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The American College of Apothecaries (ACA) has created the American College of Hospice Pharmacists for R.Ph.s interested in strengthening their knowledge and skills in hospice care and pain management. Programs being developed for the specialty college include separate newsletters for pharmacists, prescribers, and patients/caregivers, as well as a 20-hour didactic certificate program to be offered during ACA's annual meeting and a lab-based 16-hour certificate program to be offered at ACA's Research & Education Center.

Physicians will be able to securely access patient medication histories through pharmacies that belong to the SureScripts electronic prescribing network. Physicians will be able to see a patient's medication records and pharmacy data, such as allergies and when drugs were dispensed, across all prescribers.

CMS has ruled that prescription niacin products, such as Niaspan and Niacor, are prescription vitamins and are, therefore, excluded from Part D coverage. After May 31, the two products cannot be included in Part D formularies.

A group of pharmacists has launched USGenerics, an on-line pharmacy offering patients FDA-approved generics for 30-day and 90-day scripts. To keep prices low, the Wisconsin-based firm does not accept any insurance plans.

The iPLEDGE program, a risk management plan to prevent pregnancy during isotretinoin therapy, is being called too cumbersome and difficult to manage by dermatologists. The program's start date is set for March 1.

Parents of infants suffering with fungal-infected diaper rash will now have a new form of treatment available. Vusion ointment containing 0.25% miconazole nitrate, 15% zinc oxide, and 81.35% white petrolatum has been approved by the FDA and is the first product for diaper dermatitis complicated by candidiasis.

The March of Dimes applauded the new FDA iPLEDGE program. The March of Dimes urged the agency to monitor the program's effectiveness and to create comparable programs for other oral retinoid medications.

Forty-four states will participate in a CMS program to reimburse them for drugs and administrative costs associated with dual eligibles in the Part D benefit. CMS will reconcile each state's drug payments with Part D plans and pay the difference between the plan reimbursement and the state's Medicaid costs, as well as the administrative tab.

Since its home state has no pharmacy school, Community Pharmacies is offering a one-year scholarship to a Maine resident attending the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston. The scholarship covering the winner's final year of tuition is currently worth about $25,000.

The Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) outlined its priorities for 2006 at its annual meeting, held recently in Boca Raton, Fla. Priorities include the codification of a flexible and definitive abbreviated approval process for generic biopharmaceuticals, a halt to the practice of authorized generics, the creation of a biodefense pharmaceutical sector, and reform of the Medicaid program.

Par Pharmaceutical has launched an advanced formulation of megestrol acetate, Megace ES 625 mg/5 ml (megestrol acetate) oral suspension. Megace ES is indicated for the treatment of anorexia, cachexia, or a significant, unexplained weight loss in patients with a diagnosis of AIDS.

DrugMax announced it has signed a letter of intent to acquire the stock of Carmichael Cashway Pharmacy, operator of three pharmacies known as Carmichael Pharmacy Infusion Therapy & Medical Equipment, (The Carmichael Pharmacy Group). The Carmichael Pharmacy Group provides specialty pharmacy; institutional pharmacy services; and respiratory and related medical equipment, including products and therapies requiring infusion compounding, to patients and physicians.

Walgreens Home Care has agreed to acquire Canadian Valley Medical Solutions. Based in Oklahoma City, CV Medical Solutions is an accredited provider of home infusion therapy, respiratory services including home oxygen, customized mobility and seating products, and home medical equipment.

Seniors enrolled in the Medicare drug benefit filled 11% more scripts in January than seniors without Part D coverage, according to Verispan, a healthcare informatics firm based in Yardley, Pa. The average Part D beneficiary aged 65 and older filled 3.38 scripts, compared with 3.05 scripts for nonbeneficiaries of the same age cohort.

PharMEDium Services, a provider of outsourced hospital pharmacy compounding solutions, announced that syringe admixtures will now ship with enhanced bar-coding. The new composite bar codes include a lot number and expiration date along with the drug's NDC number, which can all be read with one scan.

Mead Johnson Nutritionals has initiated a voluntary recall of one batch of Gentlease powder infant formula in 24-oz. cans, batch number BMJ19. This action is being taken because a portion of the batch was found to contain metal particles.

The Medicare Part D drug benefit has hurt cross-border drug sales by as much as 30%, according to the Canadian International Pharmacy Association. The group also contends that U.S. authorities have stepped up enforcement of laws against drug importation in recent weeks.

Procter & Gamble has filed a lawsuit against Vi-Jon Industries. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that Vi-Jon infringed and diluted the unique trade dress of P&G's Crest Pro-Health, "a highly effective antiplaque/antigingivitis oral rinse, and also engaged in false advertising of its mouthwash product."

Merck's new vaccine against rotavirus infection, RotaTeq, has been added to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) list of routinely recommended childhood immunizations. Rotavirus usually manifests itself as gastroenteritis and affects about 2.7 million children under the age of five in the United States, resulting in an estimated 70,000 hospitalizations.

Loestrin 24 Fe, containing norethindrone acetate, ethinyl estradiol, and ferrous fumarate, has been approved by the FDA for Warner Chilcott. The new oral contraceptive tablet contains 24 days of active hormonal therapy and four days of placebo pills that contain the iron supplement.

A Wisconsin county judge upheld the sanctions and fine imposed on Neil Noesen, R.Ph., for his refusal to dispense or transfer an emergency contraceptive prescription in 2002. The state pharmacy board had fined Noesen and ordered him to attend ethics classes and warn future employers in writing of his stance against EC, as well as pay $20,000 in costs for the investigation and hearings.

The Massachusetts pharmacy board unanimously voted to order Wal-Mart to stock and dispense the emergency contraceptive (EC) Plan B in all its stores in the state. The board acted in response to a complaint filed Feb. 1 by three women who had been turned away from Wal-Mart pharmacies.

The FDA Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee voted 8 to 7 in favor of adding a black box warning to the labeling of all stimulant drugs used to treat ADHD. The group also voted unanimously (15-0) in support of requiring that FDA medication guides be distributed with each stimulant prescription, explaining the potential risks to patients and their families.

The FDA has recalled all brands of Balanced Salt Solution manufactured by Cytosol Laboratories in Braintree, Mass., after product lots were found to have high levels of endotoxin. The solution is used to irrigate the eyes, ears, nose, and throat during surgical procedures.

There is more to choosing drugs for the intensive care unit than cost. How effective a particular agent is may be even more important than how much it costs.

Want to reduce errors in the pediatric critical care unit and other patient care areas? Slow down!

The results of a new study indicated that a previously uncommon strain of Clostridium difficile has become more resistant to fluoroquinolones.