Staying #Up2Date 🚨

1: CGMs Aren’t Just for Insulin Users Anymore

Continuous glucose monitors aren’t just for patients taking insulin. A new trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine trial found that adults with type 2 diabetes managed without insulin achieved better glucose control using CGM than those receiving routine care. Participants using CGM spent 21 percentage points more time in the target glucose range, with greater reductions in HbA1c and less hyperglycemia. The findings suggest CGM could have a bigger role in diabetes management beyond insulin-treated patients.

2: A Bigger Role for Pharmacists in Cancer Care

Pharmacist-led care may do more than improve medication adherence. In a randomized trial involving 210 patients with non-small cell lung cancer receiving immunotherapy, those receiving six months of pharmacy services had a lower incidence of treatment-related pneumonitis than patients receiving usual care (2.9% vs. 9.5%). Medication adherence also improved, while fewer patients had to suspend immunotherapy because of pneumonitis. It’s a promising finding for pharmacists involved in oncology care, although larger studies are needed.

3: Can Your DNA Predict Which Pain Medication Works Best?

A randomized trial involving 1,048 adults investigated whether CYP2D6-guided prescribing could improve chronic pain management. Among 282 participants with genetic or drug-interaction findings that could affect treatment, the approach did not significantly improve pain scores compared with usual care. An exploratory analysis suggested better outcomes when treatment was actually adjusted to match the findings. The takeaway? Genetic information alone may not improve care unless it changes prescribing decisions.

Shelf Watch 🏥

Drug Shortages ⚠️

Gabapentin  

• Company: Apotex

• Drug Class: anticonvulsant

• DIN: 02244306

• Strength affected: 400mg 

• Shortage Status: actual shortage 

• Reason for Shortage: Disruption of the manufacture of the drug. 

• Start Date: 2026-10-13

• Estimated End Date: 2026-10-30

Newly Approved Drugs ✨

Jascayd (Nerandomilast): An oral selective inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) that slows the progression of pulmonary fibrosis. 

• NOC Date: 2026-10-08

• Submission type: New Drug Submission (NDS) 

• Submission class: New Active Substance (NAS) 

• Manufacturer: Boehringer Ingelheim

• Product type: Prescription Pharmaceutical 

• DIN: 02572354, 02572362

• Dosage Form: 9mg tablet, 18mg tablet

• Indication: For the treatment of adults with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF).

💉 The Power of VAX: Smarter Strategies for Vaccine Season

Whether you’re a seasoned vaccinator or looking to strengthen your confidence, The Power of VAX is an accredited learning program designed to help Canadian pharmacists make the most of every vaccination opportunity.

With new, practical modules released monthly, the program offers evidence-informed strategies to navigate vaccine hesitancy, manage busy pharmacy workflows and improve patient conversations. Plus, it’s been recognized with the FIP Seal from the International Pharmaceutical Federation.

Another Canadian healthcare acquisition is bringing virtual care, compounding and medication delivery closer together. But what does it mean for community pharmacists?

A patient sees a clinician online, gets a prescription and has their medication delivered to their doorstep. No doctor’s office. No pharmacy counter.

It’s a model that’s becoming increasingly familiar, and a new Canadian acquisition suggests it could be expanding.

On October 20, telemedicine company Stealth Health announced its acquisition of Kramer, a Canadian company connecting retail pharmacies with specialized compounding partners.

The goal? Bring virtual consultations, prescribing, compounding and home delivery together under one system.

What’s changing?

Not every community pharmacy has the equipment or expertise to prepare specialized medications. Kramer’s network connects pharmacies with compounding partners that can handle those prescriptions while allowing referring pharmacies to maintain patient relationships.

Stealth Health plans to integrate that network into its telemedicine platform, potentially streamlining the process from consultation to delivery.

For patients, that could mean easier access to specialized medications. For pharmacists, the implications are more complicated.

Where do pharmacists fit in?

Convenience is an obvious selling point, especially for patients who struggle to access specialized compounding services.

But when prescribing, preparation and delivery involve multiple providers, important questions arise. Who handles patient counselling? How are medication histories shared? And who ensures continuity of care?

There’s also the competitive angle. As virtual healthcare companies expand into dispensing and delivery, community pharmacies could find themselves partnering with these platforms, competing with them or both.

What happens next?

Stealth Health plans to further integrate Kramer’s compounding network with its virtual care services. Whether the model improves patient outcomes or gains widespread adoption remains to be seen.

Still, the acquisition highlights a shift worth watching as more pharmacy services move into connected digital healthcare platforms.

The bottom line: The pharmacy counter isn’t disappearing, but how patients access medications is changing. For pharmacists, the challenge will be balancing convenience with the counselling, coordination and personal care patients still need.

Hot Off the Press 🗞️

1: 🍔 Are ultra-processed foods really linked to colorectal cancer? Maybe not all of them. A study of more than 460,000 Americans found no overall association between ultra-processed food consumption and colorectal cancer risk. But the type of food mattered. Processed meats were linked to higher cancer incidence, while ultra-processed whole grains and dairy products were associated with lower rates. The findings suggest what’s in our food may matter more than how processed it is.

2: 🍊 Could vitamin C help patients with precancerous blood disorders live longer? A Phase 2 trial involving 109 patients with conditions that can progress to leukemia found that those receiving daily oral vitamin C experienced fewer adverse events. An exploratory analysis also suggested improved survival after approximately three years compared with placebo. However, supplementation didn’t significantly slow abnormal blood cell growth, and larger trials are needed to confirm the potential survival benefit.

3: 🧡 A new resource is helping Canadian pharmacists provide more culturally safe sexual and reproductive healthcare for Indigenous patients. Developed by the Canadian Pharmacists Association in partnership with Indigenous Pharmacy Professionals of Canada, the toolkit addresses topics including contraception, abortion, fertility and navigating the Non-Insured Health Benefits program. The goal is to help pharmacists better understand barriers to care and support Indigenous and Two-Spirit patients.

RxBriefly Picks 💊

🍎 Cook: French toast, but make it dessert. CTV’s The Good Stuff has an apple crumble stuffed French toast recipe that’s basically two comfort foods rolled into one.

🎬 Watch: Need a good scare after a long shift? Netflix Canada is bringing out the big guns for Halloween, with Midsommar, The Silence of the Lambs, Shaun of the Dead and A Quiet Place among this month’s additions. See the full October lineup and pick your poison.

💊 Learn: Ever stare at a lab result and wonder whether that tiny change actually matters? UBC has a free, 2-hour continuing education course on ordering and interpreting lab tests. It uses patient scenarios to help pharmacists decide what to order, what the results mean and when testing is actually useful.

🗣️ Connect: Have something to say about where pharmacy is headed? The Ontario College of Pharmacists is hosting free fall regional meetings with open discussions, live polling and opportunities to ask questions directly. A chance to have your voice heard rather than just read another policy update.

🎧 Listen: Mouth taping, red light masks, sleepy girl mocktails. TikTok has no shortage of health advice, but how much of it actually works? In this episode of The Curbsiders, experts separate the science from the social media hype and share tips for talking to patients who’ve already taken medical advice from their “for you page”.

Question of the Week ❓

What’s one piece of career advice you wish you’d received earlier?

Whether you’ve been practising for two years or twenty, there’s always something you wish you’d known sooner.

Share your wisdom on r/RxBriefly →

Relax 🧩

First clue: Amniotic ___

Give it a go —>

Need a rematch? We’ve got you covered. Check out our Crossword Archive to find every puzzle we’ve ever made, all in one place.

Think you crushed it? Challenge your pharmacist friends to beat your time.

Meme of the Week 😂

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