Editorial: Kudos to the IJPC CNL and its' Moderator
I would like to express my deep appreciation to Lisa Ashworth, RPh, moderator of the IJPC Compounding Network Listserv, for her hard work and dedication this past week in bringing the resources of the CNL to aid in providing needed medications to those impacted by Hurricane Katrina. As you may or may not know, Lisa "lives and breathes" the CNL, even while on vacation she has her laptop with her to keep it going.
During the past week or so, there were well over 30 posts directly related to activities in providing needed pharmaceuticals to those involved. It is really difficult to calculate the value of these pharmaceuticals but maybe we can follow up with that later. We are just appreciative of all those that have participated in this tremendous effort and what we have all learned from it.
Things are a lot different now than they were during the dustbowl days of the 1930s when tens of thousands of people and families were displaced from the Midwest (Okies and Arkies) due to the natural disaster, drought (heat, no rain, and wind). Back then, there were no government programs, no communications and nobody really to help. These families were left on their own to starve, relocate, or do whatever they could to survive. In fact, one state actually set up a "barrier" and their police would turn these families away and not let the families move into their state. If you want to learn more of the tragic situation back then, see the September 7, 2005 issue of the Wall Street Journal, page B1. We have come a long way in the last 70 years as is evidenced by the outpouring of help from local, state and federal government agencies as well as from individuals and private industry from all over the world. It has been quite evident that one of the major factors in responding to disasters is "communications".
The CNL is the only mechanism in pharmacy today where all pharmacists that so choose can be in instant communication almost simultaneously with each other. This rapid, simultaneous two-way communication cannot really be done using telephone calls, fax machines, regular e-mails, etc. because most of those are "one-way" communications. They are great for notifications and many organizations are using them to their advantage today. However, with the CNL, pharmacists can discuss topics back and forth and everyone is aware of what is going on together, in real-time.
I would love to see a second "emergency CNL", or "emergency list serve (ELS)" to be established in case of an emergency. All pharmacists with an e-mail address and with their permission, would be placed into this ELS system. It would only be activated in the event of an emergency and with monthly checks of the system to confirm it is in working order; much like the television or radio emergency broadcast systems except without the audio. Surely, one e-mail per month is not asking too much to confirm the operation of this new system. This way, no one would be inundated with e-mails but the system will be ready to go at the touch of a few keys to almost instantaneously bring it into action. In so doing, pharmaceutical assistance can be more organized and ready to go when needed. Is this feasible? I think so. It will take effort by at least one additional key organization but it can be done. More on this later.
In summary, IJPC wishes to thank all who have helped, and continue to help, in these disaster relief efforts. Pharmacists are special people... ...Thank You!
Loyd V. Allen, Jr., Ph.D., R.Ph
Editor-in-Chief |
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This week at CompoundingToday citations and abstracts representing stability articles and articles about PDA software were included in the literature database. Here are a few of the more than 30 citations that were uploaded related to these topics:
- Bempong DK, Manning RG, Mirza T et al. A stability-indicating HPLC assay for metronidazole benzoate. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2005; 38(): 776-780.
- Essink-Tjebbes CM, Burger DM, Beelen M et al. Long-term stability of morphine and bupivacaine mixture for spinal use. Pharm World Sci 1999; 21(3): 144-146.
- Giannellini V, Salvatore F, Bartolucci G et al. A validated HPLC stability-indicating method for the determination of diacerhein in bulk drug substance. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2005; 39(3-4): 776-780.
- Hecq JD, Boitquin LP, Vanbeckbergen DF et al. Effect of the freezing conditions and microwave thawing power on the stability of cefuroxime in dextrose 5% infusion polyolefin bags at 4 degrees C. Ann Pharmacother 2005; 39(7-8): 1244-1248.
- Keplar KE, Urbanski CJ, Kania DS. Update on personal digital assistant applications for the healthcare provider. Ann Pharmacother 2005; 39(5): 892-907.
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This Regulatory Update has been provided by the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists. For more information, www.iacprx.org.
District Court Rules in Favor of FDA
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