Information Sessions On Medicare Prescription Coverage
The University of Iowa College of Pharmacy held information sessions on the Medicare prescription drug coverage program (also known as Medicare Part D) for seniors Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at the Iowa City Public Library in downtown Iowa City. The sessions were scheduled in the library's computer classroom. Twenty computer workstations were available for use during the sessions, and advanced registration was required.

Seniors attending the sessions were encouraged to bring their Medicare card; any correspondence from the Social Security Administration regarding their eligibility for low-income assistance; any correspondence from their private insurance carrier(s); and a list of all medications they are taking.

Michael Kelly, Pharm.D., Associate Professor (Clinical) and associate dean for academic affairs in the UI College of Pharmacy, and UI pharmacy students helped seniors log onto the Medicare Web site to get information about the Medicare prescription drug plans that are available.

The event, paired each Medicare recipient with pharmacy students to help them decide which of the 42 drug plans was best for them. (Daily Iowan)

Beginning Jan. 1, Medicare started contracting with private insurance companies to provide coverage for at least half the price of all recipients' prescriptions. Iowans benefiting from Medicare have to select a plan that best fit their finances and health. (Daily Iowan)

Nationally, senior citizens have struggled to navigate the complicated new system. The UI pharmacy hoped to ease some of that confusion. Solon resident Donald Kohout, the last to leave the computer lab, thanked the pharmacy students profusely. "Thanks to the guidance of the UI pharmacy students, I'm sure a lot of the questions that people had been pondering have been cleared up," he said.

This story was also covered by various media including KCRG Channel 9 News, The Press Citizen, The Daily Iowan, and WSUI news. 

Herman Trains Top Pharmacists in United Arab Emirates

A University of Iowa College of Pharmacy faculty member recently returned from the United Arab Emirates where he helped train a group of the leading pharmacists in Abu Dhabi. Ronald Herman, Ph.D., Associate Professor (Clinical) in the UI College of Pharmacy, spent two weeks in September training pharmacists to use the Iowa Drug Information Service, (IDIS) a computer-based drug information database. Herman is director of the Iowa Drug Information Network, a branch of the UI College of Pharmacy's Division of Drug information Service (DDIS).

Pharmacists in each state, as well as every continent, currently use IDIS. Subscribers to the service have access to 200 medical journals from 1966 to the present, with materials from 1997 to the present available on the Web or CD-ROM. As director of the Iowa Drug Information Network, Herman has had several opportunities to train new users how to use the drug information database. He has traveled abroad to train others in its use, and some international users have come to the UI for training.

In the United Arab Emirates, the General Authority for Health Services (GAHS) is responsible for the provision of health services for the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Currently, there are five major hospitals and 46 primary health centers in Abu Dhabi. The government's primary goal for GAHS has been the provision of quality medical care that meets the regulatory standards of leading international health care organizations.

One step the country needed to take in order to meet these standards was the establishment of a national drug and poison information center. Mohamed Abu Khair, drug consultant advisor and head of the pharmacy activities, and fellow GAHS pharmacy leaders requested training from the DDIS based on its solid reputation in drug information services.

As the UI representative, Herman spent two weeks in Abu Dhabi providing consultations with GAHS leadership and training pharmacists who will operate the new National Drug and Poison Information Center. He spent four hours training nearly 75 pharmacists in IDIS utilization. The training included lectures, hands-on demonstrations and many projects to demonstrate implementation of the new skills.

Holiday Party
The College of Pharmacy held its annual Holiday Party on December 1st. The party was organized by Staff Council and was held at the Holiday Inn in Coralville. The night consisted of a sit down dinner, door prizes, and casual conversations. We had a great turnout including 93 employees and 71 guests. Thanks for all who attended!