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Clinicians can now treat patients with bipolar depression using the first drug approved in the U.S. for this indication. The FDA recently approved olanzapine/fluoxetine (Symbyax, Eli Lilly) for the treatment of depressive episodes associated with bipolar disorder. Symbyax is currently available in pharmacies.

How hospitals are implementing damage control in the wake of a wave of drug errors

Following in the footsteps of Walgreens, CVS announced that it will not participate in future health plan contracts requiring refill scripts to be filled by mail order pharmacies.

More clients of pharmacy benefit managers are auditing their performance

stockchecker on incontinence

The main cause of patient not taking their medications is a breakdown in communications, according to a study by Cutting Edge Information.

Pharmacists and technicians are needed to staff 10 regionally based disaster response teams pharmacy organizations agreed to create to assist the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

ACPE holds last hearing to solicit comments on whether uniform, national standards should be set up for the training of pharmacy technicians

At NCPIE meeting, FDA discusses how it plans to improve prescription information to consumers

Confusion between Keppra and Kaletra is fanned by their sound-alike, look-alike names

Pharmacists from all walks weigh in on the impact of this landmark legislation

Several community pharmacy groups will be seeking Medicare's approval of a discount drug card program they are developing to benefit enrollees and help pharmacies stay solvent.

ASHP recommends taking precautions with 30 high-risk drugs to thwart counterfeiting

Clinicians will soon be able to offer another treatment option to men with prostate cancer who have not responded to hormonal therapy. The FDA recently approved abarelix (Plenaxis, Praecis Pharmaceuticals) for the palliative treatment of men with advanced symptomatic prostate cancer in whom luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist therapy is inappropriate and who refuse surgical castration, and have risk of neurological compromise due to metastases; ureteral or bladder outlet obstruction due to local encroachment or metastatic disease; and/or severe bone pain from skeletal metastases persisting on narcotic analgesia. The drug will be available sometime during the first quarter of 2004.

Clinicians will soon be able to offer men with erectile dysfunction (ED) a new drug that researchers believe has several advantages over currently available therapies. The FDA recently approved tadalafil (Cialis, Eli Lilly) for the treatment of ED. Tadalafil is currently available in pharmacies.

The past year has been one of substantial progress for the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, declared C. Edwin Webb, Pharm.D., MPH, ACCP?s director for government and professional affairs. Provider status for pharmacists remains the association?s priority advocacy issue, and was reaffirmed as such by the Board of Regents, he told attendees at the ACCP annual meeting in Atlanta, Ga., last month.

Walgreens threatened to pull its 356 pharmacies out of the California Medicaid program (Medi-Cal) if the state proceeds with a 5% reimbursement cut slated to begin on New Year's Day.

A plan to issue temporary Medicare Rx discount cards could become a political headache if seniors don't want to give them up when the larger benefit starts in 2006, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report.

How holiday selling season is expected to turn out for 2003

Pharmacy leaders oppose an Illinois proposal to pay pharmacists to conduct DUR and counsel patients who get their prescriptions filled through Canadian mail order pharmacies.

This installment deals with offering sex advice to patients in their golden years

This installment deals with protected health information and the patient's right to a report on what was disclosed

The author grouses about the lack of time for pharmacists to counsel patients

A progress report on how California hospitals are complying with a state law requiring them to implement programs to reduce med errors

USP Safety Column

Auburn University's Ken Barker licenses his drug error reduction software to another company to commercialize it

The past year has been one of substantial progress for the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, declared C. Edwin Webb, Pharm.D., MPH, ACCP?s director for government and professional affairs. Provider status for pharmacists remains the association?s priority advocacy issue, and was reaffirmed as such by the Board of Regents, he told attendees at the ACCP annual meeting in Atlanta, Ga., last month.