In this Issue Click on the page to be directed there!

“Your well-rounded resource for updates on the Medicare Part D class at Pacific!” Donations & Design Committee: Jackie Chou, Naomi Le, Liz Lieu, AnnMarie Magnasco, Elhaam

Mesghali, Annie Minhduc Nguyen, Thao Nguyen, Liz Qi, Gabby Reyes, and Monika Wan

Kaiser Permanente has a mission that includes a strong focus on com-

munity service. This not-for-profit healthcare company encourages organiza-

tions that have a similarly aligned mission to apply for grants through a competi-

tive review process.

Our Medicare program applied for a Kaiser grant early this spring. The

proposal that was put together indicated that the two primary goals of our

Medicare program include:

1. To improve the economic, clinical, and quality-of-life outcomes of

Medicare beneficiaries and

2. To provide hands-on experiential learning opportunities to current

University of the Pacific pharmacy students (and future healthcare profession-

als), while tending to the healthcare needs of those in the region.

Our grant proposal was unique; as far as we know, we are the only

group that provides Medicare Part D plan analysis and comprehensive medica-

tion therapy reviews for ALL seniors. Most of these seniors come from under-

served or underrepresented groups in San Joaquin County. It seems that our

proposal resonated with Kaiser’s review team as they provided us with a

$30,000 grant to help support and further develop our Mobile Medicare Clinics!

The Kaiser grant will help us tremendously, and we thank them for their belief

and support of our program! Design and Layout by Elhaam, Liz Q, & Gabby

By Monika Wan

Meet our Advisors (Part 2) 2

Medicare Alumni

Spotlight: Dr. Chau Phan

3

NCCCP Research

Symposium

5

Medicare Class Alumni

Connection

7

Medicare Throwback 8

New Venues 9

Medicare Part D Fall

Outreach Calendar

10

Since graduating from the University of the Pacific with a Doctorate of Pharmacy in 2013, Dr. Yvonne Mai

has been pouring her time and effort over the last few years into her MS/Fellowship…which she completed at the end

of this July 2015. Congratulations!

Among her recent achievements, Dr. Mai shares that she presented a poster at the 2014 ASCP annual

meeting, where she and her team discussed the prevalence of cognitive decline and its associated factors in a group of

ambulatory seniors. Recently, Dr. Mai also developed a smoking cessation training module for the nursing staff at St.

Joseph’s Behavioral Health Center. When she’s not working on the next big project, you can find her helping patients as a

staff pharmacist at Rite Aid. From being a preceptor at outreach events to research projects and helping with MTM lec-

tures, Dr. Mai has consistently supported the Medicare program …and this goes all the way back to when she was a

Medicare student herself. She says that her favorite part about being a Medicare faculty member is teaching and being

able to work with motivated students.

Oh, and one more thing about her…Dr. Mai was just named Regional Coordinator for the Stockton Region at

the University of the Pacific School of Pharmacy & Health Sciences…Congratulations Dr. Mai!!!

Dr. Barker graduated from the University of the Pacific with a Doctorate of Pharmacy in 2013 and he too

just (July 2015) completed the 2 year MS/Fellowship program.

Among his many research projects, Dr. Barker also works on one with two students from last year ’s Medicare

class: Hasna Manghi and Jenny Balabanian. Together they are looking at differences in the anticholinergic burden of medi-

cations taken by dual-eligible (Medicare & Medicaid) beneficiaries versus those who only have Medicare. Dr. Barker has

always had a keen interest in the geriatric population and since starting his post-graduate work at Pacific knew he wanted

to be involved in the Medicare class/program. As a Medicare faculty member for the last two years, Dr. Barker has helped

oversee the MTM subcommittee whose role incudes building an Access database which is used to enter all of our inter-

ventional data, creating therapeutically equivalent drug charts, and putting together preceptor educational tools. Dr.

Barker says that what makes the Medicare class so special is that often times it is one of the first moments that students

truly feel that they are making an impactful difference in the lives of those they are serving through the provision of ser-

vices. Suddenly, the disease states that have been featured in all of the SOAPs and MTM case assignments that were

completed in class are impacting the well-being of a real patient and their families that are all depending on your help.

Although he has now completed his MS/Fellowship and will be moving on to greener pastures, Dr. Barker says that he will

continue supporting the Medicare class by precepting future events. We look forward to seeing him at Medicare events

this fall!

After Dr. Valle-Oseguera earned her Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology at UC Davis, she attended

pharmacy school at the University of the Pacific, where she was able to enjoy Dr. Patel’s Medicare class as a

pharmacy student herself.

After graduating with her PharmD in 2012, she went on to pursue a general PGY1 residency and then

completed her PGY2 Ambulatory Care residency at the VA Medical Center in Boise, Idaho. When she became an

Associate Professor at Pacific in 2014, she returned to the Medicare class, but this time as a faculty member! Dr.

Valle-Oseguera is the faculty lead of the Education & Translation subcommittee for the Medicare class.

She is also involved in three different Medicare research projects with Medicare students and faculty.

One of her research projects is a retrospective study that involves looking at the last three years of Medicare

outreach data. The project studies the presence, frequency, and severity of medication related problems that were

identified during our Medication Therapy Management sessions. It also examines prescriber acceptance/ uptake of

our recommendation(s) for resolution of such issues.

Dr. Valle-Oseguera has a passion for teaching and hopes that in the near future she can train pharma-

cy students to adopt a patient counseling technique known as motivational interviewing.

Dr. Yvonne Mai

Dr. Cynthia

Valle-Oseguera

Dr. Craig Barker

By Jackie Chou & AnnMarie Magnasco

By Naomi Le & Thao Nguyen

Shown above: Victoria Nguyen, May Chen, Larry

Chang, Sean Jay Chow

By Naomi Le & Annie Nguyen

Shown above: NCCCP Leadership Team—Rikki Lee, Jason Ly, Kimberly Sasaki, Keiko Duncan, Parjosh Sangha, Cory Ng, and Patrick Lee

How has the Medicare class helped you in your professional endeavors?

What is your favorite memory from your time in the Medicare class?

“Medicare has helped me better understand insurance coverage, which has greatly helped me in my role as a pharma-

cist working at a safety net hospital. Rarely does a day go by without a doctor calling the pharmacy about insurance cov-

erage and whether or not a patient would be able to afford their discharge medications. The Medicare class has also

taught me the importance of actually sitting down and spending time talking to your patients!” - Kimberly Kwok (2012),

Clinical Pharmacist—Contra Costa Regional Medical Center Martinez

“The information taught to me in the Medicare class has direct relevance in our MTM clinic. Additionally, we have a

large population of Medicare members and an awareness/knowledge of plan cost structures, compliance challenges for

the elderly, and drugs to avoid in the elderly introduced during the Medicare class have been invaluable.” - Nicholas D.

Baker (2007), Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Supervisor—Kaiser Permanente Central Valley

“The class provided me a better understanding of medication and insurance issues faced by the elderly. The class also

helped me navigate the federal healthcare system to assist Medicare beneficiaries.” - Marc Edmundson (2013), Resi-

dent—Veterans Affairs

Is there anything else you would like us to know about you/your Medicare experience? “Although I now work with a different population and use Medi-Cal more than Medicare, the research experience I

received from the class was invaluable.” Alyssa Hobby (2011), Clinical Pharmacist—Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego

What do you miss most about the class?

“A patient appreciated our services so much (we had the event at a senior home) that he went back upstairs to his

room, grabbed his wife and all their prescription bottles, and came back so we could help explain to them all of their

medications. Not often did he have a room full of student pharmacists/pharmacists come visit his home!” - Edward Yen

(2009), Clinical Informatics Pharmacist—Riverside County Regional Medical Center

“Going to eat Indian Food with Dr. Patel.” - Claire Nguyen (2008), Clinical Pharmacist—PIH Health Whittier & Megan Shi-

mada (2013), Resident—St. Joseph’s Medical Center

“There was one particular couple I ended up saving $2,000 for in the upcoming year and they were overwhelmed with

joy.” - Nicholas Stearns (2013), Pharmacist—CVS/Pharmacy

“When Dr. Patel told us the story about him being “solicited” on the streets of Baltimore.” - Vinay Panchal (2010), Clinical

Pharmacist for Medication Policy—Blue Shield of CA

“I miss the people we helped and worked with. It is amazing that UOP has an outreach program that dedicates the time

to help guide Medicare beneficiaries find a plan that works with them.” - Tiffany Chu (2012), Lead Pharmacist—Kaiser

“The faculty!” - Seth Gomez (2011), Clinical Psychiatric Pharmacist—Alameda Behavioral Health Care Services, Clinical

Pharmacist—Keck Medical Center of USC

“Dr. Patel’s receding hairline :).” (Editorial Note: Revenge will be had by one tall Indian!) - Kelly Chen (2012), Inpatient

Oncology Pharmacist—Kaiser Permanente

“I miss being able to help people and benefit them as much as we can by saving money on their drug costs. I also miss

our weekly class meetings and getting yummy snacks while listening to Dr. Patel teach us all the details about Medi-

care!” - Zohal Fazel (2012), Retail Pharmacist—Safeway Pharmacy

By Gabby Reyes

Answers to the Medicare Throwback can be found on the next page!

By Liz Q i

Answers to the Medicare Throwback: 1) Dr.Patel 2) Jason W. 3) Allyssa N. 4) Elizabeth L. 5) Shravya K. 6) Janet Y. 7) Gina C. 8) Victor L. 9) Heidi C. 10) Leona Z. 11) Mohamed S. 12) Rachael H. 13) Rebecca

L. 14) Michelle I. 15) Karen Z. 16) Gabby R. 17) AnnMarie M. 18) Cindy S. 19) Shiva S. 20) Shaun M. 21) Szarisse F. 22) Nichole K. 23) Monika W. 24) Tobi K. 25) Sadaf R. 26) Elhaam M. 27) James U. 28) Liz

Q. 29) Dilraj S. 30) Elena L. 31) Stephanie D. 32) Connie L. 33) Christine C. 34) Parjosh S. 35) Daryl M. 36) Sandy C. and 37) Cynthia L.