AIM Operations
Important Clinical Links
Soarian (on campus or on VPN only - for off campus use App Store above)
NYS Prescription Monitoring Program/iSTOP
Columbia Library (for access to journal articles off campus)
Latest News from AIM
Welcome to our AIM pharmacist!
Introducing Nadine Dandan, PharmD! Nadine is joining AIM to provide ambulatory pharmacy services for our patients starting 11/19!
Who to refer: patients in need of medication reconciliation, medication education, reinforcement of medication changes or discontinuation; patients with suspected non-adherence who would benefit from reinforcement of regimen; patients having trouble filling prescriptions/barriers to drug procurement
How to refer: Use the Allscripts referral "Onsite service referral – pharmacist” (you will need to delete the Broadway/Farrell only text)
Hours/location: Tuesday AM, Thursday AM and Friday AM on VC-3; if there is same-day availability, Nadine will see walk ins; if you’d prefer the patient return later in the week (with all their meds for example) you can indicate this in the Allscripts referral
Please see the workflow summary for more details. Let Dr. Singer know if you have questions. Feedback welcome!
Food as Medicine Recipes!
Dr. Fleming's Food as Medicine recipes are available for your perusal permanently at foodasmedicine.org - plant based forever!
Ambulatory Read of the Week
Effect of Bempedoic Acid vs Placebo Added to Maximally Tolerated Statins on Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Patients at High Risk for Cardiovascular Disease
A brand new cholesterol medicine! In this double-blind RCT patients with established ASCVD, heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, or both with an LDL > 70 on the maximal tolerated lipid-lowering therapy (~90% taking at least some dose of a statin) were randomized to bempedoic acid versus placebo. Bempedoic acid, by the by, is a once-daily prodrug which is metabolized to an inhibitor of an enzyme upstream from HMGCoA reductase in the same cholesterol synthesis pathway. Patients were followed for 52 weeks, though the primary outcome was change in LDL-C levels at 12 weeks, which was significantly lower in the bempedoic acid group than placebo (-15.1% vs 2.4%, P < 0.001). Various other biomarkers including apoB and CRP were also reduced. Common side effects were UTI (5% vs 1.9%) and hyperuricemia (4.2% vs 1.9%). Unfortunately the trial was not powered for cardiovascular outcomes, so this does not rise to the level of evidence for statins, or even for ezetemibe (see the IMPROVE-IT trial), though an N = 12,600 trial is appropriately ongoing. Nonetheless a promising start for a new target with a much better chance to be cost effective than the rarely-used PCSK9 inhibitors.