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New Pharma knowledge base streamlines CPOEAlthough computerized physician order entry (CPOE) offers the potential to save lives and reduce medical costs, it hasn't yet garnered widespread acceptance. According to the results of a questionnaire administered in a study by Harvey Murff, M.D., of Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston and Joseph Kannry, M.D., of Mount Sinai-NYU Health Systems in New York, published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, one of the biggest obstacles to acceptance is the difficulty of executing tasks "in a straightforward manner." Physicians find it takes longer to type prescriptions into the system than it does to write prescriptions on a pad in the traditional way.
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Pay dirt: Pharmacist salaries are still climbing, but at a slower rate. Our exclusive survey shows who gets top dollarPharmacist salaries are still climbing, but at a slower rate. Our exclusive survey shows who gets top dollar.
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Hospital pharmacies to go high-tech and decentralizedHospitals and other healthcare facilities of the future will look more like hotels or office buildings and less like the institutional and often inconveniently designed buildings that many think of today, said Greg Lasker, an assistant professor of building construction management at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. According to Lasker, Clarion North Medical Center in Carmel, Ind., is a precursor of what hospitals of the future will look like.
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Drug Topics to expand in the digital worldDrug Topics announces a new publication frequency and adds an expert in specialty pharmacy to its board.
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What the FDA Wants Pharmacists to Know About Generic DrugsDrug Topics recently spoke with the FDA about the role pharmacists can play in patient education.
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R.Ph.s can facilitate switch to HFA inhalersAs part of the 1987 international Montreal Protocol treaty to reduce/eliminate substances depleting the ozone layer, CFC (chlorofluorocarbon) propellants in albuterol metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) are gradually being replaced by HFAs (hydrofluoro-alkanes). The transition need not be complete until Dec. 31, 2008, when albuterol CFC-MDIs must be discontinued as mandated by the Food & Drug Administration. But the change is well under way. As Patty Johnson, spokeswoman for GlaxoSmithKline, noted, "We [GSK] already transitioned to Ventolin HFA MDI in early 2006."
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Telepharmacy Business Model Allows Satellite Operation and Increased Patient ConvenienceAdoption of video conferencing technologies improve dispersal and communication to patients and healthcare professionals alike.
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Lawmakers seek standard for generic biologicsAfter years of false starts, stalls, and missteps, Congress may soon be ready to tackle the thorny question of how to regulate generic biologic pharmaceuticals, lawmakers noted at the Generic Pharmaceutical Association's 2006 Annual Policy Conference held recently in Washington, D.C.
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FDA Finalizes Guidance on Interchangeability for BiologicsBiosimilar guidance provides “clarity” for drug developers.
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Eye on ethics: Whose prescription is it anyway?Pharmacists must observe HIPAA regulations and also have a clear duty to warn patients.
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New data support combo therapy at outset of hypertension treatmentNew studies support the use of fixed dose antihypertensive combination therapy at the outset of hypertension treatment.
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How long is the wait?Okay, pharmacists. All together now. What's the one question you hear all day long?
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Adherence program improves health of elderlyPharmacists at one of the nation's largest military medical centers found that elderly patients are likelier to comply with drug regimens following a program of patient education, pharmacy counseling, and specially packaged drug blisterpacks. Jeannie Lee, Pharm.D., and Karen Grace, Pharm.D., clinical pharmacists at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, led the research. "The Federal Study of Adherence to Medications in the Elderly" (FAME) was published in the Dec. 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Clinical advancements in treating breast cancerBreast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women, second only to lung cancer, and the most common malignancy diagnosed in women. The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates approximately 215,990 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. It is estimated that 40,110 women will die from breast cancer in the United States this year alone.
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FDA Approves New COPD Maintenance TreatmentDUAKLIR PRESSAIR (aclidinium bromide and formoterol fumarate) provides LAMA/LABA therapy.
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Are transdermal patches the way of the future?This past April, methylphenidate (Daytrana, Shire) was approved as a transdermal drug delivery system (TD-DDS) for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. And many more patches are on the horizon. Novartis is seeking Food & Drug Administration approval for its rivastigmine (Exelon) patch to aid in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers in the United Kingdom are working on a TD-DDS to deliver synthetic cannabinoids for use as antiemetics and appetite stimulants in patients with AIDS and cancer.
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Clinical Q & A: What's the latest in vaccine therapyThe focus of medicine lies not only in searching for viable treatments and cures for existing ailments but also in the prevention of disease. Vaccination induces immunity after an antigen is introduced to the body. This antigen usually consists of a live attenuated organism, an inactivated organism, a toxoid, or parts of an organism (acellular and subunit). The antigen is incapable of resulting in the full-blown manifestation of the disease, but it is potent enough to generate the formation of antibodies to protect against future illness. Traditionally, vaccination has been used to combat the spread of infectious diseases, such as cholera, rabies, polio, measles, and hepatitis. And this is still the case.
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Clinical Q & A: What's the latest in vaccine therapyThe focus of medicine lies not only in searching for viable treatments and cures for existing ailments but also in the prevention of disease. Vaccination induces immunity after an antigen is introduced to the body. This antigen usually consists of a live attenuated organism, an inactivated organism, a toxoid, or parts of an organism (acellular and subunit). The antigen is incapable of resulting in the full-blown manifestation of the disease, but it is potent enough to generate the formation of antibodies to protect against future illness. Traditionally, vaccination has been used to combat the spread of infectious diseases, such as cholera, rabies, polio, measles, and hepatitis. And this is still the case.
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Viewpoint: Many drug errors can be preventedMedication safety has always been an important issue, but the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) recent report showing that preventable medication errors injure at least 1.5 million Americans annually illustrates the seriousness of this predicament. The authors of the IOM report, Preventing Medication Errors: The Quality Chasm Series, even acknowledge that this is likely a conservative assessment of drug safety gaps. The report noted that each year 530,000 preventable adverse drug events-injuries due to medication-affect outpatient Medicare patients, 380,000 to 450,000 occur in hospitals, and another 800,000 in long-term care facilities.
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FDA Safety Page: Helping patients understand OTC labelingThe FDA recommends that you counsel patients on the importance of reading product labels carefully to determine the active ingredients and dosing instructions of each product and to discourage them from making assumptions about use based on product names or appearance. The use of similar trade names (so-called "brand-name families") is common practice for OTC products. The products with the trade names "Sudafed" and "Sudafed PE" illustrate specific concerns.
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What the crystal ball holds: Experts give their takeQ Will there be a pharmacy shortage 25 years from now? How will the role of the pharmacist change?
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FDA's standstill on N-9 endangering women's livesThis hasn't been a banner year for the Food & Drug Administration as guardian of our health and safety, for a storm of controversy has been following the agency like the black cloud that hovered over the head of cartoon character Mr. Mxyzptlk.
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How to Manage Medication RisksManaging the overall risk of medication therapy is more effective than simply managing drug-drug interactions.
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Antibiotics Linked to Higher IBD Risk in Older AdultsSeniors prescribed multiple courses of antibiotics were at greater risk for IBD.
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C’mon, folks, give them the chair!Popular contributor "Goose" Rawlings offers a simple solution to a universal problem.
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ASHP offers quality improvement strategies in new resource centerThe American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) is providing quality improvement strategies for pharmacy practice settings across the continuum of care.
