to comprehensively summarize all the available evidence. Instead, this book aims to provide all health professionals with a succinct and handy resource on medication adherence. Importantly, the book focuses on practical information that can inform, and be applied in, day-to-day clinical practice. Table of Contents: • Terminology and definitions • Epidemiology • Identifying non-adherence • Interventions to support adherence

Written for physicians, nurses, physician assistants, case managers, and clinical pharmacists, this pioneering book is the first of its kind devoted to the delicate interface between clinical interviewing and medication adherence. Shawn Christopher Shea, MD takes the reader on a compelling and eminently practical exploration of how our words powerfully impact on whether or not patients are interested in taking medications and staying on them. Dr. Shea shares over forty specific interviewing techniques that are equally useful for medications for all disease states from hypertension, diabetes, and CHF to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The interviewing tips—brilliantly illustrated with their exact phrasings and all of their clinical nuances—were culled by Dr. Shea from the input of the thousands of front-line clinicians who have attended his popular workshops on "improving medication interest" given throughout the United States and Canada at over 200 locations. Improving Medication Adherence: How to Talk with Patients About Their Medications is a standout favorite with medical and nursing students in their "Introduction to Clinical Skills" courses because of its immediate practicality, eloquent yet disarmingly witty writing style, and remarkable brevity. It is equally appreciated by seasoned clinicians with years of experience who, as Dr. Shea writes, are keenly aware that "our science is always at its best, when it is held in the hands of compassion and enhanced by clinical skill."

This report is based on an exhaustive review of the published literature on the definitions, measurements, epidemiology, economics and interventions applied to nine chronic conditions and risk factors.

This timely resource is the first handbook to give nurse practitioners guidance to prescribe, monitor, assess, educate, and advocate for patients taking psychiatric medications and promote safe practice outcomes. Written in a concise, bulleted style for quick access to critical information, this practical resource covers the key aspects of psychotropic medications used in general psychiatry, offers strategies to simplify medication decision-making, and provides evidence-based best practice recommendations to select and manage psychotropic medications. This resource begins with an overview of general pharmacological principles, a brief discussion of neurotransmitters, and covers rationale for medication use and the risks and benefits of the major classes of psychotropic medications. This is followed by information about common drugs across drug classes divided by age population. Each drug includes initial dosing and adjustments, simplified diagnostic criteria, practice management, rationale for use, black box warnings, drug interactions, identification of side effects and adverse reactions, basic lab test recommendations, treatment options, and self-management strategies. The book ends with important concepts for patient and/or caregiver education and advocacy. Tables and "Fast Facts" boxes throughout highlight key information. Chapters begin with learning objectives and include references, website resources, and recommendations for additional reading. Key Features: Follows a lifespan approach to psychiatric mental health pharmacology Provides population-specific treatment approaches for optimal medical decision-making Highlights critical information with "Fast Facts" boxes Delivers essential knowledge included in board certification exams Contains critical-thinking questions in each chapter to reinforce content

Among the many who serve in the United States Armed Forces and who are deployed to distant locations around the world, myriad health threats are encountered. In addition to those associated with the disruption of their home life and potential for combat, they may face distinctive disease threats that are specific to the locations to which they are deployed. U.S. forces have been deployed many times over the years to areas in which malaria is endemic, including in parts of Afghanistan and Iraq. Department of Defense (DoD) policy requires that antimalarial drugs be issued and regimens adhered to for deployments to malaria-endemic areas. Policies directing which should be used as first and as second-line agents have evolved over time based on new data regarding adverse events or precautions for specific underlying health conditions, areas of deployment, and other operational factors At the request of the Veterans Administration, Assessment of Long-Term Health Effects of Antimalarial Drugs When Used for Prophylaxis assesses the scientific evidence regarding the potential for long-term health effects resulting from the use of antimalarial drugs that were approved by FDA or used by U.S. service members for malaria prophylaxis, with a focus on mefloquine, tafenoquine, and other antimalarial drugs that have been used by DoD in the past 25 years. This report offers conclusions based on available evidence regarding associations of persistent or latent adverse events.

Technology is changing how we practice medicine. Sensors and wearables are getting smaller and cheaper, and algorithms are becoming powerful enough to predict medical outcomes. Yet despite rapid advances, healthcare lags behind other industries in truly putting these technologies to use. A major barrier is the cross-disciplinary approach required to create digital tools, a process that requires knowledge from many people across a range of fields. 'Fast Facts: Digital Medicine – Measurement' aims to overcome that barrier, introducing the reader to core concepts and terms and facilitating dialogue. Contrasting 'clinical research' with routine 'clinical care', this short colorful book describes types of digital measurement and how to use and validate digital measures in different settings. And with the burgeoning development of digital medicine tools, the authors provide a timely overview of the security, ethical, regulatory and legal issues to be considered before a product can enter the market. Contents: • What is digital medicine? • Where does digital medicine fit? • Regulatory considerations • Ethical principles and our responsibilities • Ethics in practice • Security, data rights and governance • Digital biomarkers and clinical outcomes • Measurement in clinical trials • Verification and validation • The future of digital medicine

To maintain their own health and the health of their families and communities, consumers rely heavily on the health information that is available to them. This information is at the core of the partnerships that patients and their families forge with today's complex modern health systems. This information may be provided in a variety of forms â€" ranging from a discussion between a patient and a health care provider to a health promotion advertisement, a consent form, or one of many other forms of health communication common in our society. Yet millions of Americans cannot understand or act upon this information. To address this problem, the field of health literacy brings together research and practice from diverse fields including education, health services, and social and cultural sciences, and the many organizations whose actions can improve or impede health literacy. Health Literacy: Prescription to End Confusion examines the body of knowledge that applies to the field of health literacy, and recommends actions to promote a health literate society. By examining the extent of limited health literacy and the ways to improve it, we can improve the health of individuals and populations.