Today we will talk with Dr. Cherry Jackson, professor of pharmacy at Auburn University’s Harrison School of Pharmacy and clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurobiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Jackson will discuss everything about mental health from what it is, how to help to manage it, and the role that COVID-19 has played in worsening mental health. We’ll also introduce you to the new emergency phone number to dial in the case of a mental health emergency… 9-8-8! 

We will continue on the second and final part of our Pharmacy In Peril: What’s Really Happening Behind the Counter Series as now we will learn from a front line pharmacist how these fees and reimbursement models from drug insurance companies, in particular the pharmacy benefit managers otherwise known as PBMs, are causing pharmacy services to suffer and overall your safety as the patient is at risk! Today we bring back Dr. Patrick Devereux, pharmacy manager and company president of Family Medical Services, Inc. which is comprised of four independent pharmacies in central AL as he gives us an unfortunate update how the current payment structure from PBMs mostly related to DIR fees are doing since the last time he spoke with us in 2020 and showcases to us what the DIR hangover of 2024 is all about. These fees have only gotten worse and continue to rob pharmacies of services and rob patients of appropriate care.  

Community pharmacy practice has been in the news quite a bit lately due to walkouts happening across the nation. Tensions are also rising about the decade long flawed payment scheme in our nation, initiated by drug insurance companies, which is paying pharmacies less than what it costs pharmacies to dispense the medication. This backward business takes away significant dollars from pharmacies and has already led to many pharmacy closures over the years… putting patient safety and your individual health at risk! Today we bring in the current chief executive officer and executive vice president of the American Pharmacists Association, Dr. Michael Hogue, as part of special two part series sharing perspectives and expertise on the status of community practice today and how these fees and payment structures from PBMs are causing serious side effects to pharmacies near you which will affect all of us if the problem is not fixed in time. 

Tune in as Dr. Allison Hill, Pharm.D., RPh, director of Practice and Professional Affairs at the American Pharmacist Association (APhA), discusses the triple virus threat– COVID-19, RSV and flu– that you may encounter when returning back to school or back to the office this fall, as well as what defenses you can employ to protect yourself and others from these bugs! She also discusses the latest updates on the COVID-19 vaccine, including the new variant vaccine coming out later this month, along with the importance of receiving an annual flu vaccine. She will also give us information on a brand new, recently approved RSV vaccine that is now available for public use and can be easily obtained from your healthcare provider or local pharmacy. 

In this month's episode, host Anthony Bolus talks to Maryam Iranikhah, Pharm.D., BCGP, FASCP, a professor at Samford University’s McWhorter School of Pharmacy. Together, they discuss everything you need to know about vitamins essential to boosting immune health in the fight against COVID-19 and other viruses, including vitamin D, Vitamin C and Zinc.

In this month's episode, we bring back Michael Hogue, an alumnus of Samford's McWhorter School of Pharmacy and dean of Loma Linda University’s School of Pharmacy in Loma Linda, California. He currently serves as president of the American Pharmacists Association, and he brings his expertise as a member of the CDC’s COVID-19 vaccine work group to help us understand these vaccines in more depth: What is myth vs. what is fact related to them? What adverse reactions people can expect between dose 1 and 2, and why it is important to lift the sleeve and get the shot?

When caring for children, there are unique challenges, including dosage form, flavoring, patient cooperation and education. In this month's episode of Healthy Dose, host Anthony Bolus talks to Sam Blakemore, Pharm.D, M.B.A., the pharmacist manager at PedsRx Pharmacy Solutions, which is an independent pharmacy located within Children’s of Alabama. He shares some tried and true tips and tricks related to children’s medications.

In this episode of Healthy Dose, host Anthony Bolus talks to Jan Kavookjian, Ph.D., M.B.A., a behavior scientist teaching at Auburn University’s Harrison School of Pharmacy and the incoming President-Elect of the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists (ADCES). November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, and millions of Americans are diagnosed with diabetes and pre-diabetes each year. Left undiagnosed or untreated, it can increase one's risk of heart attack, kidney disease, blindness and nerve damage to the feet—not to mention the large health cost burden to you and the overall health care system. One important and overlooked aspect of managing diabetes is the benefit of healthy lifestyle education programs. In their conversation, Bolus and Kavookjian, who also teaches patients through East Alabama Medical Center’s National Diabetes Prevention Program, discuss what lifestyle change programs are available in the fight against diabetes.

October is American Pharmacists Month. In this episode, we shine a light on an issue affecting many pharmacists called DIR Fees. These penalties have exponentially increased over the years, adding economic stress to community pharmacists across the country. Not only is this threat very real for pharmacy closings, but your overall safety as a patient is at risk as well. Host Anthony Bolus talks to Patrick Devereux, Pharm.D., RPh, pharmacy manager and president of Family Medical Services, INC. which is comprised of four independent pharmacies in central Alabama, and goes into further details on DIR fees, how they are calculated and why they are problematic today.

In this episode, Anthony Bolus talks to Michael Hogue, Pharm.D., FAPhA, FNAP, dean of Loma Linda University's School of Pharmacy and president of the American Pharmacists Association. Hogue serves on the COVID-19 Vaccine Workgroup with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and together, Bolus and Hogue discuss potential treatment strategies for COVID-19 and the types of vaccines that may be coming soon.