After graduation, wanderlust pharmacists might be considering taking their pharmacy education abroad. There are many ways to do that. But, perhaps the most obvious way is practicing pharmacy in a traditional setting, like in the community or at a hospital. Still, the language barrier will make it difficult in most cases, unless it is another English-speaking country. Even restricted to English, though, pharmacists still have lots of countries to choose from. In part one of this series, we’ll look at Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Here, we’ll go through an overview of how to get licensed as a pharmacist abroad in countries that will allow you to practice in English.

You might remember the approval of the pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine (PCV13), Prevnar 13, in 2010. It is indicated in children as well as in adults 18 years of age or older. The pneumococcal polyvalent vaccine (PPSV23), Pneumovax 23, has been available since 1983. The FDA approved two pneumococcal vaccines in 2021: the pneumococcal 20-valent conjugate vaccine (PCV20), branded Prevnar 20, and the pneumococcal 15-valent conjugate vaccine (PCV15), or Vaxneuvance. With their approval came changes to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendations for adult pneumonia vaccination. All of these changes can get confusing. So here, we’ll look at previous adult pneumonia recommendations and what’s changed since the approval of PCV20.

Let’s face it: Statistics is a difficult subject and can be confusing for even the most experienced healthcare providers. Even so, statistics provides the foundation for evidence-based medicine. Because of this, having a good understanding of the most common statistical tools used in clinical research is invaluable in providing care to our patients. The p-value is perhaps the most misunderstood statistical concept used in the analysis and reporting of medical research. To help us better understand it, we interviewed our GoodRx Research team, an expert crew consisting of public health professionals, health economists, and data analysts.

Healthcare is big business in the U.S. In fact, as of 2020, total healthcare expenditures in the U.S. accounted for close to 20% of total GDP. Also, close to 20 million people (6% of all Americans) were employed in healthcare jobs in 2021. All that spending means plenty of opportunities for making purchasing decisions that encourage companies working to make a positive impact on society. Here, we’ll look at how our purchasing choices in healthcare can make a difference.

Education is a big investment, especially for healthcare providers. In fact, the average medical student will graduate with over $200,000 in debt and the average pharmacy student will graduate with around $170,000 in debt. While higher than average salaries can help pay off student loans, healthcare providers graduating with debt might be wondering what happens to that debt if they die. Here, we’ll look at what happens to private and federal student loans if the beneficiary dies. And, we’ll also look at important information your family should know about handling the loans after your death.

CBD, or cannabidiol, is a chemical found in Cannabis plants. The passage of the 2018 Farm Bill effectively legalized most CBD products by removing hemp from the list of Schedule I substances under the Controlled Substances Act. And, since then, there has been an explosion in the popularity of CBD products. In 2017, for example, when there was debate about the legality of CBD, sales of these products were only about 23% of what they were in 2021. (You can learn more about the legality of hemp and marijuana here.) With this rise in popularity, it’s important for healthcare providers to understand CBD — what it’s used for and how to talk to patients about it.

Healthcare carries an enormous environmental footprint. It contributes significantly to climate change and water use. In this series, we’ll explore the connection between healthcare and the environment. We’ll look at healthcare’s environmental impact, how healthcare facilities can reduce their waste, and which organizations are paving the way in sustainability.

Every year, around 8 million healthcare workers are exposed to hazardous drugs in the U.S., putting them at risk for both acute and chronic health problems. They can be exposed through inhalation, ingestion, needlesticks and injections, and skin contact. While it is the organization’s responsibility to have standards in place, pharmacy staff can take steps to protect themselves from possible exposure. Here, we’ll look at the most important things to know about handling hazardous drugs in the community pharmacy setting.

In the era of modern pharmacy, pharmacists are considered the foremost drug experts and one of the most accessible and trusted healthcare providers in the community. In fact, over 90% of Americans live within 5 miles of a community pharmacy. A 2020 study found patients visit pharmacies nearly twice as often as they visit their primary care provider. However, pharmacists are still often viewed only in the context of dispensing medication and giving vaccines. In truth, pharmacists are involved in all aspects of the healthcare system.

In our community pharmacy practice series, we’ve looked at numerous countries across the globe to uncover a set of best practices and fresh ideas that could be implemented in the U.S. Here, we’ll look at methods employed by Australia, England, Portugal, and Finland to reduce costs and improve the quality of healthcare in their country.

Water is a precious resource that is often taken for granted. Most people in the U.S. are able to turn on a sink and get all of the hot or cold water they want at a very low cost. Globally, however, there are more than 770 million people who lack access to safe drinking water. And there are many others who spend so much time collecting water that they’re prevented from raising their standard of living. For children, who are often responsible for this task, that means not being able to attend school or pursue higher education. Growing water scarcity makes this issue even more pressing. But healthcare facilities, as large water users, are in a position to contribute to positive change.

There are currently four COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S.: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Janssen (by Johnson & Johnson), and Novavax. Healthcare providers, or HCPs, are the main driver of the massive effort to distribute COVID-19 vaccinations. So it’s important for them to understand the possible side effects, allergic reactions, and anaphylactic reactions that patients may experience.

Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) is an oral medication that was authorized by the FDA on December 22, 2021 to treat mild to moderate COVID-19. Prescribing authority for the Paxlovid was recently expanded to pharmacists to help COVID-19 patients receive treatment faster and to make the medication more accessible.

Community pharmacies are those that dispense medications to patients who aren’t hospitalized or in nursing facilities. This series explores how community pharmacy practice differs around the world. In doing so, it gives us the opportunity to view our own system in a new light and potentially find opportunities for improvement. So far, we’ve explored the practice of pharmacy in Japan, Finland, Australia, Switzerland, England, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Malawi, Argentina, and Portugal, and Egypt. In this post, we’ll look at community pharmacy practice in Pakistan.

In a now-famous interview, University of Chicago Professor Harold Pollack made a passing comment that all the financial advice you need can fit onto an index card. He later wrote out that index card and it became the foundation for a book about his index card titled “The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated.” Regardless of your income or job, it offers great tips for gaining control over your finances. Here, we’ll look at those nine tips and how healthcare professionals can apply them to their personal finances.

Community pharmacies are those that dispense medications to patients who aren’t hospitalized or in nursing facilities. This series explores how community pharmacy practice differs around the world. In doing so, it gives us the opportunity to view our own system in a new light and potentially find opportunities for improvement. So far, we’ve explored the practice of pharmacy in Japan, Finland, Australia, Switzerland, England, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Malawi, Argentina, and Portugal. In this post, we’ll look at community pharmacy practice in Egypt.

Pharmacists are a valuable and integral part of the healthcare system. One study found that patients see their pharmacists more often than any other healthcare provider, perhaps because pharmacists tend to be more accessible or because patients need to pick up their medications every 30 or 90 days. Pharmacists are healthcare providers. They are trained to be the drug experts. But their role has gradually evolved to include more direct patient care activities. However, their ability to prescribe is still limited.

Community pharmacies dispense medications to patients who aren’t hospitalized or in nursing facilities. This series explores how community pharmacy practice differs around the world. It gives us the opportunity to view our own system in a new light and potentially find opportunities for improvement. So far, we’ve explored community pharmacies in Japan, Finland, Australia, Switzerland, England, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Malawi, and Argentina. In this post, we’ll look at community pharmacy practice in Portugal.

It’s no secret that healthcare as a whole is a lucrative field. In fact, out of the 30 highest-paying jobs in America, many are in the healthcare field, and the pay can be much higher within medicine. Physician salaries vary widely by specialty. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, family practice physicians, for example, earn $244,420 per year, surgeons earn $326,380 per year, and anesthesiologists earn $349,590 per year. According to the same data, pharmacists earn an annual average of $125,000, nurse practitioners and physician assistants earn around $120,000, and registered nurses earn around $83,000.

For healthcare providers looking to increase their income, there are a lot of options out there, one of which is in investments. While traditional financial goals — like saving for retirement, paying off student loans, and saving for a child’s college — should typically come first, alternative investments can lead to very high returns. It’s important to understand that all investments come with risk, and investing in more volatile alternative assets comes with a much higher risk than traditional investments. For that reason, it’s important to set a budget and stick to it.