New technician certifications from PTCB

PTCB has launched two of what it called “advanced assessment-based certificate programs“: Technician Product Verification and Medication History.

To earn the first, techs must demonstrate that they have “the knowledge and skill necessary to perform the final check of medications.” To earn the second, they must “demonstrate they can conduct accurate in-depth reviews of patient histories and identify potential errors.”

The organization plans to release three more such certificate programs* next year, and — by late 2020 — an entirely new credential for techs: Advanced Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT-Adv).

* Hazardous Drug Management, Controlled Substance Diversion Prevention, and Billing and Reimbursement

The road from nicotine to diabetes

Rats that smoke are at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. That smokers have higher rates of diabetes isn’t news — what is news is the connection from nicotine to brain to pancreas.

[C]consumption of nicotine is linked, through a brain circuit, to the activity of the pancreas. Nicotine use leads the pancreas to release less insulin, which raises the level of blood sugar; higher levels of blood sugar are associated with a higher risk of diabetes.

(There’s lot more detail about just how an encoded protein affects the signal between brain and pancreas … but that’s for you to read.)

Opioid lawsuit could be settled

Emphasis on “could.” AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal, and McKesson have agreed on a $50 billion deal to settle their role in the opioid crisis.

Sticking points:

• The states have agreed, but not the cities, counties, tribes, towns, villages, hamlets, etc.
• Those ‘non-states’ don’t want that money just going into states’ general funds (the way the tobacco settlement money did) — they want opioid-treatment money to be used for opioid treatment.
• Will it be enough money?

If there’s no deal, the trial starts Monday.

Screen-time blues

If you know any fruit flies that spend a lot of time in front of a screen (e.g., phone, tablet, computer) warn them: Apparently the blue light emitted doesn’t just damage retinas, it appears to damage brain cells as well.

The flies exposed to blue light showed damage to their retinal cells and brain neurons and had impaired locomotion – the flies’ ability to climb the walls of their enclosures, a common behavior, was diminished.

Wait, wait — it gets crazier:

Some of the flies in the experiment were mutants that do not develop eyes, and even those eyeless flies displayed brain damage and locomotion impairments, suggesting flies didn’t have to see the light to be harmed by it. (Emphasis ours.)

Bladder drug, retinal damage

Got patients taking the interstitial-cystitis drug Elmiron, aka pentosan polysulfate sodium? Note that it appears to be toxic to the retina.

It’s unclear how much Elmiron is too much, so patients who show no signs of toxicity should be screened for retinal damage at least once a year.

Quick vaping headlines

“More than half of Wisconsin vaping samples tested by FDA contain [THC]”

“U.S. vaping-related deaths rise to 31”

“Juul halts all U.S. sales of many flavored nicotine liquids”

The Long Read: debtors prison in America

“When Medical Debt Collectors Decide Who Gets Arrested“. When it comes to medical bills, debtors prison is still a thing.