Alex Evans, PharmD, MBA

I am a pharmacist and medical writer currently living in Hiroshima, Japan. I write a wide range of articles and am especially interested in health policy, drug pricing, and regulatory systems. I also enjoy teaching and have several online medical writing courses. I am a cofounder of Experts.ink.

Continuing Education

Combating Fraud, Waste and Abuse in the Pharmacy S •

LiveCE | Combating Fraud, Waste and Abuse in the Pharmacy Setting - Live Webinar on November 13, 2024 8PM ET

This activity will help pharmacy staff identify FWA in the pharmacy setting. This CE activity will be using public case studies of CMS actions taken specifically against pharmacies for FWA to highlight some of the various ways that FWA can take place in both community and inpatient pharmacies.Practical points and best practices are highlighted throughout the presentation that will help pharmacies address FWA. Tips will be included to help everyone from technicians and staff pharmacists to distri...
Carlat Report •

Lithium, Valproate Have Low (and Similar) Risk of Kidney Injury

REVIEW OF: Bosi A et al, JAMA Netw Open 2023;6(7):e2322056

STUDY TYPE: Retrospective cohort study

Studies have had mixed results regarding the relationship between lithium and kidney injury. A 2012 meta-analysis of lithium and kidney injury was inconclusive, and studies since then have suffered from limitations and conflicting results. In an effort to clarify this issue, researchers once again looked at the risk of kidney injury in patients taking lithium—this time comparing it to those taking...
Carlat Report •

STAR*D Reanalysis Causes New Debate Over Antidepressant Efficacy

Review of: Pigott HE et al, BMJ Open 2023;13:e063095Study type: Reanalysis of an open-label, randomized, rater-blinded clinical trialWhen it comes to antidepressant efficacy, we often hang our hats on the 67% cumulative remission rate reported in the 2006 landmark Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) study. But a new reanalysis has sparked debate over those results.STAR*D was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. It included 4,041 patients ages 18–75 who s...
Carlat Report •

Do Mood Stabilizers Prevent Death in Bipolar Disorder?

Review of: Chen PH et al, Acta Psychiatr Scand 2023;147(3):234–247Study type: Retrospective cohort studyThe mortality rate in bipolar disorder is approximately double that of the general population. While suicide is one reason, bipolar disorder increases the risk of death from natural causes, too. Rates of suicide and all-cause mortality are lower with lithium, and this study compared those rates with anticonvulsant mood stabilizers (valproic acid, lamotrigine, and carbamazepine). Antipsychotics...
Harnessing the Power of Artificial Intelligence in •

LiveCE | Harnessing the Power of Artificial Intelligence in Health and Medical Communication

Artificial intelligence is profoundly changing a wide range of industries, including the healthcare industry. One of its numerous applications within healthcare is with medical writing and communications. AI tools are already being used for literature searches, referencing, creating articles, and even for regulatory writing. Future directions are numerous and clinical applications and EMR integration are possible. As healthcare providers, we need to stay up-to-date on this rapidly changing techn...
Carlat Report •

DBT and Social Rhythm Therapy: A Novel Combination

Learning objectiveAfter reading this article, you should be able to:Review of: Bailey BC et al, Am J Psychother 2023; epub ahead of print.Study type: ProposalBipolar disorder (BD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) are hard enough to treat on their own. But it’s especially challenging for patients with both.What BD and BPD have in common–emotional dysregulation, suicidality, and disrupted circadian rhythm–are what led researchers to combine dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and interpers...
Carlat Report •

Surprise Result for Adherence in Bipolar Disorder

Review of: Lintunen J et al, J Affect Disord 2023;333:403–408Study Type: Retrospective cohort studyPeople with bipolar disorder vote with their feet when it comes to medication adherence. This study tallied those votes, using data from a large national pharmacy database.Researchers enrolled 33,131 patients from Finland’s national health records database who were under age 65 and diagnosed with bipolar disorder between 1987 and 2018. Patients were included if they were prescribed mood stabilizers...
AchieveCE •

A Practical Pharmacy Guide to the Controlled Substance Act – 1 CE – Live Webinar on October 4, 2023 8PM ET

The Controlled Substance Act was passed in 1970 and regulates the supply chain of certain medications, chemicals, and substances designated as having the potential for abuse. Pharmacies are one step in that supply chain, and community pharmacies are the last step before those medications reach the patient. It is critical that pharmacists and technicians understand the requirements of the Controlled Substance Act, both to protect the public’s health and to maintain compliance.

This course will review the major requirements of the Controlled Substance Act, as they apply to community pharmacies, and will highlight practical points that staff can implement into their everyday practice.
AchieveCE •

Protecting Patient Privacy in the Healthcare Setting - 1 CE

Pharmacy staff, regardless of practice setting, must access patient health information on a daily basis in order to perform their jobs. It is critical that they act in accordance with the law when interacting with and sharing patient-protected health information, or they could face action from their employer or their law, and their employer could face fines and lose the trust of the public. In order to prevent a breach in privacy, the pharmacy staff must understand privacy laws.
CEImpact •

Mandatory Reporting in the Healthcare Setting

Mandatory reporting by healthcare professionals is often required by law. This course will assist you in recognizing suspected signs of abuse that require reporting, as well as developing a mandatory reporting system in your pharmacy practice.

Upon successful completion of this course, learners should be able to:
1. Define mandatory reporting and reporting requirements
2. Describe mandatory reporting requirements within healthcare
3. Recognize the definitions and signs of occurrences or suspected occurrences that mandate reporting
4. Develop a mandatory reporting system in pharmacy practice
CEImpact •

Hazardous Drug Handling and Disposal in the Community Pharmacy Setting

In spite of longstanding guidelines in the handling of hazardous drugs (HD), healthcare worker exposure to HD persists. This course is designed to educate pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who work in the community pharmacy setting on proper hazardous drug (HD) handling and disposal. Join us to review relevant legislation and describe how to develop site specifc HD lists as well as effective policies and procedures. Key considerations in the safe receiving, storage, dispensing and disposal of HD, as well as appropriate response to exposure incidents will also be discussed.
FreeCE.com •

Homestudy OnDemand CE: Demystifying the Pharmacy Insurance Claim

Community pharmacists and technicians bill insurance claims every day, but especially in chain pharmacies reimbursement issues are not pursued at an individual store level. Because of this, there is little opportunity for many pharmacists to understand everything involved in the reimbursement of a claim. A thorough understanding of it, however, will help both resolve insurance claims as well as find opportunities to improve profitability.