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'Herbal Insights' Debuts on PBS TV Series
The
American Botanical Council (ABC), America's leading nonprofit herbal research
and education organization, has teamed up with the producers of a public
television series to create "Herbal Insights," a new segment on popular herbs
and herb issues.
ABC founder
and executive director Mark Blumenthal has co-created and recorded "Herbal
Insights" segments for Healing Quest, a public television show co-hosted by
Olivia Newton-John and co-producers Judy Brooks and Roy Walkenhorst of
Lightbridge Productions in Sonoma, California.
The new
season's shows with the "Herbal Insights" segments began airing in select
markets on January 2, 2010, and are scheduled to run throughout the year.
The first
seven "Herbal Insights" provide brief profiles on the following herbs: chamomile
(Matricaria recutita), peppermint (Mentha x piperita), ginger (Zingiber
officinale), licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), marshmallow (Althaea officinalis),
senna (Senna alexandrina), and slippery elm (Ulma rubra) bark.
"We are
deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with the producers of Healing Quest
to distribute these short two-minute segments to public television audiences,"
said Blumenthal. "Being on public TV helps enhance ABC's nonprofit educational
mission to educate the public about the traditional uses and modern research on
herbs and medicinal plants."
Healing
Quest, now in its seventh season, covers many topics related to natural and
integrative health. The show frequently features interviews with noted leaders
in the natural health and consciousness movements, including author Deepak
Chopra, MD; integrative medicine pioneer Andrew Weil, MD; bestselling authors
Marianne Williamson and Joan Borysenko, PhD; holistic pediatrician Alan Greene,
MD, and others.
Healing Quest
is cleared for broadcast on 140 public television (PBS) stations across the
Unites States. Since its inception, Healing Quest has been the only weekly
national TV series focused entirely on integrative health and natural approaches
to optimum well-being.
Among the
show's underwriters, Healing Quest is supported by Traditional Medicinals, a
manufacturer of medicinal herbal teas and related herbal products; Bionorica, a
German producer of clinically-tested phytomedicinal products; and RFI
Ingredients, a supplier of herbs and other dietary ingredients for the food and
dietary supplement industries.
01/20/09
Medco, State of Illinois and Community Retail
Pharmacies Launch 'Wired' Collaborative
Solution to Close Critical Medication-Related Gaps
Uniting
the world's most advanced pharmacy with local community-based pharmacies,
government employees and university-based research teams utilizing a coordinated
and "wired" approach to close medication-related gaps in healthcare may
represent the most innovative partnership of its kind.
Medco Health
Solutions Inc. has announced a collaboration that includes the State of
Illinois, the Illinois Pharmacists Association (IPhA), the University of
Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Pharmacy and Mirixa Corporation to
determine the effectiveness of training community pharmacies using an advanced
networked safety system to identify medication-related issues and provide
clinical interventions to improve patient health outcomes and lower costs.
"This
large-scale study tests, under actual field conditions, several vital aspects of
real health care reform. It transforms traditional competitors into
collaborators; creates a partnership across private business, public employers
and research institutions; and leverages advanced technology using
evidence-based protocols to efficiently identify and effectively close gaps in
care for patients who are suffering chronic and complex conditions
¾
patients who account for 96 percent of all drug costs and 75 percent of all
medical spending," said Kenny Klepper, Medco president and chief operating
officer.
Medco, which
manages pharmacy benefits for the state of Illinois' employees, retirees and
their families, will, as part of its administration of the state's pharmacy
plan, identify patients who may not be following their doctor's orders related
to prescribed medications or have not been prescribed essential medicines for
treatment in four widespread therapeutic categories: cardiovascular, diabetes,
pulmonary and neuroscience.
The UIC
College of Pharmacy will provide specialized clinical training and guidance to
as many as 100 community pharmacists on the most effective means to identify and
address underlying patient barriers to close these clinical gaps.
Medco-developed alerts, delivered through MirixaPro, will be transmitted in
real-time to community pharmacies in a secured, wired system. The 26-week study
will track the success of these pharmacists to close gaps by counseling patients
and coordinating care with physicians.
"Medco
research revealed more than 25,000 of our state employees and their dependents
with chronic or complex conditions may not be taking all the medicines they need
to stay healthy or following their doctor's instructions. Medicines that aren't
taken can't be effective ¾
placing our employees' health at risk, and unnecessarily burdening Illinois
taxpayers with higher medical costs," said Gov. Pat Quinn. "I am proud that we
are leading the country in an organized effort to prove that innovation,
collaboration and clinical excellence drives true health care reform by
delivering better health outcomes at lower costs."
Added Michael
Minesinger, RPh, JD, chairman, Illinois Pharmacists Association: "This
initiative recognizes the value provided by community pharmacists across
Illinois and creates an opportunity to set a new standard for high-quality,
personalized patient care. It will also allow pharmacists to be compensated
appropriately, for providing these value-added clinical services, and we
encourage all community pharmacies to participate."
Medco will
analyze prescription drug records daily to identify patients with potential
adherence and omission gaps. The company will transmit electronic alerts via
MirixaPro to trained community pharmacists when potential adherence gaps or
omissions are identified ¾
for example, when a patient at a high risk for a heart attack isn't taking their
cholesterol medication in accordance with evidence-based standards.
The
Critical Clinical Imperative
A national
survey released earlier this year found that 54 percent of Americans do not
adhere to their medication regimen. This accelerates disease progression and
complications, and reduces functional abilities, lowers the quality of life or
leads to premature death. Avoidable health care spending directly related to
non-adherence costs approximately $290 billion annually, according to a recent
study by the New England Healthcare Institute.
For the
targeted Illinois patient population participating in this study, adherence to
oral diabetes medication, blood pressure medication and cholesterol medication
create a significant opportunity for savings if gaps are closed effectively
through pharmacist counseling. Additional savings will primarily be associated
with improvements in adherence for anti-platelet and anti-seizure medications.
Approximately
50 percent of the cost of the study is directed to UIC's community pharmacist
training program and pharmacists' counseling fees. The partners estimate
millions of dollars in savings are possible related to lower medical expenses as
member compliance with chronic drug therapies improves.
"Medco's aim
is to improve total health care outcomes for its members across the country
whether they use the Medco Pharmacy with our specialist pharmacists, or one of
our partnering community pharmacies with trained pharmacists guided by Medco
clinical alerts. We are proud to share our expertise, enabled by our proprietary
technology to raise the standard of care. We believe this initiative is a model
example of true health care reform," Klepper added.
Medco Health
Solutions Inc. is pioneering the world's most advanced pharmacy and its clinical
research and innovations are part of Medco making medicine smarter for more than
60 million members.
With more
than 20,000 employees dedicated to improving patient health and reducing costs
for a wide range of public and private sector clients, and 2008 revenue
exceeding $51 billion, Medco ranks 45th on the Fortune 500 list and is named
among the world's most innovative, most admired and most trustworthy companies.
Founded in
1880, the Illinois Pharmacists Association is dedicated to enhancing the
professional competency of pharmacists, advancing the standards of pharmacy
practice, improving pharmacists' effectiveness in assuring rational drug use in
society, advocating for access to improving patient care, and leading in the
resolution of public policy issues affecting pharmacists and proudly
representing pharmacists in all practice settings.
Established
in 1859, the UIC College of Pharmacy stands as the oldest academic unit of the
University of Illinois, one of the largest and most comprehensive research
universities in the nation. The University of Illinois at Chicago College of
Pharmacy enjoys a national reputation for excellence and has been ranked among
the top college of pharmacy for scholarship, curriculum, and the quality of
faculty and students.
The UIC
College of Pharmacy provides leadership in education, research, public service,
entrepreneurship and business activities, and patient care to guide and serve
the pharmaceutical care needs of society
¾
extending from the people of Illinois to the global community.
Mirixa
Corporation, sponsored by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA),
is a leader in targeted patient care services delivered via the nation's largest
pharmacy-based patient care network. Dedicated to improving patients' health,
Mirixa enables the health care community to deliver patient care services
through retail pharmacy. The MirixaPro Web-based clinical platform is used by
pharmacists to deliver standardized patient care services. For more information,
please visit www.Mirixa.com.
12/22/09
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