What's New!
What's New!
What's New with PARCKA
Welcome to PARCKA's updates on awards, study milestones, and more
GLP-1s: Weight-Loss Miracle?
In “GLP-1s: Weight-Loss Miracle?”, the article explains that drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are often framed as breakthrough solutions, but primarily work by suppressing appetite and altering hunger signals—making them effective, but not a cure-all. It features an interview with John Winhusen, the PI of TAB, who highlights real-world considerations such as side effects, cost, and the importance of sustaining lifestyle changes to maintain results.
APha Institute on SUD
John Saunders, PharmD, presented a poster titled “An Exploratory Study Examining Strategies for Promoting Pharmacist Engagement with a Clinical Decision Support Tool for Addressing Risky Opioid Use” at the APhA Substance Use Disorder Institute in Los Angeles. His work highlights approaches to improving pharmacist engagement in evidence-based strategies for addressing opioid-related risk. Great work, John and the PharmTool team!
New Publication
The COAPS team is pleased to announce a new publication by Gerald Cochran, Grace Broussard, Yingjia Wei, Craig Field, Adam J. Gordon, and Kenneth C. Hohmeier titled “A Short Communication of Pain Outcomes Following a Pharmacist-Delivered Alcohol and Opioid Use Reduction Intervention.” The article highlights findings on pain-related outcomes following a pharmacist-delivered intervention designed to reduce alcohol and opioid use. Congrats to the COAPs team! Check out the PARCKA publications page to see other papers from our larger PARCKA team.
Clinician Investigation Award
Michael Incze, MD, MSEd has been selected to receive the Northwest Region Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) Clinician Investigation Award. The selection committee recognized his leadership and contributions to SGIM. The award will be formally announced at the closing of the Northwest SGIM regional meeting on Friday, February 13th.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Incze on this well-deserved achievement!
MI Training
Starting 2026 off strong, PARCKA's Ashley White and Mitchell Garets had the opportunity to host a Motivational Interviewing (MI) training for PharmD students at the University of Utah. The session saw strong engagement, with 46 students in attendance and 24 naloxone kits distributed.
Ashley led an impactful discussion on the importance of reducing stigma and demonstrated how meaningful conversations about naloxone can play a critical role in pharmacy practice. It was a valuable experience to see students actively engage with the material and reflect on how they can carry these skills forward into future patient care. Great job, PARCKA team!
Learn more about PARCKA's Motivational Interviewing services.
SCOUTT Webinar
This month, the SCOUTT Initiative had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Ajay Manhapra, MD of the Hampton VA Medical Center. In his presentation titled “Trauma-Informed Care for Patients with Chronic Pain and Addiction,” Dr. Manhapra explored the intricate connections between trauma, PTSD, chronic pain, and addiction in Veterans. He shed light on the high prevalence of PTSD among Veterans with chronic pain and addiction issues and provided practical guidelines for implementing trauma-informed care and PTSD treatment. If you missed the presentation or would like to revisit its key points, a recording and the accompanying slides are available on the SCOUTT SharePoint. For assistance, please contact spencer.calder@va.gov. Please note that access to the VA intranet is required to view the SCOUTT SharePoint.