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After three recent deaths—each linked to medication administration errors—at two California Kaiser Permanente hospitals, the organization has taken aggressive measures to prevent these types of horrific mistakes.

A patient safety initiative that emphasizes the importance of evidence-based protocols to fight hospital-acquired infections won recognition recently from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.

A pharmacist-led multidisciplinary team at Evanston (Ill.) Northwestern Healthcare (ENH) has earned for the health system the 2005 Award for Medication-Use Safety.

In a timely marriage of technology and data, RxHub and Siemens Medical Solutions recently signed an agreement to provide outpatient medication records electronically to inpatient clinicians. The move takes place in anticipation of the medication reconciliation patient safety goal set this year by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations for implementation in the nation's hospitals in January 2006.

A new wireless medication management system from Cerner and Hospira may significantly reduce intravenous pump errors. The new system integrates Cerner's bar-code point-of-care (BPOC) system with Hospira's smart pump to ensure that the right patient is getting the right dose of the right drug at the right time by the right route of administration.

When pharmacy director Steve Sievert needs to talk to someone at Baptist Medical Center South (BMCS) in Jacksonville, Fla., he doesn't bother with the telephone. He just tells the Vocera hanging around his neck. The tiny wireless communications device either finds the person somewhere on the hospital campus or routes the request to voice mail.

Though blockbusters that wreak havoc on budgets are not anticipated, some new agents still bear watching.

The foundation standards that will govern electronic prescribing in Medicare have been finalized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Whether it's the ongoing steroids controversy surrounding Major League baseball or another Olympic athlete being banned from competition, the use of illegal steroids and performance-enhancing drugs is clearly on the rise. Because of this, both collegiate and professional sports teams are finding themselves under increasing pressure to monitor the drugs their athletes take.

The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) sets a precedent for the design of prescription drug plans (PDPs) by requiring that medication therapy management (MTM) services be offered to certain enrollees. The MMA targets beneficiaries for MTM if they take multiple medications, have multiple chronic diseases, and expect to have total drug costs in excess of $4,000 per year.

The other day, I had a patient who told me, "The doctor won't let me have any more Meridia, and it's your fault."

The Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board (PCAB) is gearing up to graduate the first class of pharmacies able to meet tough quality standards to win its seal of approval.

Pertussis, known also as whooping cough, is a highly communicable infectious disease of the respiratory tract caused by airborne exposure to Bordetella pertussis, a gram-negative bacillus. In addition to the coughing and choking spells that make breathing difficult, major complications—most common among infants and young children—include hypoxia, apnea, pneumonia, seizures, encephalopathy, and malnutrition. In a teleconference conducted recently by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, several physicians discussed the new adult recommendations for pertussis booster vaccinations.

Opioids decrease pain and improve functioning. But some patients are reluctant to take opioids because they want to "be engaged in life."

Insulin sensitizers are poised to become standard medications to reduce the risk of coronary events in patients with Type 2 diabetes, said researchers at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2005, held recently in Dallas.

A new treatment option for treating T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) is on the horizon. In 2006, GlaxoSmithKline will begin marketing the recently approved nelarabine (Arranon), a water-soluble pro-drug of the cytotoxic deoxyguanosine analog 9-?-D-arabinofuranosylguanine (ara-G).

The Food & Drug Administration has approved deferasirox (Exjade, Novartis Pharmaceuticals) for the treatment of chronic iron overload due to blood transfusions (transfusional hemosiderosis) in adults and children age two and older. "Iron overload is a potentially fatal consequence among patients with sickle cell disease, myelodysplastic syndromes, and thalassemia who regularly receive blood transfusions," said Alice Cohen, M.D., director of the division of hematology and oncology at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Newark, N.J. If left untreated, excess iron may lead to significant damage to the heart, liver, and other vital organs.

Don't expect Medicare beneficiaries to qualify for medication therapy management (MTM) until the second or third quarter of 2006. And data on the actual health outcomes of the 2006 program will not be available until late 2007 or 2008. That timeline came from officials at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, who spoke at an American Health Quality Association (AHQA) meeting in Arlington, Va., last month.

Don't leave the future of pharmacy practice in the hands of others. So urged John Gans, executive VP of APhA, at a recent seminar on drug importation and counterfeiting at the Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in New York.

ADA: Florida Medicaid reform threatens diabetics CMS pushes Part D help for lower-income folks Single-day Famvir shortens duration of herpes Nurses again top R.Ph.s in ethics poll Longs, Calif. Blue Shield to market Medicare Part D Pharmacists disagree over morning-after pill bill Survey: Physicians, R.Ph.s disagree on OTC statins Study explains higher risk of hypertension in Blacks LTCPA to CMS: Let's discuss rebate disclosure Novartis issues breast cancer drug warning FDA committee supports safety of Daytrana Amgen warns about Aranesp, Epogen Flomax tied to cataract surgery condition FDA approves simplified Kogenate reconstitution Firm seeks reports of Medicare Rx fraud, abuse British R.Ph.s win independent prescribing Part D Web site inflated some Rx prices

There are many ways to reduce Medicaid costs Studiocom announces new Medicare site at CVS.com PharmaCare No. 1 in PBMI customer satisfaction report FDA announces meeting, seeks comments and data Pharmacist guild, Kaiser reach tentative wage agreement Genelex offering senior discount on lifesaving genetic tests Duane Reade replaces CEO with Longs Drug exec

FDA: Don't worry, Tamiflu is safe to use FDA issues asthma advisory Hormones not needed by most menopausal women Long-term care alliance: End Medicare confusion CVS becomes AARP featured employer Experts agree on vitamin D's role in bone health Coalition: Don't use supplements against avian flu

In a move to expand efforts to control hospital-acquired infections, the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) recently awarded grants totaling $150,000 to six state hospitals. The hospitals will use the money to implement projects to reduce the number of surgical-site infections, Foley catheter-associated urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia and central line-associated bloodstream infections, and ventriculostomy and/ or medically resistant staphylococcus infections, said PHC4 officials.

In a move to expand efforts to control hospital-acquired infections, the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) recently awarded grants totaling $150,000 to six state hospitals. The hospitals will use the money to implement projects to reduce the number of surgical-site infections, Foley catheter-associated urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia and central line-associated bloodstream infections, and ventriculostomy and/ or medically resistant staphylococcus infections, said PHC4 officials.

I recently read a book titled, Dangerous Doses: How Counterfeiters Are Contaminating America's Drug Supply (Harcourt, 2005). It is written by Katherine Eban, an investigative medical reporter who provides a very detailed account of the counterfeiting of drugs and other major problems in the U.S. drug distribution system. Most people have little awareness of the scope of these problems or the potential consequences.

DEA proposes hike in fees Novartis recalls three products VA revises co-pay for outpatient drugs E-Rxing initiative requires pharmacy link Baxter to withdraw infusion pump Organon launches DTC campaign for NuvaRing FDA approves dosing change for cholesterol drug Consumer groups file lawsuit over dual eligibles ModernHEALTH acquires BioFusion Euflexxa launched for osteoarthritis knee pain Pharmacies must register to dispense isotretinoin FDA approves new indication for Merck's Invanz King reaches Medicaid settlement Unusual process used in denying OTC Plan B CDC: Provide materials when giving flu shots ASHP urges Medicare patients to choose carefully McKesson shuns secondary Rx sources Drug importation efforts lacking, says GAO California R.Ph.s honor Mayer

The government agency responsible for overseeing the 340B Drug Discount Program again has the power to access data on the drug prices charged to healthcare providers who serve underprivileged communities, following an intervention by Senator Chuck Grassley (R, Iowa).

Having trouble rationalizing the use of popular but off-label critical care agents? A special session at the American College of Clinical Pharmacy's annual meeting explored evidence for the use of vasopressin, Factor VIIa, intravenous proton pump inhibitors, and dexmedetomidine (Precedex, Abbott Laboratories).