Pharmacy

This narrative review seeks to delve into the different on and off-label medications commonly used with intrathecal drug delivery systems (IDDS) and their clinical applications specifically in pain management settings. This review utilizes a variety of studies including reviews, retrospective chart analyses, and more to analyze the current effectiveness of various pharmacological agents on reducing chronic pain through IDDS. The initial results of intrathecal delivery of these medications have provided benefit in pain reduction and overall patient satisfaction; however, this review will seek to analyze the current data and understanding and suggest areas of strength and improvement within the field and our current understanding.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate pharmacy students’ perceptions regarding the integration of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into pharmacy curricula, providing evidence to inform future curriculum development. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students at a single U.S. College of Pharmacy was conducted in April 2025. Students from all four professional years (P1–P4) were invited to participate. The 10-item survey assessed four domains: (1) General GenAI Use, (2) Knowledge and Experience with GenAI Tools, (3) Learning Preferences with GenAI, and (4) Perspectives on GenAI in the curriculum. Results: A total of 110 students responded (response rate = 12.4%). Most were P1 students (56/110, 50.9%). Many reported using GenAI tools for personal (65/110, 59.1%) and school-related purposes (64/110, 58.1%) sometimes, often, or frequently. ChatGPT was the most used tool. While 40% (40/99) agreed or strongly agreed that GenAI could enhance their learning, 62.6% (62/99) preferred traditional teaching methods. Open-ended responses (n = 25) reflected a mix of positive, neutral, and negative views on GenAI in education. Conclusions: Many pharmacy students in this cohort reported using GenAI tools and demonstrated a basic understanding of GenAI functions, yet students also reported that they preferred traditional learning methods and expressed mixed views on incorporating GenAI into teaching. These findings provide valuable insights for faculty and schools of pharmacy as they develop strategies to integrate GenAI into pharmacy education.

The task of repackaging resident’s medication into medication organizers is increasingly outsourced from nursing homes to pharmacies, presenting an opportunity to redefine the interaction between nursing and pharmaceutical staff. This study investigated whether outsourcing medication repackaging changes the quality and subjects of collaboration between the two professions. A cross-sectional survey was developed targeting heads of nursing in German nursing homes. A simple random sample of 1415 nursing homes was contacted by phone. Respondents participated either by phone or by online survey. Quality of collaboration was measured using Kenaszchuk’s Interprofessional Collaboration Scale (ICS) with its subscales Communication, Accommodation and Isolation. Topics of interaction were ascertained using items along a medication management phase model. Differences in response frequencies were analyzed using Fisher’s exact test. A total of 268 nursing homes participated (response: 18.9%). Of these, 132 (49.3%) had outsourced repackaging. Respondents at nursing homes with in-house medication repackaging rated the subscale Accommodation more favorably (p = 0.008), while Communication and Isolation showed no difference. Of the 13 individual ICS items, “passing on information” (Communication) was rated better by respondents at homes with outsourced repackaging (p = 0.019) and “consideration of convenience” (Accommodation) more favorably by respondents at homes with in-house repackaging (p = 0.042). Nursing staff at homes with outsourced medication repackaging interacted with pharmaceutical staff more frequently on medication changes (p < 0.001), but less frequently on tablet splitting (p = 0.035). In conclusion, outsourcing medication repackaging has a limited impact on the quality of interprofessional collaboration between the two professions but may have the potential to reduce ambiguities regarding splitting tablets.