October 13, 2015

101415takeback640Do you have any unwanted, unused or expired medications lingering in your medicine cabinet? Old prescription and over-the-counter pills left around the house can become a health and safety hazard, especially for small children and pets who may accidently get ahold of them.

To ensure the safe disposal of these medications, Texas Children’s Pharmacy Department will host the Medication “Take Back” Program from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, October 19, at The Auxiliary Bridge. There will be drop-off boxes to safely dispose unwanted and expired medications.

“Medication safety has always been our priority,” said Brooke Bernhardt, assistant director of Clinical Services and Outcomes in the Department of Pharmacy. “Any time we can eliminate preventable harm, it’s a win-win situation for our employees, their families and the patients we serve.”

The Take Back Program coincides with National Pharmacy Week, and this year’s theme is “Be a Hero, Aim for Zero,” which reflects our Pharmacy Department’s commitment to eliminating medication errors.

The Auxiliary Bridge event will feature fun activities and prizes for the children geared towards medication safety and poison control, educational information about our Pharmacy Department and the research activities they are involved in, and a showcase of pharmacy technology that’s helping our staff eliminate medication administration errors.

As part of this year’s “Be a Hero, Aim for Zero” theme, two pharmacy employees will dress up as super heroes to greet patients and their families, and the children can get their pictures taken with them.

April 7, 2015

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4815pharmacyinside640Texas Children’s draws roughly 100 therapeutic drug levels per day to examine the presence and the amount of specific drugs in the bloodstream of children. These levels determine how well a patient’s body breaks down the drug and how it interacts with other medications.

“With most medications, you need a certain level of drug in your bloodstream to obtain the desired effect,” said Brady Moffett, a clinical pharmacy specialist at Texas Children’s. “Some medications are harmful if the level rises too high and some do not work if the levels are too low.”

To promote quality improvement and to continue to ensure the safety of our patients, Texas Children’s Department of Pharmacy and Clinical Chemistry Service in the Department of Pathology have produced an online, comprehensive guide to help clinicians monitor the therapeutic drug levels in a patient’s bloodstream to ensure they are within a safe and effective range.

Drug level testing is especially important in children taking certain medications to treat health problems like abnormal heart rhythms, diabetes, epileptic seizures and bacterial infections, as well as organ transplant patients who must take immunosuppressant drugs during their lifetime.

Produced specifically for pediatrics, Texas Children’s 92-page therapeutic drug monitoring guide is the first of its kind produced at a children’s hospital and represents a multidisciplinary collaboration among our physicians, pharmacists and laboratory personnel.

“We worked extensively with specialists across multiple service lines to gather their input and expertise to bring this project to fruition,” Moffett said.

Moffett co-edited the therapeutic drug monitoring manual with Dr. Sridevi Devaraj, director of Clinical Chemistry and Point of Care Testing at Texas Children’s.

“The online version of this manual will be updated in real time as new drugs and technologies emerge,” Devaraj said. “It will provide us with better guidance on how to safely adjust the proper dosage of medications to meet our patients’ individual medical needs.”

Click here to access Texas Children’s Guide to Therapeutic Drug Monitoring.