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Background: Patients with substance use disorders are often encountered in an acute care setting and withdrawal management is important. Available literature reveals inadequate acute management of substance withdrawal due to lack of experience and knowledge of medications. Methods: A quality improvement project was implemented to improve hospital pharmacists' knowledge, application, and practice of inpatient opioid and alcohol withdrawal management through provision of didactic and case-based education and implementation of practice based prospective drug utilization review (PDUR). Pharmacists' knowledge of the management of alcohol and opioid withdrawal was assessed by a 10-item survey pre-and post-intervention. Results: Twenty-one pharmacists completed the education and pre- and post-surveys. Scores for the 21 pharmacists improved significantly, with pre- and post-intervention scores of 7.33 ± 1.98 and 8.86 ± 0.91, respectively (P =.0035). Most pharmacists completed their required PDUR submission, and several pharmacist interventions were made and accepted post-education. Pharmacists indicated that the education increased their confidence and enabled them to learn new information that could be directly applied to their pharmacy practice. Conclusion: Providing education and requiring a PDUR improved pharmacists' knowledge, application, and practice of inpatient opioid and alcohol withdrawal management. Re-education or expanded education may be warranted to further increase pharmacists' competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Interprofessional education for collaborative practice is an important innovation globally and in US health professions education. The recent spotlight on interprofessional education in the United States was launched by a series of reports in the US Institute of Medicine''s Quality Chasm series. They raised concerns over medical errors and health care quality as significant sources of morbidity and mortality in the United States and proposed health professions'' education for patient-centered, team-based care as one means to address these concerns. Starting in 2007, binational, biennial conferences on interprofessional education have been held to synergize interprofessional education developments in the United States and Canada. In 2011, Collaborating Across Borders III, in Tucson, Arizona, drew 750 participants from 11 countries. The conference focused on interprofessional competency frameworks; strategies for preparing students for interprofessional practice; tailoring of learning environments for interprofessional education; and developing policy, infrastructure, culture, and faculty leadership for interprofessional education. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Introduction: Our objectives were to describe pharmacist perceptions of training and preparation to prescribe hormonal contraception (HC), identify training gaps, and elicit preferred training methods., Methods: In this cross-sectional survey, pharmacists in the United States (US) completed an online 29-item survey. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze responses., Results: Of 823 participating pharmacists, 58% felt they received adequate training to prescribe HC. Prescribing any medications within the last five years or completion of residency training were significantly associated with more participants feeling adequately trained. Of those who indicated HC was not covered in their pharmacy school curriculum, most (78%) felt they were either not adequately trained or unsure. Only 36% were aware of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention US Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use (CDC MEC). Residency-trained pharmacists were statistically more likely to have used the CDC MEC and feel comfortable prescribing for adolescents. Most participants desired more training about switching between products (80%) and patient specific product selection (72%). Preferred methods for additional training were basic (