Pharmacy Week in Review: VA Telehealth Initiative Announced, Cancer Treatments' Aging Effects Lead to Cognitive Decline

A look at last week's top stories in the world of pharmacy.

Transcript

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

The US Department of Veterans Affairs and Walmart recently announced a collaboration to offer VA-led telehealth services to reach underserved veterans, Pharmacy Times reported. The pilot will kick off in targeted locations that consider the number of veterans and the health resources offered, and final locations selected will be announced at a later date. The collaboration includes donated space and operational support by Walmart for VA-led telehealth services. The announcement was made at the Anywhere to Anywhere, Together Summit hosted by the VA’s Center for Strategic Partnerships and the Veterans Health Administration’s Office of Connected Care.

Statins have demonstrated substantial benefits in reducing heart attacks and stroke risk caused by blood clots in at-risk patients, and their benefits for most people outweigh the risks, Contemporary Clinic reported. One in 4 Americans over age 40 takes a statin drug, but up to 10% of people in the United States stop taking them because they experience symptoms that they may assume are due to the drug but may not be, according to the American Heart Association. The one exception is if a patient reports the passage of dark urine, which can be a sign of a very rare problem in which serious muscle injury, can result in acute kidney failure. Patients with this sign are advised to seek health care advice immediately and to stop the statin.

Declining cognitive function in patients who previously underwent breast cancer treatment may be associated with the aging-like effect of certain cancer treatments, according to a new study published in CANCER, Specialty Pharmacy Times reported. The researchers aimed to identify the relevance of indicators of biological aging to cognitive function in survivors of breast cancer. Toxicities associated with cancer treatments can have long-term adverse effects on patients, increasing the risk of persistent fatigue, pain, and cognitive dysfunction. Certain treatments can also contribute to accelerated biological aging, because of its damaging effect on normal healthy cells in the body.

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