Healthy Dose® with Anthony Bolus, Pharm.D.

In this month's episode, host Anthony Bolus talks to Maryam Iranikhah, Pharm.D., BCGP, FASCP, a professor at Samford University's McWhorter School of Pharmacy. Together, they discuss everything you need to know about vitamins essential to boosting immune health in the fight against COVID-19 and other viruses, including vitamin D, Vitamin C and Zinc.

In this month's episode, we bring back Michael Hogue, an alumnus of Samford's McWhorter School of Pharmacy and dean of Loma Linda University's School of Pharmacy in Loma Linda, California. He currently serves as president of the American Pharmacists Association, and he brings his expertise as a member of the CDC's COVID-19 vaccine work group to help us understand these vaccines in more depth: What is myth vs. what is fact related to them? What adverse reactions people can expect between dose 1 and 2, and why it is important to lift the sleeve and get the shot?

When caring for children, there are unique challenges, including dosage form, flavoring, patient cooperation and education. In this month's episode of Healthy Dose, host Anthony Bolus talks to Sam Blakemore, Pharm.D, M.B.A., the pharmacist manager at PedsRx Pharmacy Solutions, which is an independent pharmacy located within Children's of Alabama. He shares some tried and true tips and tricks related to children's medications.

In this episode of Healthy Dose, host Anthony Bolus talks to Jan Kavookjian, Ph.D., M.B.A., a behavior scientist teaching at Auburn University's Harrison School of Pharmacy and the incoming President-Elect of the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists (ADCES). November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, and millions of Americans are diagnosed with diabetes and pre-diabetes each year. Left undiagnosed or untreated, it can increase one's risk of heart attack, kidney disease, blindness and nerve damage to the feet—not to mention the large health cost burden to you and the overall health care system. One important and overlooked aspect of managing diabetes is the benefit of healthy lifestyle education programs. In their conversation, Bolus and Kavookjian, who also teaches patients through East Alabama Medical Center's National Diabetes Prevention Program, discuss what lifestyle change programs are available in the fight against diabetes.

October is American Pharmacists Month. In this episode, we shine a light on an issue affecting many pharmacists called DIR Fees. These penalties have exponentially increased over the years, adding economic stress to community pharmacists across the country. Not only is this threat very real for pharmacy closings, but your overall safety as a patient is at risk as well. Host Anthony Bolus talks to Patrick Devereux, Pharm.D., RPh, pharmacy manager and president of Family Medical Services, INC. which is comprised of four independent pharmacies in central Alabama, and goes into further details on DIR fees, how they are calculated and why they are problematic today.

In this episode, Anthony Bolus talks to Michael Hogue, Pharm.D., FAPhA, FNAP, dean of Loma Linda University's School of Pharmacy and president of the American Pharmacists Association. Hogue serves on the COVID-19 Vaccine Workgroup with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and together, Bolus and Hogue discuss potential treatment strategies for COVID-19 and the types of vaccines that may be coming soon.

With its first episode of Season 1, our host, Anthony Bolus, discusses COVID-19 with Jeff Kyle, Pharm.D., BCPS, the vice chair and director of experiential education at Samford University's McWhorter School of Pharmacy and a clinical pharmacy specialist at a local medical center in the Birmingham area. Their discussion covers the basics of COVID-19, including who it affects, how it spreads, and the symptoms, complications, and preventative ways to combat it.

First published on Novembe 28, 2017: On this episode of Healthy Dose, Dr. Anthony Bolus visits with Dr. Michael Hogue of Samford's McWhorter School of Pharmacy, discussing shingles and new vaccine available to prevent this painful condition.

First published on November 14, 2017: On this episode of Healthy Dose, Dr. Anthony Bolus continues his discussion with Jon Parker, director of admissions at Samford's McWhorter School of Pharmacy. They discuss pharmacy school preparation, admission and pharmacy school programs.

First published on November 7, 2017: On this episode of Healthy Dose, Dr. Anthony Bolus covers the education that makes a pharmacist with Jon Parker, director of admissions at Samford's McWhorter School of Pharmacy. They discuss pharmacy school preparation, admission and pharmacy school programs.

First published on October 24, 2017: On this episode of Healthy Dose, Dr. Anthony Bolus discusses scoliosis with Angela Jones Doctor, B.S.N., RN, CPN, a nurse from Children's of Alabama. Jones helps run the scoliosis screening program for many children in Alabama, defines scoliosis, and explains who is at most risk and what to do if your child has positive screening.

First published on October 13, 2017: On this episode of Healthy Dose, Dr. Anthony Bolus discusses problems with communication across the health care spectrum, along with Patrick Devereux, Pharm.D. of FMS Pharmacy. Dr. Devereux shares a new innovation to try and help his patients share their drug histories with other health care providers.

First published on October 3, 2017: On this episode of Healthy Dose, Dr. Anthony Bolus discusses opioids with Dr. Jake Galdo, an assistant professor and the director of the Community Pharmacy Residency Program at Samford University's McWhorter School of Pharmacy. Bolus and Galdo discuss the benefits and risks, including the potential for addiction with pain medications.

First published on July 26, 2017: On this episode of Healthy Dose, Dr. Anthony Bolus talks pain management with Dr. Jake Galdo, an assistant professor and the director of the Community Pharmacy Residency Program at Samford University's McWhorter School of Pharmacy. Bolus and Galdo discuss the causes of pain and various therapies and medications to relieve pain.

First published on July 25, 2017: On this episode of Healthy Dose, Dr. Heather Hogue, Pharm.D., EP, director of emergency preparedness and response at the Jefferson County Department of Health, returns to Healthy Dose to discuss how long the virus will stay in your system once you are infected. Dr. Hogue also has healthy tips on keeping mosquitoes away from your home or your body.

First published on July 18, 2017: On this episode of Healthy Dose, Dr. Anthony Bolus speaks with Dr. Heather Hogue, Pharm.D., EP, director of emergency preparedness and response at the Jefferson County Department of Health, on new information regarding the Zika virus. Dr. Hogue will help to answer the questions of who this virus can affect, the number of reported cases in Alabama and Jefferson County, along with what precautions to take if infected or traveling to an area where Zika is more prevalent.

First published on July 11, 2017: On this episode of Healthy Dose, Dr. Anthony Bolus speaks with Dr. Patrick Devereux of FMS Pharmacy on runaway drug pricing. Certain medications of seen dramatic increases in cost, and Dr. Devereux explains how this can be harmful to patients and pharmacies...and how they can fight back.