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About 20% of Chicago staff pharmacists at Walgreens have resigned from the National Pharmacists Association (NPhA) as talks between the union, Walgreens, and a federal mediator failed to produce an agreement. About 1,200 Walgreens union pharmacists in northern Illinois and northwest Indiana walked off their jobs at 10 PM on July 11

Changing market conditions are catapulting pharmacists into the pivotal role of patrolling a third class of drugs.

In the world of medical reimbursement, having a "CPT code" for a type of professional effort or procedure is much like having its existence recognized. Medication therapy management (MTM) services by pharmacists crossed that threshold on July 1, when the American Medical Association's official list of procedures added three codes for MTM?initial service, subsequent service, and additional time, each in 15-minute blocks?in its chapter on cognitive services.

A key drug safety researcher says the electronic systems that pharmacists use to talk to one another may be a powerful tool for postmarket safety surveillance. The organizations he works with are doing pilot studies to explore that possibility.

Editor's note: Our April 18 cover story, "Staving off allergies," drew so many inquiries from readers about the issue of the risk of cross-sensitivity with penicillins and cephalosporins that we invited Michael E. Pichichero, M.D., the source of our information, to explain the subject in greater detail below.

To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub," wrote Shakespeare in Hamlet several centuries ago. And that still appears to be true: According to recent estimates, about 20% of the American population is afflicted with intermittent or chronic sleep problems. But how much of a health problem is this?

The symptoms sound innocuous?uncontrolled laughing and crying?but its effects can be seriously disabling in social and occupational settings. Pseudobulbar affect (PBA), also known as emotional lability, is believed to affect up to one million patients with neurological disorders, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and stroke. Currently there are no approved treatments for this condition.

Based on early data from clinical trials, the Food & Drug Administration's Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee recommended tipranavir (Aptivus, Boehringer Ingelheim) for accelerated approval in May. The product was approved in June and is now available through wholesalers. Although not a first-line drug for HIV, tipranavir, a protease inhibitor (PI), could be an important option for a subset of patients with advanced disease.

FDA issues public health advisory on fentanyl patch The FDA has issued a public health advisory regarding the safe use of transdermal fentanyl patches in response to reports of deaths in patients using this potent narcotic medication for pain management. In addition, a patient information sheet and an alert to healthcare professionals were issued, identifying several important safety precautions for the use of fentanyl transdermal patches.

Formularies under Medicare Part D

Involving clinical pharmacists in the management of patients with diabetes results in improvements in A1c levels, blood pressure, and lipid profiles. So reported investigators at the 65th annual scientific sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Management models that incorporate pharmacists can also reduce healthcare utilization and cost of care.

A dizzying array of new products was highlighted at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Marketplace 2005 conference, held in New Orleans last month. At this largest front-end trade show in the industry, the buzzword was natural, with the majority of new products containing natural ingredients to satisfy customer demand for safer solutions to healthcare problems. Here's a look at the new entries in personal care, dietary supplementation, and home health care.

An Institute of Medicine panel began a year-long investigation last month with hope of recommending fixes to the nation's foundering drug safety system. The panel was commissioned by Food & Drug Administration officials, who pledged to seek improvements to safety monitoring in the wake of highly publicized problems with COX-2 drugs, selective serotonin reupake inhibitor (SSR) antidepressants, and other products.

Just because pharmacists or pharmacies don't know that certain actions are prohibited by the Healthcare Insurance Portability & Accountability Act doesn't mean they can't be brought up on criminal charges for violations, according to a ruling issued by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

As California and Florida gear up to implement new pedigree laws—legislation that requires a paper trail on prescription drugs to thwart counterfeiting—there are growing signs of resistance and complaints that it will be very costly to install a uniform tracking system.

The FDA and the pharmaceutical industry step up their anticounterfeiting initiatives.

Communications between caregivers and medication use safety dominate the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' 2006 National Patient Safety Goals for hospitals. Among the major additions to the 2006 goals are new requirements that "hand-offs" of patients between caregivers be standardized and that all medication containers, including syringes, medicine cups, basins, and other solutions used in perioperative areas, be labeled.

On Jan. 1, 2006, Medicare Part D will begin. MMA provides for access to the prescription drug benefit through one of four options: a stand-alone prescription drug plan (PDP); a component of a Medicare Advantage (MA) managed care plan; an employer-sponsored qualifying plan; or a government-supported fallback plan in areas with only one private option. There are a number of key dates along the path to implementation.

An electronic tool is being developed to help pharmacists assist seniors on Medicaid who may be confused about having to choose a Medicare prescription drug plan by year's end.

The Food & Drug Administration has approved Revatio (sildenafil citrate, Pfizer) for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). If the drug sounds familiar, that's because Viagra, Pfizer's famed erectile dysfunction medication, contains the same active ingredient.

Do pharmacists get enough respect? Not when you consider that they still conspicuously lack provider status under Medicare Part B.

CMS proposes marketing guidelines for Medicare Part D CMS has developed draft guidelines on what pharmacists can and cannot do with regard to marketing Medicare Part D prescription drug plans in their pharmacies.

Drug products used to treat cardiovascular diseases (e.g., hypertension, congestive heart failure, ischemia, and arrhythmias) have been associated with a significant number of adverse drug events. Cardiovascular drug products are among the most widely used in both hospital and ambulatory care settings, and previous studies that have examined cardiovascular patients suggest that a significant degree of morbidity and mortality may be preventable.

Pharmacists, along with physicians and politicians, top the list of barriers keeping emergency contraception out of easy reach. That's the news from the annual meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). "Emergency contraception [EC] is almost trivial in medical terms," said Eve Espy, M.D., MPH, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of New Mexico. "It is relatively simple, safe, and highly effective."

The American Society of Hypertension's call for a new, broader definition of hypertension could sharply increase the use of drug therapy. Current practice defines hypertension using blood pressure cut points. BP should be reduced below 140/90 for the general population and below 130/80 for patients with diabetes or chronic renal disease.

Illinois R.Ph. sues over dispensing rule

State and federal regulators are beginning to question discounts greater than 90% on drugs used in hospitals. The practice, called nominal pricing, could affect drug prices paid by Medicaid.

Terminally ill with cancer, David Pruiett decided to end his life under Oregon's Death with Dignity Act. He went through the legal process, got the lethal prescription in late January, swallowed the liquid laced with powder from 100 barbiturate pills, and fell asleep. Three days later, he woke up and asked his wife why he wasn't dead.

Pharmacists are not pleased with the first Part D contracts they have been receiving from pharmacy benefit managers and prescription drug plans (PDPs). They offer some of the lowest reimbursement rates in memory. Contracts reviewed by Drug Topics call for reimbursement at average wholesale price minus as much as 45% plus dispensing fees as low as $1.