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Patients taking newer antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) that are associated with a high risk of depression may have an elevated risk of self-harm or suicidal behavior, but other groups of AEDs do not appear to carry the same risk, according to research published in the July 27 issue of Neurology and reported in HealthDay News.

Oral antidiabetic (OAD) agents generally result in a maximum 1.5% drop in hemoglobin (Hb) A1C levels, with sulfonylureas and thiazolidinediones having a slightly more beneficial effect than other classes of oral agents, according to research published in the August issue of Diabetes Care and reported by HealthDay News.

Investigational combination treatment with sustained-release (SR) naltrexone and bupropion (Contrave, Orexigen Therapeutics) combined with lifestyle modification, appears effective in helping people lose 5% or more of their excess body weight, according to research published online July 30 in The Lancet and reported by HealthDay News.

Space is limited for the Pharmacy Ownership Workshop of the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), taking place August 20 to August 22 at the Holiday Inn Richmond Airport Hotel in Richmond, Va.

No sooner did Sandoz begin shipping its generic version than Sanofi-Aventis, manufacturer of Lovenox, filed a federal lawsuit to reverse the FDA's approval of the generic.

With so many best-selling name-brand drugs coming off patent over the next few years, the market for generics should expand markedly. In Drug Topics' special generics supplement, pharmacists from around the country offer their views.

The generic market is likely to remain very strong between now and 2015, but the combination of healthcare reform and a lack of significant drugs coming off patent means that the outlook between 2015 and 2020 is murkier.

There are some big names among the brand drugs that have recently come off patent and joined the burgeoning generics market.

In a recent survey by Medco Health Solutions Inc., only 66% of 1,092 patients with insurance surveyed "agreed that a generic drug is the same as the brand-name medication - many patients are still not comfortable using a generic and others still consider brand-name drugs to be superior."

Use of bar-code technology is widespread in the general retail environment. Its advantages have not yet been fully exploited in the hospital and community-pharmacy settings.

With many pharmacists approaching retirement, positions are opening up. For professionals tasked with greater responsibility and longer working hours, greener pastures have an undeniable appeal. In this business climate, how can employers hold onto their pharmacy professionals?

During a typically busy day in the pharmacy, counseling every patient may be tough. But is it too much to answer questions politely - or help someone standing helpless in the OTC aisle?

Pharmacists are in a good position to tell patients that sand, water, snow, and clouds reflect and intensify the sun's rays, causing unsuspected sun damage, even in shade, and that protecting skin from sun damage should be incorporated into a daily routine.

An FDA advisory panel voted 20 to 12 to recommend that the agency allow rosiglitazone (Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline) to remain on the market.

In response to growing concern among hospital pharmacists, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) has launched an education program on antibiotic resistance.

Summer brings picnics, hikes, and trips to the water, along with sunburn, bug bites, and dry, itchy skin. For all that exposed skin, manufacturers offer several new skin-care aids.

Many pharmacies across the country have adopted new policies and procedures that focus more on patient care and outcomes. Included among these new options is administration of vaccines.

Most of us probably didn't pay a lot of attention to business majors when we were in college. Unfortunately, the business majors have far more influence over the practice of pharmacy today than pharmacists do, and it's going to be up to them to find a way out of the pickle our profession finds itself in.

The 2,400-page healthcare reform bill included language establishing the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, a group grounded in the tenets of comparative effectiveness research. Its mission is significant, but whether it has the power to effect change remains to be seen.

A survey of new Rx, new generic, and new OTC products

In every pharmacy, continuous quality improvement is an essential safeguard. For two approaches that guarantee best practices, read on.

Numerous studies show that patients benefit from medication therapy management (MTM) services provided by pharmacists. The drawback to many programs is that it is financially difficult to offer them. In Wisconsin, however, clinical and retail pharmacists participating in the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin's (PSW) MTM pilot project are reimbursed for the time they spend reviewing patients' formulary or explaining how patients should use drugs.

Although the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) creates an abbreviated approval pathway for biological products that are demonstrated to be ?highly similar? (biosimilar) to or ?interchangeable? with an FDA-approved biological product, only time will tell how long it will take for these biosimilars to reach the marketplace.

Recent clinical practice guidelines offer similar recommendations for assessing and managing low back pain, and clinicians can improve patient care by adopting these recommendations, according to a review published in the June issue of The Spine Journal, reported HealthDay News.

Written confirmation is now available from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services indicating that Fluzone High-Dose (Sanofi Pasteur) influenza virus vaccine for patients 65 years or older is a benefit covered by Medicare Part B and will be reimbursed for the upcoming 2010?11 influenza season.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed regulation on June 25 that would exempt community pharmacies from the upcoming bidding process for Medicare Part B diabetes-testing supplies, along with instructions that exempt most independent community pharmacies from accreditation requirements.

Long-term data from a retrospective cohort study showed that hyperlipidemic obese patients had more than a 90% reduction in their need of lipid-lowering therapy following laparoscopic gastric-bypass surgery, MedPage Today reported.

Women who suffer from endometriosis-related pain should be treated first with conservative, nonsurgical approaches and then with more invasive options if pain does not resolve, and with hysterectomy only as a last resort, according to a practice bulletin issued by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and published in the July issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology, reported HealthDay News.