AuBurn LTC | 2024 Q2 Newsletter

Welcome!

AuBurn Pharmacy has relaunched its quarterly newsletter. Please reach out to our team if you have subjects you would like us to discuss in future issues.

Vaccine Team to the Rescue!

We know keeping up to date with resident vaccinations can be challenging, and vaccination status is a concern often arising in recent surveys.

AuBurn Pharmacy has a vaccine team dedicated to help your residents remain up to date. Our pharmacists are able to bill for and administer the following vaccines: influenza, pneumococcal, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), varicella zoster (shingles), and coronavirus-19 (COVID-19). (Exceptions: We are not able to bill or administer vaccinations to patients on Medicare Part A stay or who are on Medicaid only.)

Please email vaccines@auburnpharmacies.com with any vaccination needs you have in your building. Our dedicated team will take it from there!

Email Correspondence and IT Issues

We have been made aware that occasionally emails from consultant pharmacists (or other AuBurn staff) are not reaching their intended recipients, often going to Junk or Spam folders instead.

Please take a moment to check your “safe list” (aka “allowed list”) to allow inclusion of all emails with a closing of “auburnpharmacies.com.” If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to your company’s IT department. Timely receipt of our correspondence, particularly recommendations and summary reports from your consultant pharmacists – is vital

Directors of Nursing (SNF) or Resident Care Coordinators (ALF), please consider setting a recurring monthly (if SNF) or quarterly (if ALF) appointment reminding you to check for these consultant pharmacist reports and ensure they were received and processed appropriately. This may help catch an email that was mishandled or missed.

Diclofenac – Do The Dose Card

Diclofenac is a topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID). Unlike other topical agents like Biofreeze, the directions cannot simply say, “apply to area”. The prescriber should: 1) name the area(s) to be applied, 2) name the amount to be applied there, 3) name the frequency of application, and the order should state “maximum of 32 grams total (including ALL body areas) in a 24 hour period”. Then, your team needs to use the enclosed dosing card to ensure correct application. It should look something like this:

Survey Trends

Just an informal list of things we have seen surveyors hitting hard on annual survey:

• PRIME THOSE (INSULINS) PENS! Please send a bulletin now out to all nursing staff reminding them that insulin pens should be primed prior to administration. If they have any questions about a particular pen, they can access the package insert on the manufacturer or FDA website that should walk them through the process. Contact your consultant pharmacist if there are further questions.