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As this editorial goes to press, we're hearing the first details about which Medicare prescription drug plans (PDPs) have received approval from CMS.

Last month's column addressed Medicare prescription drug benefits for persons with Medicare and low incomes. This group includes about six million people who are enrolled in Medicaid; they will be enrolled automatically in a prescription drug plan (PDP) if they do not choose a plan on their own. Another eight million people with limited income and assets are eligible for assistance with paying the premium and out-of-pocket expenses under the Part D program. The Social Security Administration is now accepting applications for assistance and is able to answer individual questions about the various Part D options.

I told my brother, "I'm not going to write about it." I was stubborn. "Too many people are writing about it." I was speaking about the refusal of a small group of pharmacists to fill legal prescriptions based on their uncompromising moral stance.

Ten states have the lowest level of pharmacist shortage in this country. At the top of the heap is Hawaii, followed by Rhode Island, South Dakota, North Dakota, Delaware, Nebraska, New Jersey, Vermont, Idaho, and Montana. Most of these states, with the exception of New Jersey, have fairly small populations.

With only three months to D-Day, as in Medicare Part D, many unanswered questions about how the prescription drug program will be implemented and how it will impact pharmacy are causing a lot of unease, according to members of the Drug Topics Editorial Advisory Board.

The FDA has granted priority review status to the New Drug Application for sorafenib for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. Sorafenib is an oral multi-kinase inhibitor—under development by Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Onyx Pharmaceuticals—that targets tumor cell growth and angiogenesis by blocking both the RAF kinase and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor.

Treatment outcomes for alcoholism are likely to improve significantly in the next decade. However, in order to provide these treatments, a new paradigm and structure are needed that will integrate alcohol treatment with mainstream medical and mental health care.

Women in menopause, particularly when it is surgically induced, often suffer decreased sexual desire and activity, even if they are on estrogen replacement therapy.

Pharmacist, get your flu shot! That's the admonition from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and ASHP.

CMS has approved Community Care Rx (CCRx) as one of 10 national Medicare Part D prescription drug plan sponsors. NCPA, MemberHealth Inc., and Computer Sciences Corp. created CCRx as a Medicare-approved discount card program that was expanded to become a full Rx plan. CCRx will offer three plans with premiums ranging from $26.25 to $45.23. Services offered include 90-day scripts at retail and pharmacist-provided medication therapy management services for qualified beneficiaries.

The problem of serious physical risks associated with medications is not going away. Consider the following recent drug recalls: Vioxx (rofecoxib, Merck), Bextra (valdecoxib, Pfizer), and Tysabri (natalizumab, Biogen Idec).

It was a challenging year for supermarket pharmacies, according to the latest findings of the "2005 Supermarket Pharmacy Trends Survey" by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI). Here are some of the highlights of the survey.

Have you always assumed a drug product marketed without a proprietary (brand) name to be a generic drug? If your answer is Yes, you may have inadvertently substituted and dispensed products that are not therapeutically equivalent. For example, the drug product albuterol sulfate HFA, manufactured by IVAX, was approved without a proprietary name on Oct. 29, 2004, under NDA 21-457. Since the IVAX albuterol sulfate HFA product is labeled with only the established (generic) name, one could easily assume this is a generic version of one of the other two currently marketed albuterol sulfate HFA products: Proventil HFA and Ventolin HFA.

ASHP waives dues for members affected by hurricanes CVS outlines Medicare 2006 strategic plan Walgreens helps seniors understand Medicare Rx plan WellPoint, Walgreens to serve Medicare beneficiaries Epilepsy group issues call to action to reduce birth defects Walgreens to acquire Schraft's specialty pharmacy Pfizer provides access to clinical trial information CIGNA, Duane Reade to market Medicare Part D plans Walgreens Wellness tour kicks off in Atlanta Medicare booklet errs on Rx plans CARE Pharmacies offer diabetes days Most think Vioxx verdict too tough on Merck Legal issues stall Nevada Rx imports R.Ph. buys tablet counting technology firm CVS/pharmacy promoting patient-R.Ph. relationship Maine's Rx discount program saves more than Ohio's ADHD drug safe for kids, adults cautioned FDA selects groups to help track drug safety ISMP's Cohen to use grant to fund med-error prevention

An abrupt change in the Drug Enforcement Administration's stance on serial prescribing of Schedule II controlled substances has stirred fear among pharmacists and compromised patient care, according to pharmacy leaders.

Osteoporosis: Exploring its many causes and treatment options. Supported by an educational grant from Eli Lilly and Co.

MedManage Systems launches third generation online sampling service Y-ME partners with Walgreens in 'Pass It On' promotion New Jersey to expand discount drug program Dynavax introduces Tolamba and Heplisav Walgreens Home Care announces contract with PHCS Web site offers Medicare Rx information Web tool estimates Medicare Rx costs APP recalls fluorouracil 10-ml vials R.Ph. arrested in Net Rx drug bust DrugMax expands Worksite Pharmacy business VA drug program cheaper than Medicare? MinuteClinic opens at seven CVS stores in Indianapolis

Last month, in an effort to make it easier for health professionals to identify and treat patients with heavy drinking and alcohol-use disorders, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) released Helping Patients Who Drink Too Much: A Clinician's Guide. One major difference in the 2005 guide, which replaces an earlier 2003 version, is the recommendation that medications be considered in addition to traditional therapies as part of the treatment process.

Pharmacists in the spotlight Walgreens acquires Theragran-M multivitamins Illinois charges nondispensing pharmacies Massachusetts lawmakers override EC veto HealthTrans, N.Y. chain to offer PBM services McKesson helps Costco expand with central fill GAO study compares AMP, AWP, U&C prices FDA to hold DTC advertising hearing Oncologists value off-label Rx use Display firm debuts behind-the-counter system PBM settles kickback suit for $137 million NAMS reviews testosterone therapy for women Will skyrocketing gas prices affect pharmacies?

Where there is crisis, there is also opportunity, and one Wichita, Kan., pharmacist sees plenty of that. Only a handful of Kansas hospitals can afford 24-hour pharmacy service. "Once the day-shift pharmacist goes home, many hospitals have a tech or a nurse taking over," Mark Gagnon said. "They don't want to do the pharmacist's job, but what do you do when there's no pharmacist until tomorrow or even next Monday?"

Mercy Hospital, Miami, Fla., is using discounted Rxs to lure patients into a preventive healthcare program. The hospital estimates that 4,000 patients saved an average of $140 for the 10,000 program prescriptions filled during the first quarter of 2005.

The individual stories of bravery and perseverance exhibited by pharmacists in the hours and days following the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans are too numerous to document. Pharmacists of all stripes went above and beyond their duty to provide succor to the victims.

Significant deviations from good manufacturing processes in repackaging and relabeling active pharmaceutical ingredients are what the Food & Drug Administration cited in a letter sent to Pragmatic Materials Inc. in June. During site visits in February, the agency found that the company, which repackages ingredients for use by pharmacies for compounding drug products, had not performed the appropriate tests to support the expiration dates assigned to at least six ingredients. Violations such as these can ignite fear and concern in hospital pharmacists and administrators who are outsourcing their sterile or nonsterile products to compounders to save staff time, cut hospital costs, and comply with new regulations.

CMS. HQA. ASHP. Leapfrog Group. NQF. JCAHO. AHQA. VA. AHRQ. The list of regulators, professional associations, government agencies, payers, consumer groups, and others that claim to set standards for health care seems to grow daily. Every new standard, every new information request, every new effort to assess or improve quality adds to the hospital administrative burden.

Hospitals and pharmacies will be adding radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in the years ahead to curb drug counterfeiting. What is RFID? According to the Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility (AIM), a basic radio frequency identification, or RFID, system consists of three components: an antenna or coil, a transceiver (with decoder), and a transponder, which is also called an RF tag and is electronically programmed with unique information.

Many wonder whether the focus of genetically directed pharmacotherapy should be tied to race at all. According to the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, race and ethnicity cannot be given precise biological or genetic definitions because of the considerable genetic variation within population groups depending on the patient's place of birth and other variables.