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The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) elected a new chairman of the Board of Directors at its 2010 annual meeting in April in Palm Beach, Fla. In addition, the NACDS Foundation awarded nearly $300,000 in scholarships to pharmacy schools during the meeting.

The National Community Pharmacists Association?s (NCPA) Ownership Academy has announced a new program, Jumpstart Your Pharmacy Business: A Seminar for Owners, to be held July 17 to 18 in Alexandria, Va.

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) has endorsed two legislative bills that are aimed at controlling healthcare costs by requiring greater transparency of pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) and ensuring that Medicare patients with diabetes can continue to obtain their medical supplies from their local community pharmacies, during its 42nd annual National Legislation and Government Affairs Conference held in Washington last week.

In a large randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study that evaluated the general safety of the live herpes zoster vaccine (Zostavax, Merck) in adults aged 60 or older, the safety profile of ZOSTAVAX was similar to that of placebo with respect to serious adverse events.

New OTC packaging intended to enhance patient safety began appearing on pharmacy shelves after a new rule for OTC internal analgesic, antipyretic, and antirheumatic drug products took effect on April 29, 2010.

Even though Bruce Roberts strongly criticized pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) during his tenure as executive vice president and CEO of the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), he is enthusiastic about the prospect of heading up a type of PBM.

FDA would like to alert healthcare providers to the recent proprietary name change for dexlansoprazole delayed-release capsules. Now known as Dexilant, dexlansoprazole is the proton pump inhibitor formerly known as Kapidex.

An overview of several provisions of "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" affecting pharmacies and pharmacy practice.

Clinical pharmacy pioneer Mary Anne Koda-Kimble, PharmD, dean of the School of Pharmacy at University of California, San Francisco, was awarded the 2010 Remington Honor Medal, the highest honor given by the American Pharmacists Association, at its recent annual meeting in Washington.

A report issued by the Senate Finance Committee earlier this year noted that Avandia is associated with 83,000 excess heart attacks occurring between 1999 and 2007.

Prescription-drug benefit plans prosper by exploiting a non-transparent, non-accountable system. This needs to change.

Supermarket chains Albertsons and Harris Teeter have launched online tools to help shoppers pursue health and wellness.

A pharmacy puzzler

There is an answer to 12-hour shifts, inadequate support, 20-minute lunch hours, and no bathroom breaks. Ask the United Steelworkers of America.

Letters: May 2010

Pharmacists speak out about job satisfaction, pharmacist shortage, and mail-order pharmacy.

While many people were trying to escape the scenes of death and destruction within Haiti, pharmacists Tamara Neff and Jess Streif were finalizing plans to travel there.

FDA announced that clopidogrel, an antiplatelet agent given to reduce the risk of heart attack, unstable angina, stroke, and cardiovascular death in patients with cardiovascular disease, will require a new black-box warning about its reduced effectiveness in patients who are poor metabolizers of the drug.

There is room for individual expression in our workplace; however, in a profession such as pharmacy, the main effort should be dedicated to patient care rather than how to successfully navigate the toxic personalities in the pharmacy.

More than 50 million Americans, including up to 40% of children, suffer from indoor and outdoor upper respiratory allergies. This year, several manufacturers have new offerings to control and treat asthma, allergy, and sinus symptoms.

In response to a flurry of drug thefts plaguing pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors in recent months, the Center for Healthcare Supply Chain Research, an arm of the Healthcare Distribution Management Association (HDMA), is holding a seminar on Supply Chain Security May 10 and 11 in Alexandria, Va.