AAPA Receives H1N1 Update at National Vaccine Advisory Committee Meeting

AAPA recently attended the fall 2009 meeting of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC), which was highlighted by a situational update on H1N1 influenza.

In his opening remarks, Harry Koh, MD, assistant secretary for health in the Department of Health and Human Services, emphasized the current administration’s engagement in creating a system of prevention that is timely and at the same time engendering public trust.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it has licensed four vaccines for the 2009 H1N1 influenza. The vaccine purchased by the government is expected to be available in October.A continuous roll out of the first 50 million doses is planned via centralized distribution to state and local health agencies.

AAPA Discusses Surge on Hospital ERs During an Influenza Pandemic

AAPA was recently invited to attend the “Integrating Primary Care Providers into Community Pandemic Influenza Planning” stakeholder’s meeting hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP).

A looming challenge of the upcoming H1N1 influenza pandemic is the anticipated use of primary care providers to help alleviate the surge on hospital emergency departments.

Over a two-day period, primary care providers — including PAs — office managers, public health and professional organization representatives — including AAPA — discussed the barriers that exist in the planning process and ways to overcome them. A draft of a final product, which includes a planning calendar template complete with planning tasks that primary care offices can use, will be circulated to stakeholders for comments. When completed, AAPA will disseminate the information to its members.

For more information about the CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP), click here.

Doug Scott, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

AAPA Attends Immunization Cooperative Agreement Advisory Committee Meeting

AAPA recently participated with representatives from the public health, medical, and pharmacy community in the American Pharmacists Association/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (APhA/CDC) Immunization Cooperative agreement advisory committee meeting. Discussed was the need for collaboration among immunization stakeholders — including PAs — given the upcoming seasonal influenza season and the second wave of the H1N1 influenza.

Stakeholders dealt with what we know will happen: H1N1 vaccine supply is uncertain and seasonal influenza vaccine supply and disease is fairly certain. For the 2009-2010 season, 119 million doses of seasonal vaccine are expected from manufacturers. As of August 2009, over 51 million doses of seasonal vaccine became available of which 90 percent of the total doses will be distributed by the end of October.

AAPA in Attendance at the Opioid Risk Management Meeting

Recently, AAPA was invited to attend Tufts Health Care Institute’s (THCI) Opioid Risk Management meeting in Boston, Mass. The ongoing goal of the THCI meeting was to address challenges in the development and utilization of opioid analgesics by engaging a multidisciplinary group of stakeholders focused on optimizing the benefits of opioids for pain management and minimizing their risks, including abuse and diversion.

This year, there has been increased attention to certain opioid drugs after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a public meeting to obtain input on developing Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) for certain opioid drugs. The THCI meeting in Boston emphasized the public health crisis of addiction, misuse, abuse, overdose and death associated with prescription opioids.

THCI welcomed the opportunity to engage the PA profession on this important topic, along with various professional representatives from pain management, anesthesiology, addiction medicine, psychiatry, public health, pharmaceutical companies, patient safety and several regulatory agencies who attended the meeting.

For more information about Tufts Health Care Institute and the Opioid Risk Management meeting, go to www.thci.org.

Doug Scott, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it