The Healthy Way to Diet

When we diet, most of us say, “I’m going to eat more fruits and vegetables”, while many choose an established weight loss program, such as Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers and one in four of us gets some sort of assistance from a smartphone app. See below for a few of the most popular dieting apps.

There are a slew of smartphone diet apps that promise to help you keep on track with your diet by offering calorie and exercise tracking, motivation, meal plans, group support, and much more. There’s even one that beeps when it's time to eat, which could have you salivating like Pavlov's dog every time any electronic device beeps.

*Calorie Counter and Diet Tracker by MyFitnessPal (available for: iPhone, Android, BlackBerry)
*MyNetDiary Calorie Counter PRO (available for: iPhone, Android, BlackBerry)
*Lose It! (available for: iPhone)
* SparkPeople Diet & Food Tracker (available for: iPhone, Android, BlackBerry)
*Tap & Track Calorie Counter (available for: iPhone)

Eating more fruits and vegetables, choosing a weight loss program, as well as using smartphone dieting apps are some of the results from a recent ConsumerReports.org survey of 3,201 subscribers who shared their experiences about becoming more healthy. With just a few days left until most people begin their new year's resolutions to lose weight, get in shape and feel good in 2012, perhaps some of these enlightening tidbits will help steer some in the right direction.

In an effort to lose weight, 2,680 of the survey respondents followed a popular diet plan, and 50% chose Weight Watchers or Weight Watchers online at some point since 2008. More than a fourth (27%) went with a low-carb diet (not including Atkins).

To slim down, most people (74%) ate more fruits and vegetables, just like the doctor recommends. Many also controlled their portions at meals (71%) and 69% cut back on sugar in their foods and beverages. A less popular technique was eating several small meals throughout the day (34% of people tried this method), and almost half (45%) took a walk or exercised instead of sneaking a snack.

When asked what motivated them to stay on the straight and narrow, 76% imagined how much better they'd look and feel after the weight came off. Almost as many (75%) considered the health benefits of weight loss.

A technique that worked best for the respondents was reminding themselves about the progress they'd made and those who did that tended to stay on their diets longer than those who didn't. A food and exercise diary is good for tracking progress, as are any number of computer programs and smartphone apps that allow you to track your progress. Dieters in the survey said they'd used tools such as diaries and online weight trackers in addition to apps.

Every diet regimen is bound to have its roadblocks; obstacles that derailed these dieters included feeling frustrated about working their regimen into their daily life, not liking the taste or variety of foods allowed on the plan and disappointment that their favorite foods were verboten.

There was more encouraging news from the survey: Those who were on and off programs said the experience caused them to adopt better habits such as eating more fruits and vegetables, being more aware of how many calories were in the foods they eat, and exercising more.

If you’re someone looking to make a new year’s resolution to get more healthy…how will you start?

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Refresher on vaccine administration

The CDC provides resources on proper vaccine administration technique.

Keep in mind this influenza season: Proper vaccine administration is critical. All personnel who will administer vaccines, including new and temporary staff, should receive training and education in vaccine administration before providing vaccines to patients. Proper vaccine administration includes assessing for needed vaccines, screening for contraindications and precautions, educating patients regarding the vaccine, appropriate documentation, and proper injection technique
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With so many people receiving the influenza vaccine this season, be sure that you know the proper injection practices for administrating flu vaccines. Flu vaccine given by intramuscular injection should be administered to older children and adults in the thickest part of the deltoid muscle in the lateral upper arm. Giving the injection too low or too high can result in injection too close to the bone or joint. Needle length also is important and depends on the age and weight of the patient. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently released a report in August titled Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality. IOM evaluated the risk of deltoid bursitis after intramuscular vaccination and found that injection of a vaccine could lead to deltoid bursitis.

Most people receiving flu shots have no problems at all. Nevertheless, CDC encourages health care providers to remain committed to quality care and diligent in eliminating potential medical errors.

Please keep in mind that many community Pharmacists have been trained and certified to administer flu vaccines to adult patients. Please check with your local Pharmacist to see if they provide this important and convenient service.

As a refresher for health care providers on correct vaccine administration technique, please consult these resources:
www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/D/vacc_admin.pdf
www.immunize.org/catg.d/p3085.pdf
www.pharmacist.com/imz (scroll down to Immunization Administration)
www.immunize.org/dvd

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Holiday Gift Giving Tips…the good and the bad!

With the holidays among us, whether you celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa or just ringing in the New Year…this is the time where you need to find the perfect gift for those “hard to buy for” folks on your list. When asked what to purchase for a holiday party, most people respond with, “the gift of food”. Nothing says “Happy Holidays”, as well as “I hope you enjoy a tighter fitting pair of jeans” like a huge box of chocolates or caramel covered popcorn. Now who doesn’t love getting homemade cookies or fudge, but is it necessary to give several dozen of them? I suggest you rethink your “food” gift giving ideas this year and realize most unhealthy gifts are ones that will continue to give, but in a negative way.

Holiday food giving can show how much you care by satisfying one of our most basic needs…to eat (and in a lot of cases overeat) delicious food. Though your “gut” instinct may be to capitalize on that and buy your friends and family the most decadent, over-the-top treats imaginable…I caution you to first STOP and THINK about the message or potential damage your gift may cause. Of course food giving like this is not intended to be harmful. You may just be tempting those who are short on willpower and can’t really afford the extra calories without even realizing it.

Below I listed some good and bad food giving ideas. You can never really go wrong with a gift certificate, AMEX is always nice, but if you want to be more personal…maybe a gift card from one of their favorite restaurants. Include a few movie tickets and BAM…dinner and movie, the perfect gift!

Best Food Gifts
* Aero Garden. Great and simple way to grow healthy fresh herbs right in your kitchen. Everyone would love to have fresh cilantro or basil at their fingertips.
* Fruit basket or an edible arrangement. This is a great idea for “sharing” at a holiday party. These can also make nice centerpieces for a party or holiday dinner.
* Fruit of the month club. Delivered right to their door every month of the year. A “healthy” gift that keeps on giving all year long.
* Tea of the month club. Another gift that keeps on giving, but this is also a great way to boost their fluid intake while dragging along some health protecting polyphenols to help ward off heart disease and cancer. Tasty and helpful.
* Healthy eating Cook book. Whether the person you’re shopping for likes to cook or not…a cook book is always a slam dunk. You can be really creative and get a book that has a theme and include a spice or cooking utensil associated with it.
* Cookbook holder. Nothing worse that mucking up the pages with sticky fingers. This would be a nice add on a cook book too.
* Flavored olive oils. Great heart healthy fat that can be drizzled on a salad or used for dipping crusty whole grain bread in.
* Homemade granola. There’s something about receiving a gift made from scratch that shows you really care. But instead of cookies, give that special someone a sweet bowl of crunchy goodness to start their day which also puts a serious hurt on cholesterol.

Worst Food Gifts
* Cheesecake party wheel. These usually come with 8+ slices of cheesecake weighing in over 400 calories each. You do the math!
* Anything bigger than a small box of candy. More not considered better in this case.
* Fruitcake. Not many people actually enjoy eating these. Your gift will end up being a joke. If that’s your intention…then do it, but just know…your gift will most likely go to waste.
* Meat. Ok…this is a funny gift, but many people give meat, especially steaks, for the holidays. This is a good gift if someone ASKS for it. If not…stay away. You don’t know if someone is dealing with high blood pressures, cholesterol, etc.
* Nuts. Allergies are VERY concern here. It’s safe to stay away from them.
* Alcohol. You can never be too sure if someone in the house may have a drinking problem. Bringing a bottle of wine is an easy gift, I get that, but maybe this is your shot to be more creative.
•Gift certificate to an all-you-can-eat buffet. NO ONE needs multiple trips to the food trough.
•Diabetic anything! Who wants to be reminded that they have a health challenge by receiving a disease-specific food gift? Regardless, diabetic candies and cookies are not calorie free and over eating them can make diabetes worse.

Everyone at Healthcare Consultants Pharmacy Staffing and Business Solutions would like to wish you and your family a very Happy Holiday and New Year!

Contact HCC Healthcare Consultants - Pharmacy Business Solutions for help with pharmacy startup, help with pharmacy performance and efficiency or pharmacy business management service.

Protecting Yourself Against Influenza

We all are faces of influenza and should be immunized every year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with the support of leading health experts, recommends that everyone 6 months of age and older should be immunized each year.

The flu vaccination is safe and effective, and the best way to help prevent influenza and its complications. The American Lung Association urges you and your loved ones to get a flu shot every flu season. You should get your flu shot as soon as it becomes available in the late summer or early fall. Even if you didn’t get vaccinated early in the influenza season, immunization into the spring or as long as the influenza virus is in circulation can be beneficial. This is because in many seasons, influenza activity doesn’t peak until winter or early spring. In fact, as long as influenza viruses are in circulation, it’s a good idea to get a flu shot. For most adults, the vaccine can help protect against influenza within 2 weeks.

For any questions and/or concerns…make sure to talk to your health-care provider. They will be able to provide you with the proper information about the importance of influenza immunization.

Even with the information we do know, unfortunately influenza immunization rates fall far short of public health goals every year. Even among those at the highest risk, which is very scary. Getting vaccinated against the flu each year is one of the most important steps people can take to help protect themselves from flu and its complications. NOTE…even healthy people need a flu shot. This is how they can stay healthy and help prevent the spread of flu to others.

Groups at higher risk of developing influenza-related complications include…

*People 50 years of age and older

*Children 6 months-18 years of age

*Pregnant women

*People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, diabetes, and others

*Residents of long-term care facilities and nursing homes

Now if you don’t fall within one of these categories, that doesn’t mean you’re safe. Additionally those who come into close contact with high-risk groups (those listed below) should get a flu shot, not only to help protect themselves against influenza, but also to help avoid spreading the disease to more vulnerable populations.

High Risk Groups include…

*Household contacts and caregivers of anyone in a high-risk group, including contacts such as parents, siblings, grandparents, babysitters, and child-care providers

*Health-care personnel

Note: Children younger than 9 years of age may need 2 doses approximately 1 month apart, depending on their influenza vaccination history.

Some people should not get the vaccine or should first talk with their health-care provider. These include people those with severe allergies to eggs, those who have had a severe allergic reaction to a past influenza vaccination and children younger than 6 months of age. This is because no vaccination is licensed yet for this age group.

Again…if you have any questions, ask your healthcare provider. They’ll have the correct answers and in most case it’ll be, “it’s time to get you the flu shot”.

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High-prescribing Florida pain docs being blacklisted by CVS

In the state of Florida CVS pharmacies are refusing to fill pain-pill prescriptions written by certain high-prescribing doctors. A letter was sent to the affected physicians saying that the chain was cutting off their patients from all Schedule 2 narcotics, a class of painkiller that includes oxycodone. That high-powered, widely prescribed pain medicine is at the heart of a lethal drug-overdose epidemic in Florida that kills seven people a day.

Head of public relations for CVS, Mike DeAngelis, confirmed the new policy at its Florida stores, but would not provide details other than to say it was developed with the help of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

You can imagine the amount of questions that went unanswered once this policy went public. One that many wanted to know was how many physicians were being affected, but all we divulged, over an email, was that it is "a small number."

The Orlando Sentinel obtained a list which identified 28 Orlando-area doctors whose patients were being cut off. The list includes pain specialists, wellness-center doctors and other physicians from Orlando, Kissimmee, Winter Park, Longwood, Sanford, Lake Mary and Celebration.

"You are being instructed," the company informed its pharmacists, "to not fill schedule II prescriptions for these prescribers listed below." The list is titled "CVS — DEA: Florida High Prescribers."

David Melenkevitz, a Miami DEA agent and spokesman, said his agency wasn’t aware that CVS was sending out the letters. When he was personally asked how CVS identified which doctors to cut off, he responded with, "I can't comment on any ongoing investigation." Melenkevitz would not say whether any Florida CVS pharmacists were under investigation.

The Central Florida list included two Orlando doctors already with legal problems: Mladen Antolic, arrested in October and charged with drug trafficking; and Riyaz A. Jummani, whose medical license was suspended after drug agents raided his south Orange Avenue office in June. Employees at those separate medical offices said Thursday that those doctors were no longer on staff.

Jeffrey A. Zipper, a Delray Beach physician and official of the Florida Academy of Pain Medicine, on Monday sent an email to other Florida pain specialists, decrying the CVS action. "I will be directing all of my patients to fill their prescriptions at a pharmacy other than CVS until they decide to change their position" he wrote.

CVS sent letters to doctors two weeks ago via FedEx.

The drugstore chain "has become increasingly concerned with escalating reports of prescription-drug abuse in Florida, especially oxycodone abuse," it says. In the first half of 2010, 1,268 people died in Florida, victims who overdosed on drugs with at least one prescription medicine in the mix. In Orange and Osceola counties, the total for the same six-month period was 147.

"Absolutely, it's a public-health scourge," said Dr. Jan Garavaglia, medical examiner in Orange and Osceola counties. "Young people are dying, middle-aged people, old people are dying needlessly, and it's not just dying. Getting hooked on these meds affects the quality of life."

Florida is quickly becoming a magnet for pain clinics. Ninety of the nation's top 100 oxycodone-buying doctors in 2010 were in Florida, according to federal records.

Three months ago, in an effort to combat prescription abuse, the state implemented a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, a database that collects information on who's using what and who's prescribing to whom. Its intention is to allow physicians to monitor what drugs their patients are taking and from what other sources they might be getting them. Its design works very well with monitoring distribution of medications.

The Florida Department of Health would not say whether the CVS blacklist was based on information first gathered in that database.

In his e-mail, DeAngelis, the CVS spokesman, made no mention of the database or state law-enforcement agencies. It made reference solely to the DEA. "CVS/pharmacy is unwavering," he wrote, "in its compliance and measures to prevent drug abuse and keep controlled substances out of the wrong hands."

The truth is, oxycodone is often resold on the street by patients and has become a popular target of thieves. The numbers of injury and death due to these controlled substances are also increasing by the day. Due to these facts…if those who can legally prescribe these medications need to have a little extra surveillance put on them, I’m ok with that. And I’m happy that CVS is too.

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