July 19 Pharmacy Week in Review: Study Finds Patients Attending Skin Cancer Screenings Likely to Be More Proactive with Sun Protection, Yogurt May Lower Risk of Developing Adenomas in Men

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Nicole Grassano, Host: Hello and welcome to the Pharmacy Times News Network. I’m Nicole Grassano your host for our Pharmacy Week in Review.

About 550 medication disposal units across the United States are now searchable by Google Maps, Pharmacy Times reported. Through this new partnership between Google and the Rite Aid Foundation, users can search “medication disposal” on Google or Google Maps on a browser or mobile device to find a safe medication disposal unit in a Rite Aid store or a KidCents Safe Medication Disposal Unit in a local police station or law enforcement agency.

The partnership with Google is just 1 of the initiatives that Rite Aid has implemented as part of its comprehensive strategy to address prescription drug abuse and misuse. Other programs include the KidCents Safe Medication Disposal Program in 2017, which provides law enforcement agencies in communities with Rite Aids with free medication disposal units, and the recent expansion of 100 medication disposal units in Rite Aid locations across the country.

In addition to supporting the CDC's guidelines for prescribing opioids, Rite Aid also participates in prescription drug monitoring programs, and provides ongoing education and training about prescription drug abuse and misuse to its more than 5000 pharmacists.

Eating 2 or more weekly servings of yogurt may lower the risk of developing the abnormal growths, known as adenomas, that precede the development of bowel cancer, Contemporary Clinic reported.

Investigators analyzed the diets and subsequent development of adenoma in about 32,000 men as part of the Health Professionals Follow UP Study and 56,000 women who were part of the Nurses Health Study. All participants were known to have had a lower bowel endoscopy between 1986 and 2012.

Investigators found that during the study period, about 5800 adenomas developed in the men and 8100 in the women. Compared with those who did not eat yogurt, men who ate 2 or more servings a week were 19% less likely to develop a conventional adenoma.

The study authors noted that further research is needed to confirm the science and understand the reasoning for the association, the authors concluded.

Sun safety practices for attendees at skin cancer screening events may differ from the general public, Specialty Pharmacy Times reported.

Investigators randomly administered a survey to attendees of a free skin cancer screening event at a cancer center, finding that respondents from this group were significantly more likely than the public group to always seek shade and wear sunscreen, and always or sometimes use sun protection. Patients who do not attend free screenings may have greater gaps in sun protective knowledge and behavior, according to these data. This gap highlights the need to reach these populations through different mechanisms, such as education and policy approaches in primary and outdoor recreation settings.

The study authors noted that the findings highlight the importance of reaching non-white and younger populations with skin cancer prevention messages. Furthermore, though free screening events are important, comprehensive, community-based solutions should be used to reach broader demographic populations than skin screenings alone.

Pharmacists may get more questions about Ozempic, if patients have seen a recent commercial for the prescription medication. In the spot, called “Minigolf,” the narrator says that in a study of Ozempic, a majority of adults lowered their blood sugar and reached an A1C level of less than 7%. According to the commercial, Ozempic is a once-weekly prescription medication meant to treat adults who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

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Thanks for watching our Pharmacy Week in Review. I’m Nicole Grassano at the Pharmacy Times News Network.