All News

The Community Preventive Services Task Force, an independent, uncompensated panel of public health and prevention experts, has released 3 recommendations to address risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Pharmacists were included as members of the team to help with interventions for CVD prevention.

FDA is asking the public for advice on how to carry out Title VII. Among numerous other questions it is requesting comments on what information should be required at the time of entry to demonstrate a drug’s compliance, including information on homeopathic drugs for human use, articles for human or animal drug compounding, and drugs intended for research.

New Rx, indications, generics, and OTC for pharmacists

Working as a pharmacist is the third best profession in America in 2013, only behind dentist and registered nurse, according to a list compiled by U.S. News & World Report.

A nonprofit dedicated to ensuring online pharmacy safety, whose roots date back to an informal advocacy group started 4 years ago, was this week officially chartered in Washington, D.C. The board of the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies includes industry leaders from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Eli Lilly, LegitScript, and FWD Strategies International.

The 340B program is working just as Congress intended, helping hospitals stretch tight budgets to provide more and better patient care, said Ted Slafsky, MPP, president and chief executive officer of Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access.

Life expectancies and the overall health of the United States’ population have improved over the past 2 decades. But those improvements have not kept pace with improvements in other wealthy nations, according to an online study in JAMA.

Many patients suffer from both hypertension and high cholesterol, putting them at greater risk of coronary heart disease. Controlling the hypertension and high cholesterol would reduce CHD risk by 50% or more, but less than a third of patients have achieved adequate control of both, according to an online study in Circulation.

The 250 independent community pharmacies that comprise the Northeast Pharmacy Services Corporation, a New England regional pharmacy advocacy group, have joined the National Community Pharmacists Association.

FDA approved two new indications for the use of lurasidone HCl (Latuda, Sunovion and Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma) as monotherapy and adjunctive therapy with either lithium or valproate, for adults with bipolar depression.

As services for some disease states have flourished, those for HIV/AIDS seem to have fallen by the wayside. Pharmacists can do much to remedy this need.

Nearly a year after gaining FDA approval, prescriptions for once-daily phentermine and topiramate extended-release (Qsymia, Vivus) can now be filled at about 8,000 pharmacies nationwide.

Fresenius Kabi USA on June 30, 2013 issued a voluntary, user-level product recall of 4 lots of benztropine mesylate injection, USP, 2 mg/2 mL (1 mg/mL) in 2 mL single-dose vials, due to the possibility of glass particles in the vials.

FDA issued a warning July 3 that olmesartan medoxomil, an angiotensin II receptor blocker, may cause sprue-like enteropathy several months to years after initiation of treatment.

Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. on July 3, 2013 initiated a voluntary recall of 1 lot of its hepatitis B vaccine Recombinant HB Adult Formulation due to potential cracks in the vials.

FDA has approved low-dose paroxetine capsules (Brisdelle, Noven Pharmaceuticals), 7.5 mg/day, for the treatment of moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause, also referred to as hot flashes and night sweats.

Opioid overdose deaths in women in the United States increased fivefold from 1999 to 2010. During the same time period, the risk of opioid pain reliever deaths in men increased 3.6 times, according to the July 2 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

In addition to boosting patient health outcomes, medication therapy management is vital to a pharmacy’s bottom line, according to various speakers participating in the recent Pharmacy Quality Alliance’s webinar “Boosting MTM Program Compliance.”

States would see medical costs savings ranging from $19 million to $2.1 billion each if medication adherence rates improved, according to a study released by CVS Caremark.

The National Education Association Health Information Network is set to release a resource guide designed to help educators teach students about prescription drug abuse and misuse.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists will begin offering more than 20 hours annually of continuing pharmacy education courses through an online subscription service.

McKesson has released a mobile application it says can help improve medication adherence rates, help pharmacies operate more efficiently, and reduce hospital admissions.

Healthcare costs were substantially lower for HCV patients who achieved sustained virologic response up to 5 years after antiviral therapy ended, according to a study published in the July/August 2013 Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy.

Walgreens is partnering with Johns Hopkins Medicine to build a store adjacent to the hospital’s East Baltimore campus that will target students and staff and well as the surrounding community.

About half the adults in the United States regularly take dietary supplements to add nutrients or other ingredients to their diets. But how many know what’s actually in those supplements?

As part of a worldwide effort including law enforcement and international regulatory officials, FDA this week confiscated more than $41 million worth of illegal medicines and shut down more than 9,600 websites.

Despite increases in earnings and net income, Walgreens shares dropped this week after the company’s third-quarter earnings fell short of Wall Street expectations.