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Out of the 11,190 candidates who sat for the North AmericanPharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) last year, 85% received apassing grade, compared with 92% in 2004, according to the NABPadvisory committee on examinations. The 7% drop was attributed to anew NAPLEX standard adopted last year that requires a slightlyhigher level of ability for candidates to achieve a passing scoreof 75% or higher.

Seniors and the Medicare Part D program could potentially save morethan $23 billion over the next five years, as at least 14brand-name drugs commonly used by seniors are scheduled to becomeavailable in generic form, according to a new analysis released byPCMA. The analysis examined the top 100 drugs used by seniors toarrive at a conservative estimate of potential Medicare costsavings.

Early results from a national pharmacist intervention pilot studyshowed that 75% of asthma patients do not have their disease undercontrol, according to NCPA, which is conducting the study withMedical Care and Outcomes and GlaxoSmithKline. By mid-April, theprogram had enrolled 369 independent pharmacists, who use afive-question assessment tool to determine how well a patient'sasthma is being controlled.

Walgreens is offering one-on-one Medicare drug benefit assistanceevery Monday through Friday from 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. through May 15 at1,000 select locations. Pharmacy staff will explain how the newprogram works, provide information on different plans, and reviewthe factors that should be considered in order to make a goodselection.

American Pharmaceutical Partners, which produces many multisourceinjectable drugs for cancer, critical care, and infection control,has merged with American BioScience to form Abraxis BioScience, LosAngeles. A major drug in its portfolio is the breast cancer drugAbraxane for Injectable Suspension (paclitaxel protein-boundparticles for injectable suspension) (albumin-bound).

The American Medical Association and America's Health InsurancePlans have developed a form for doctors to use to ordernonformulary drugs under Medicare. This Exceptions Request Form isavailable atwww.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/Downloads/Form_Exceptions_final.pdf onthe CMS Web site.

The Inspector General has issued an advisory opinion declaring thatit doesn't plan to take any action against Schering Plough'spatient assistance programs (PAPs), which provide free medicines toneedy patients, including Medicare beneficiaries. Drugmanufacturers had been worrying about whether their PAPs would bedeemed as steering Medicare patients to their drugs and thus aviolation of antikickback laws.

The HHS Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announcedan award of $16 million over the next five years to establish fournew Centers for Education & Research on Therapeutics (CERTs) toincrease awareness of the benefits and risks of therapeuticproducts, including prescription medicines, biological products,and medical devices, and to translate research findings intoimproved health care. The CERTs are located at Rutgers, the StateUniversity of New Jersey in New Brunswick; the University of Iowa;Baylor College of Medicine in Houston; and Weill Medical College ofCornell University in New York City.

A Baptist college's expulsion of a student who revealed that he isgay has Kentucky's Gov. Ernie Fletcher considering a line-item vetoof $10 million earmarked for a new pharmacy school.

Some of the eligible products include Ensure, Glucerna, Depend, Poise, Huggies, Cottonelle Fresh Folded Wipes, Citrucel, Comfort Personal Cleansing, No-Rinse, and Os-Cal.

The low molecular weight heparin enoxaparin (Lovenox, Sanofi-Aventis) is superior to unfractionated heparin as an adjunct to thrombolytic therapy in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (MI), researchers reported at the 55th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology (ACC). The meeting was held in Atlanta last month.

The market for home infusion services is approaching $10 billion annually. The amount is split almost evenly between reimbursement for drug product and for the services pharmacists provide in preparing, delivering, and supporting home IV therapy.

Cedar River Clinics, a woman's health clinic and abortion provider, complained to the Washington State Board of Pharmacy that a hospital outpatient pharmacist cited moral objections for refusing to dispense a script for an abortion-related antibiotic, according to published reports.

Longs Drug Stores has entered into an agreement to buy Network Pharmaceuticals' 22 retail pharmacies, one wholesale pharmacy, and one closed-door pharmacy in southern California for about $10 million.

Consensus guidelines have been developed for the first time for the treatment of peripheral neuropathic pain associated with diabetes.

Eyetech Inc. and Pfizer have notified healthcare professionals of labeling changes for pegaptanib sodium injection (Macugen).

Changes to the labeling for Euflexxa (1% sodium hyaluronate, Ferring Pharmaceuticals), a treatment for the pain associated with osteoarthritis, have been approved by the FDA.

More than 1,350 pharmacy students participated in the residency matching program held in mid-March, representing an almost 13% increase over last year. In addition, more than 1,000 participants were matched with a residency, a 15% increase compared with the previous year.

GlaxoSmithKline is launching Nicorette Fruit Chill with a nationwide campaign called the Fruit Chill Million Challenge.

XLHealth, a disease management company, and CVS/pharmacy have partnered to provide free one-on-one medication consultations to a large segment of the Medicare beneficiaries participating in the Tennessee Medicare Health Support pilot program.

The FDA declined to allow GlaxoSmithKline to sell the weight-loss drug Xenical (orlistat) without a prescription, but the company said it still expects to introduce an OTC version of the drug by the end of the year.

The FDA and CDC are alerting healthcare professionals and their patients who wear soft contact lenses to an increasing number of reports of rare but serious fungal infections in the eye that can cause permanent loss of sight.

The American Lung Association of Iowa and Hy-Vee are joining forces to offer Iowa residents free screenings for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in America. Early detection through screening is essential to the diagnosis of COPD in its earliest stages. The screenings are available this month and will run through June.

One problem hospitals that have installed a computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system have been grappling with is the torrent of medical alerts generated by this technology.

When a new drug hits the market, it's no surprise to anyone that the price can be pretty steep. High research and development costs, along with huge promotional expenses, are part and parcel of bringing a new drug to consumers.

Virtually none of the more than 1,000 rural critical access hospitals (CAHs) in rural America can afford a round-the-clock R.Ph. on staff. And this lack of coverage can adversely affect quality by slowing the prescription review process, said Tim Stratton, R.Ph., Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy in Duluth.

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices and ECRI, a medical device safety research company, are investigating a potentially dangerous problem with smart infusion pumps programming pads.