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A total of 185 Web sites now sell controlled substances, up from 154 in 2004, according to a survey by the National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse (CASA). Only 11% of the sites require a prescription. Of the 165 sites that don't require an Rx, 30% advertised that no script was needed, 60% offered on-line consultations, and 10% didn't mention a prescription.

Pharmacists dialing the dedicated Medicare Part D help line will now be redirected to the 1-(800) MEDICARE interactive voice response system instead. CMS pulled the plug on the R.Ph.-only help line after daily calls fell by 80% since Jan. 1.

A study conducted by S/T Health Group, an independent healthcare consulting firm, found that McKesson customers experience the lowest percentage of contract price errors in the industry. McKesson officials asserted that the study data affirmed that the San Francisco-based drug wholesaler continues to lead the pharmaceutical wholesale industry in contract price accuracy.

Zars Pharma has announced the launch of Synera (lidocaine 70 mg/tetracaine 70 mg), a topical patch approved for the prevention of pain associated with superficial venous access and superficial dermatological procedures such as excision, electrodessication, and shave biopsy of skin lesions in patients four months of age and older. Zars Pharma has licensed Synera to Endo Pharmaceuticals for sales and marketing in North America. According

A new bill, S. 3546-the Dietary Supplement & Non-Prescription Drug Consumer Protection Act-has been introduced. If passed, the bill will amend the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act to require the reporting of "serious" adverse events by manufacturers for both OTCs and dietary supplements to the FDA.

SmartCare Family Medical Centers, a Colorado-based operator of healthcare centers, announced an agreement to lease space within select Wal-Mart Supercenters in Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada. SmartCare Centers offer care for common ailments such as sore throats, ear infections, and seasonal allergies, as well as flu shots and other vaccines, school and employment physicals, and cholesterol screenings.

ASHP has joined the Alliance for Cardiac Care Excellence (ACE), a coalition of healthcare organizations committed to improving care for cardiac patients through the use of nationally accepted standards. The coalition will focus on implementing seven quality measures, including the administration of aspirin to patients arriving at the hospital with symptoms of a heart attack, the prescribing of beta-blockers to heart attack patients at discharge, and the use of ACE inhibitors to treat left ventricular systolic dysfunction.

The healthcare accreditation organization URAC has formed a committee to consider creation of the first accreditation program for PBMs. The chairman of the URAC PBM quality standards committee is John Jones, R.Ph., J.D., VP-government affairs and pharmacy policy at the PBM Prescription Solutions.

Longs Drug Stores has purchased the assets of Network Pharmaceuticals, including 21 retail pharmacies, one wholesale pharmacy, and one closed-door pharmacy, for about $10 million plus inventory. The retail pharmacies are located within or near medical office buildings, clinics, and hospitals.

Communicating with patients about Part D consumes an average 1.5 hours according to physicians surveyed by the J. Scott Group. The physicians estimated Part D generates an additional five phone calls per day from pharmacists requesting a switch to a cheaper drug or one on a patient's formulary.

America's Health Insurance Plans pledged to work with PBMs to ensure that payment for clean Part D claims is sent electronically or by mail at least twice monthly and no later than 30 days after the claims are submitted by the pharmacy. The industry will also work with PBMs and pharmacy to promote the availability and use of electronic funds transfer for Rx claims.

A report on lessons learned from KatrinaHealth, the collaborative effort to post secure, on-line information about the Rx drug histories of Hurricane Katrina evacuees, has been posted at http://katrinahealth.org/katrinahealth.final.pdf. The Merkle Foundation's report urges the government and private sector to work together to put in place systems, technologies, and policies to ensure that information is readily available to patients and providers when disaster strikes.

MedVantx, a network promoting use of generics and OTC samples in physician offices, has acquired AmeriPharm, a pharmacy service company based in Sioux Falls, S.D. AmeriPharm will provide central distribution and automated medication replenishment for MedVantx' point-of-care Sample Center.

Wellbutrin XL (bupropion HCl extended-release tablets) from GlaxoSmithKline has been approved for the prevention of major depressive episodes in patients with a history of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and is the first drug approved for this indication, the FDA said at a press conference. The depressive episodes associated with SAD can last up to six months and tend to occur during the autumn and winter, when daylight hours are at a minimum.

The Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has issued an alert to healthcare professionals who work with substance abuse patients about a new deadly drug combination being sold on the streets. Fentanyl is being combined with heroin or cocaine and has resulted in more than 100 deaths combined in the cities of Detroit, St. Louis, and Philadelphia since last September.

Gadolinium-containing contrast agents used at high doses may be linked to development of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis or nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy (NSF/NFD) that occurs in patients with kidney failure. The FDA has learned of 25 cases of NSF/NFD in patients who received Omniscan, a gadolinium contrast agent, and then underwent a magnetic resonance angiography (MRA).

Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals has announced the approval of a new indication for Zetia (ezetimibe). The drug can now be used in combination with fenofibrate, along with diet, for the reduction of high total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in patients with mixed hyperlipidemia, a metabolic disorder consisting of high LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, and elevated triglycerides.

Effective tobacco cessation interventions are available and could double or triple quit rates, but not enough smokers request or are being offered these interventions. This was a key finding of an NIH panel that convened recently to assess the available scientific evidence on tobacco use prevention, cessation, and control.

The FDA has ordered manufacturers of all unapproved carbinoxamine-containing products to stop producing their offerings over the next 30 to 90 days. The agency has received 21 reports of death in children under two years of age associated with these products.

The Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America (AAFA) will launch a campaign to educate patients and physicians to help ease the transition to hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) inhalers from the less environmentally friendly chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-containing versions.

The American Medical Association house of delegates has adopted a series of key principles to guide the establishment and operation of store-based healthcare clinics. The following principles are included in the guidelines: store-based health clinics must have a well-defined and limited scope of clinical services, consistent with state scope of practice laws; establish arrangements by which their healthcare practitioners have direct access to and supervision by physicians; and establish a referral system with physician practices or other facilities for appropriate treatment if the patients' condition or symptoms are beyond the scope of services provided by the clinic.

Excelsior College has launched an on-line bachelor's degree in health sciences for pharmacy technicians and other healthcare professionals seeking to advance into related positions in the health science professions. The program offers flexibility so students can continue to work while completing the course work at their own pace, according to the nonprofit distance education college located in Albany, N.Y.

Delivering chemo agents intraperitoneally is extending survival

Making sense of Medicare Part D prescription drug plans has been a major challenge for seniors. But for Medicare Part D recipients who have received organ transplants, choosing a plan is the least of their problems.

Pharmacists are playing a key role in medical groups' efforts to manage prescription drug costs, according to a study prepared for the U S. Department of Health & Human Services by Abt Associates, Cambridge, Mass. Lead author Harmon Jordan, Sc.D., told Drug Topics, "Clinical pharmacists are helping to educate physicians and patients, and they're forming relationships with physicians where they seem to have a very synergistic existence."

A 28-year-old woman, S.A. (two months' pregnant), is brought to your ER by her husband, who believes she is suicidal. According to your health-system medical records, S.A. was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder several years ago. She was previously treated with lithium and lamotrigine (Lamictal, GlaxoSmithKline) separately but was noncompliant. Her psychiatrist is weighing a mood stabilizer and/or antidepressant therapy during pregnancy. He asks for your recommendation.

Of the thousands of drug studies presented at the recent meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Washington, D.C., two took center stage as "genuine breakthroughs in colon cancer treatment and prevention." First, international scientists cited the biologic panitumumab (Amgen) for extending progression-free survival in advanced cancer patients. Then they hailed new research on celecoxib's (Celebrex, Pfizer) potential to prevent colon cancer-despite concern about heart-related side effects.

While most people haven't had time to digest the intricate details of the United States Pharmacopeia's proposed changes to General Chapter 797 (Pharmaceutical Compounding-Sterile Preparations), response to the protracted document has been almost universally positive.