In this opening general session entitled "The Facts on Growing Your Practice-Separating from the Pack" the speaker will encourage the attendees to view the recent CMS "separation (of consulting and dispensing services) rule" as an opportunity to improve patient care, work effectively as part of an interdisciplinary team, and engage in ethics based entrepreneurialism. Basic business and patient centered care tenets will be reviewed and the vast opportunities that are ahead for consultant pharmacists will be discussed.

Come update your knowledge of new pharmaceuticals that have recently been released or will be released in the near future. This candid and informative presentation will also highlight key features of the new drugs and discuss their role within currently available therapies. A highly appreciated and attended session so come early for seating.

After many years of lobbying Congress, many pharmacists are now left wondering whatever happened to provider status advocacy. As a result, the last year has seen a groundswell of grassroots advocacy among pharmacists across the country advocating for provider status so that pharmacists can be eligible for Medicare Part B reimbursement for clinical cognitive services. There is growing concern that the national pharmacy societies have abandoned these efforts when in fact, these advocacy efforts are in the midst of a major overhaul. This presentation will demystify provider status advocacy as well as identify the challenges and opportunities in front of us.

Pharmacies and long-term care facilities continue to face economic challenges. This session will focus on opportunities for creating value between pharmacies and LTC facilities, including joint ventures, affiliations, exclusive and partnering arrangements and the provision of value-add services, including EMARS, remote dispensing, and technology transfer deals, while minimizing risk under fraud and abuse laws, including the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act. This session will also focus on enforcement trends, hot button issues for the government and what's ahead for this industy in enforcement.

The science of pharmacogenomics has made significant progress in the past decade since the mapping of The Human Genome, and many of these biomarkers and genetic tests have now been included on FDA-approved drug labeling. Ethical, social, legal, and economic challenges of translating pharmacogenomics into clinical practice will be discussed. What should the prescriber/healthcare professional know about this emerging science and its implication for geriatric medicine?

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is ushering in sweeping changes. Value based pricing is coming through the affordable care organizations (ACOs)and unnecessary hospital readmissions costs are targeted with punishing payment penalties. What do the changes mean for pharmacy providers competing for market share? How can / should we position ourselves to compete? This program will look at critical transition points , and consider how pharmacy providers can and should align themselves to compete and win. Among the areas we will consider: " Alignment with upstream referral sources strategic and tactical " Establishing, demonstrating and communicating value within the service chain

Patients with diabetes constitute some of the most medically complex patients in nursing facilities. They usually have existing macro and micro-vascular complications, are prone to frequent infections, cardiovascular events, injurious falls, electrolyte disturbances, cognitive impairment, weight fluctuations and hypoglycemia. This presentation will address the medical complexities and vulnerabilities of frail elders with diabetes in the long-term setting, examine the evidence for goals of glycemic control in this population, and present best practices from the AMDA Clinical Practice Guidelines and other sources.

The session will provide an update on the newer anticoagulants: a summary of the literature on their FDA-approved indications, brief pharmacology, and the dosing and monitoring guidelines. Brief cases will exemplify management and monitoring with these newer medications as compared to warfarin.

This session will review the impact of low health literacy in the geriatric population and medication adherence. We will review various assessment tools for low health literacy such as the short REALMS. Also this session will look at some pharmacists interventions to improve medication adherence based on low health literacy in geriatric patients living independently or in Assisted Living Facilities (ALF) including assessing polypharmacy using the ARMOR method.

Some studies show that up to 25% of geriatric patients use natural products for a variety of health conditions. Each year more and more data is available assessing the efficacy and safety issues of natural products. It is important for pharmacists who work with geriatric patients to be aware of the risks and benefits of natural product use in this special population, because just like prescription medication, geriatric patients may be at more risk for safety issues from these products. This presentation will review natural product use in geriatric patient populations, how natural products are regulated, and the safety and efficacy of natural products advertised for common geriatric health concerns including cardiovascular, health memory, and pain. Active learning strategies will be utilized to increase participants interest and learning.

Pruritus is considered to be one of the most common skin complaints seen by clinicians treating the geriatric population. It severely impairs qualilty of life in the elderly and often resolves slowly. It has debilitating effects such as sleep impairment and depression consistent with life threatining disease. Subjects are as clinically depressed with pruritus they are with cancer and cardiovascular disease. The elderly have unique skin problems and react differently to skin treatments than the overall population. In long term care facilities, patients with chronic itch require much clinician time for its diagnosis, classifiction, management and treatment. We feel that this presentation will assist clinicians in the management of these patients. In the long term care sector, patients and families have difficulty understanding why repeated complaints of itch remain unresolved. This presentation provides methodology for clinicians dealing with this common problem in Geriatrics.

This presentation provides an excellent opportunity to gain a comprehensive review of drug-induced movement disorders for both new practitioners and experienced clinicians alike. Utilize movement disorder rating scales to be able to recognize and evaluate the signs and symptoms of pseudoparkinsonism, akathisia, and tardive dyskinesia. Hone your clinical assessment skills with DISCUS expert John Kalachnik, MEd offering application of concepts via cases.

Do you feel you need a refresher on basic geriatrics and geriatric pharmacotherapy? This session is an introduction to aging and care of older adults. Topics include the demographics of aging in the United States, physiological changes associated with aging, goals of drug therapy in older adults, and the philosophy of person-centered care. Clinical practice guidelines will be discussed, reviewing benefits and risks of CPGs in the older adult population. Come whether you are new to geriatric care or just need a fresh look at the issues and answers.

The Beers Criteria of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in the elderly have been an important tool in geriatric clinical practice and quality measurement. Last updated in 2003, there had been concern that the criteria were becoming outdated. In 2011, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) convened an expert panel to update the criteria using an evidence-based approach. This session will describe the background of the Beers criteria and the process used to update them. The speakers, all members of the expert panel, will discuss how each PIMs statement was reviewed and graded based on the quality of the evidence and strength of the recommendation. Major changes to the criteria will be presented. A case example will be used to illustrate how the new criteria may be used in clinical practice. The attendee will benefit by learning about the new criteria from members of the expert panel. They will gain an understanding about why certain medications were included or excluded.

Do you need a refresher on, or maybe even an introduction to, basic geriatrics and geriatric pharmacotherapy? A follow on to Geriatrics 101, but stand alone, this session will focus on the risk of adverse drug events in older adults. Geriatric syndromes, potentially inappropriate medications, and the prescribing cascade will also be addressed. Come to this core basics session whether you are new to geriatrics or just need a fresh look at the issues and answers.

This activity will build upon basic principles discussed in the previous sessions. Case studies will be used to illustrate review of the drug regimen in the older adult. Emphasis will be on identifying and resolving medication-related problems in older adults. Come to this activity to apply what you learned,either in the morning sessions or during your career of caring for older adults.

Controlled substance abuse is a major public health and law enforcement problem domestically. The federal agency charged with regulating these drugs is the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Understanding DEA's requirements and enforcement efforts are important to preventing regulatory violations. The session will include a discussion of the regulations and how to balance serving patient needs while reducing the risk of regulatory violations. At this session, we will explore current and emerging issues in the regulation of controlled substances, including, but not limited to: Legislative update and the impact on pharmacy. The agencies' regulatory framework of controlled substances, including DEA's authority. Identification of controlled substance diversion, DEA s investigations, what DEA looks for during an investigation? How can pharmacy provide patients with legitimate medical needs, controlled substances, while operating within the regulatory requirements?

Interests and awareness of the mechanisms of drug interactions within the cytochrome P450 (CYP450) system and regarding drug transport proteins has recently increased. The ability to identify pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic drug interactions in the elderly is essential in providing safe and effective pharmacotherapy. This session will include a brief discussion of the pathophysiology of the geriatric patient that may lead to an increased risk of adverse drug reactions and drug interactions; a general overview of the principles of drug interactions; and some common examples of drug interactions in the elderly. Attendees will benefit by gaining a better understanding of drug interactions and available resources that may help them in practice. In this hands-on workshop, attendees will review patient cases and identify clinically important drug interactions requiring an intervention.

The session will begin with an overview of ASCP s 2012 legislative and regulatory agenda, and how the society is influencing healthcare policy on Capitol Hill and within the federal bureaucracy system. The audience will also learn about the status of the CMS regulatory proposal for requiring consultant pharmacist services to be financially independent from certain business relationships. The session will then conclude with an overview of opportunities for ASCP members to engage in advocacy at the local level to advance the profession and secure the future of consultant and senior care pharmacy practice

Two programs implemented at Texas Southern University target minority seniors with hypertension and/or diabetes utilizing the Patient Centered Medical Home Model. One program is culturally sensitive and targets African American, Asian American, and Hispanic independent seniors with diabetes and/or hypertension who reside in public housing facilities. Pharmacists trained in motivational interviewing provide individual home visits and telephone calls, while community health educators facilitate group sessions on lifestyle modifications. The other program aims to manage medication adherence in independent African American hypertensive seniors through pharmacist home visits, bi-monthly phone calls, follow-up home visits, and the provision of home blood pressure monitors. This lecture will discuss how the PCMH can be used with other strategies by pharmacists to impact medication management in minority seniors, and discuss the results and lessons learned from the two programs.

This session will provide the consultant pharmacist with a new approach to identifying risk for falls and how to tailor one s recommendation when a fall occurs in an older patient. Strategies for reducing fall risk will be critically examined and the role of non-pharmacological risk reduction strategies will be explored. In addition, pharmaceutical risk reduction strategies will be presented and highlighted using a case-based approach. At the completion of this session, the consultant pharmacist will never view Humpty-Dumpty and his plight quite the same ever again.

Arizona has had a collaborative practice law on the books since 2000, but there were challenges and only 5 pharmacists in the state had a collaborative practice agreement in place. In the summer of 2011, the law was completely rewritten to allow pharmacists in any practice setting to participate. Arizona s past, present, and future of collaborative practice will be discussed, including how audience members can apply what was learned in Arizona s process to their own states and practice settings

This session will focus on developing a process to consolidate med administration times in the LTC setting, working toward a BID Med Pass schedule. Highlighted will be the role of the consultant pharmacist in a collaborative approach and will offer step by step guidance for successfully implementing a clinically safe process. The workshop will include a discussion of the benefits of consolidation, eg. minimizing patient interruptions , lessening nursing time with med pass activities, increasing nursing time for direct patient care and reducing unnecessary medications. Positive outcomes from a currently successful program will be explored. Benefits for the workshop participant include learning of a new and different value added service offering that will result in positive outcomes for his/her customer.