This article presents the risk factors of opioid overdose among the Colorado Medicaid population. On the basis of study findings, Colorado Medicaid is currently working with physicians, hospitals, and other health system stakeholders to continue to develop policies to identify and assist this subset of our population. One such policy will be to provide at-home intranasal naloxone for overdose rescue.

Fospropofol is a viable addition to the class of sedative-hypnotic agents due to the minimization of unwanted adverse effects of propofol and maintenance of a favorable pharmacokinetic profile facilitating sedation, anxiolysis, and rapid recovery. However, there are limited safety data to justify its use without the presence of dedicated anesthesia personnel.

The 2019-2020 Professional Affairs Committee was charged to (1) Describe the leadership role of schools of pharmacy in advancing interprofessional practice, with an emphasis on physician-pharmacist collaborative relationships; (2) Establish an inventory of resources that can support school efforts to grow collaborative partnerships between pharmacists and physicians;(3) Determine gaps that exist in the resources required to support schools in efforts to facilitate expansion of interprofessional partnerships; and (4) Define strategies and draft an action plan for AACP's role in facilitating member school efforts to accelerate the development of interprofessional practices within their geography of influence. This report provides information on the committee's process to address the committee charges as well as background and resources pertaining to the charges, describes the rationale for and the results from the focus groups conducted at the 2020 AACP Interim Meeting, communicates the results of an initial inventory of models that integrate pharmacists with primary care practices, and provides an overview on issues to continue the work to integrate pharmacists with primary care practices. The committee offered several revisions to current association policy statements and provided a proposed policy statement and several recommendations to AACP pertaining to the committee charges.

Collaboration with accountable care organizations resulted in the successful funding of ambulatory care clinical pharmacy services. These services resulted in improved chronic disease control and provider satisfaction.

Background Fospropofol is a phosphate-ester water soluble prodrug of propofol approved in the United States for the short-term sedation of adults undergoing diagnostic or therapeutic procedures with monitored anesthesia care. Fospropofol may be advantageous for procedural sedation because it is not a lipid formulation, it lacks pain on injection, it possesses a different pharmacokinetic profile due to in vivo conversion of fospropofol to propofol, and it offers rapid recovery from sedation. Objective To review published pharmacokinetic data, clinical trials, and the safety profile of fospropofol and provide comment on its use for sedation. Clinical trials Fospropofol has been studied for sedation in colonoscopy and bronchoscopy with fentanyl for analgesia. Results indicate that a 6.5 mg/kg bolus dose with repeated doses of 25% of the original bolus dose up to every 4 minutes produces an effective and safe level of sedation. Fospropofol comparisons to midazolam were not assessed. Patient satisfaction is high for those treated with the recommended dosage regimen. Most commonly reported adverse effects included pruritus and paresthesia. Sedation related side effects such as hypoxia and apnea were rarely reported and generally mild in scope. Conclusion Fospropofol represents an alternative sedative agent to midazolam and propofol for short-term sedation. However, the efficacy and safety of fospropofol compared to midazolam or propofol has not been assessed, therefore use will be based on practitioner preference. Restrictive package labelling requiring MAC poses medico-legal and cost-benefit issues thereby not conferring a benefit over propofol which caries similar labelling. Additional studies designed to compare fospropofol to propofol and/or midazolam for procedural sedation are needed.

This commentary identifies studies that have compared commercially available DI databases, and discusses improvements in study methodology that might better guide clinicians in selecting resources for their practice setting. We also provide suggestions for future direction of research in this area with an eye towards clinical decision support systems (CDSS). The body of comparative research of commercially available DI databases is small, and provides little value to the average clinician when making purchasing decisions. Transparency of study methodology would allow readers to choose a database that best fits their practice needs. Future research must consider how DI resources are imbedded within CDSS, such that the alerts generated by the CDSS are consistent with the primary DI workhorse of the practice site. Cohesion between CDSS and DI resources needs to be a consideration in future DI resource comparative research.

Student engagement is key to the success of schools and colleges of pharmacies in meeting their mission and programmatic needs. Student engagement in the pharmacy profession often occurs before acceptance to pharmacy school and is essential during students' formal period of study both for the student's professional growth and in meeting the mission of the school. Alumni engagement is vital to a school's continued success in regard to engaging with current students and support of their alma mater. The committee offers best practice recommendations for engaging students in service, scholarship, education, professional practice and continuing professional development.

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