All News

Walgreens, the largest pharmacy chain in the United States, has agreed to pay $80 million in civil penalties for record-keeping and dispensing violations under the Controlled Substances Act, according to statements released June 11 by the company and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

Delays in treatment and medication nonadherence are the major reasons behind avoidable costs in the healthcare system, according to a new study released this week.

Results from the RELY-ABLE trial, the RE-LY extension study, support the long-term safety profile of dabigatran etexilate mesylate (Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals) 150 mg twice daily in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF), according to a study published in Circulation.

Pharmcognosy is no longer a required course in pharmacy education, although some schools offer it as an elective. The newer schools do not offer it at all. Do new student pharmacists even know the definition of the word?

Results from the RELY-ABLE trial, the RE-LY extension study, support the long-term safety profile of dabigatran etexilate mesylate (Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals) 150 mg twice daily in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF), according to a study published in Circulation in mid-June.

Less than a month after FDA warned of an outbreak following steroid injections from a compounding pharmacy there, the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy (TBOP) strengthened its oversight of compounding pharmacies.

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.

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.

AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation will hold its annual independent community pharmacy tradeshow, ThoughtSpot 2013, from July 24 ­ 27, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

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.