Alaina Scott, Senior Editor

A second round of revised quality standards for heparin became effective recently, the U.S. Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention has announced.

Each year, pharmacists who offer special services are recognized by their peers and wholesalers through nominations for Drug Topics' annual Top Independent Pharmacists awards in categories pertaining to service, competition, crisis response, and merchandising/promotion. This year's awards honor pharmacists in Washington State, North Carolina, Illinois, and New York.

Business Roundtable?s Partnership for Disaster Response today released the findings of its 2009 Flu Season Survey, which provides insights on how companies are preparing for H1N1 Influenza.

The FDA has announced the availability of the first draft guidance for industry on Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies.

CVS recently celebrated the grand opening of its 7,000th store in Little Canada, Minn. Continue reading for the full story.

As the most accessible members of the healthcare team, pharmacists in Maryland are being offered an opportunity to train in preparation for a predicted H1N1 flu pandemic.

Pharmacy groups have filed three lawsuits that argue that California, New York, and Washington have not met their legal requirements to assure Medicaid patients receive access and quality care at least equal to patients in the general public.

Walgreens recently launched an initiative for 90-day prescriptions that promotes delivery of maintenance and chronic care medication through its national network of more than 7,000 pharmacies and employer worksite centers.

Roche Laboratories recently released a statement to healthcare professionals regarding Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate) recommendations. Specifically, the company said there have been cases where the units of measure in the instructions on the prescription label have not matched the units of dosing devices.

HealthTrans, a healthcare management solutions company, recently announced changes it made to ensure market readiness for changes to Average Wholesale Prices (AWP). HealthTrans successfully transitioned clients Sept. 16,according to a statement to Drug Topics, and is now effectively processing claims based on Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC).

Cardinal Health is hoping that its newly expanded services offered to hospital pharmacies helps customers to make improvements to their work flow.

Community pharmacies and patients suffering the ill effects of a new flexible spending account (FSA) regulation could get some relief under two proposals the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) presented to the U.S. Department of Treasury in a letter Wednesday.

Controversy is in the mix after two mail-order prescription surveys with conflicting results were released within two days of each other.

A coalition of healthcare industry groups has sent a letter to the bipartisan leadership in Congress seeking to delay pending Medicaid cuts.

A new, nationwide WAL-MART mail order prescription program raises several troubling issues that could negatively affect patients.

While pharmacy customers with prescription drug coverage are more satisfied with their pharmacy experience, customers with public-private plans are just as satisfied as those with wholly private insurance, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 National Pharmacy Study released today.

The SUNY Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences held a ceremonial groundbreaking recently for a new building that will bring the school back into the city of Buffalo.

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted that clinical data support both the efficacy and safety of Cervarix, the company's candidate cervical cancer vaccine.

Walgreens recently announced the release of its Specialty Pharmacy State of the Industry report. Keep reading to find out more.

The Iowa Board of Pharmacy is now one step closer to making its recommendation to the state?s legislature regarding the use of medical marijuana in the state.

MDA and Walgreens are teaming up to offer flu shots at 7,000 locations.

The West Virginia Attorney General's Office has filed a lawsuit alleging that CVS Pharmacy, Kmart, Kroger, Walgreen Pharmacy, and Target violated a state law designed to promote use of generic equivalents for brand-name prescription drugs, according to media reports in the state.

A study released by CVS Caremark found that more than 50 percent of patients under the age of 45 who are prescribed a medication to treat high cholesterol are not optimally adherent to their therapy.

In what it describes as an effort to stabilize and possibly decrease costs, a significant portion of which are associated with enforcement of laws and regulations, the Virginia Board of Pharmacy is testing new processes to help increase the efficiency of certain noncompliance issues.

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy will convene a two-day task force Oct. 28 and October 29 to research various prescription-drug monitoring programs and recommend standards or model rules.

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that two lots of Advair Diskus medication were stolen earlier this month from the company's distribution facility near Richmond, Virginia.

On Aug. 26 the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to the public that stolen vials of the long-acting insulin Levemir still may be on the market.

The program created to provide Medicare recipients with prescription drug benefits exceeded expectations during its first two years. Keep reading to learn the details.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) announced recently that Duncan Mac Naughton, executive vice president of merchandising and marketing for SUPERVALU, has ben elected to the NACDS board of directors.

B. Braun Medical Inc. announced recently that it was named Surgery Center Market Supplier of the Year by McKesson's medical-surgical business unit. B. Braun received the award at McKesson's 2009 national sales meeting in Nashville, Tenn.