Disasters Averted

This problem seems to be the one that we see most often in our office. We had a patient who had been through our diabetes education classes and came to see me for a one to one visit. She came into my office complaining that her blood sugars were still …

Sometimes being a medical professional can have a major impact on the people around us outside of work. Recently, my neighbor’s 12 year old daughter had a “drastic change” in her health. I noticed that she had lost a lot of weight, started drinking juice by the gallons, had no …

Fewer Errors in Hospitals When Pharmacists Are Involved Researchers reported last week at the conference of American Society of Health-System Pharmacists that, when pharmacists lead the medication reconciliation effort, providers see more accurate, complete, and up-to-date patient information at the time of hospital admission and discharge.

Courtesy of our partners at ISMP: One of my patients was asked to write out his home medications which he then did, including “U100 Novolin R insulin before meals and bedtime.” The nurse entered this into the E-chart for home meds as: “100 units of Novolin R ac/hs.” Because this didn’t …

From our partners at ISMP (Institute for Safe Medication Practices) – Last week the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notified health professionals about their determination that recent data for rosiglitazone-containing drugs, such as Avandia, combination products (Avandaryl [rosiglitazone and glimepiride] and Avandamet [rosiglitazone and metformin]), and generics, do not show an increased …

From our partners at the Institute for Safe Medication Practices – This is the season where we recommend that patients with diabetes get vaccinated for the flu virus. Patients can usually get the flu vaccine at their doctor’s office, clinics, and even at drug stores. But both patients and medical …

One of our patients returned recently to our office for a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) download and a review of his food log. At an earlier visit he had experienced a hypoglycemic reaction. Just as before, the patient was in a hurry to get to the appointment and had only …

Recently a 69-year-old man returned to see me after being started on a single bedtime dose of Levemir via the Flex pen along with a long-acting sulfonylurea. He had received education about basal insulin action from the start. On return his morning glucose was terrible but I noticed that the …

A patient who was new to insulin therapy and her husband were coached on how to use an insulin pen. The patient and her husband decided that he would give her the injections and the patient’s glucose results were fine. After a few weeks, the patient decided to begin self-injecting. …

I was asked to see a patient for instruction on insulin administration. After leaving the hospital she had started her insulin at home. During a telephone conversation she mentioned that she was concerned that after injection she noticed some liquid was running down her abdomen. I asked that she bring …