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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.

What are the legal implications of dispensing to a physician who is prescribing drugs for himself or his family members?

Economist J.D. Kleinke asserts that the health insurance enterprise, not drug manufacturers, are responsible for rising drug prices.

CVS Vs. Walgreens How the two chains are competing and growing.

Clinicians will soon be able to treat patients with advanced Alzheimer?s disease (AD) using the first drug approved for use in the later stages of this progressive condition. The FDA recently approved memantine (Namenda, Forest Laboratories) for the treatment of moderate to severe AD. The drug will be available in pharmacies January.

The author wonders why pharmaceutical companies don't dispatch detailers to pharmacies any more

USP's top 50 drug products involved in errors

Author looks at the merger between Caremark and AdvancePCS and wonders if the purchase price makes sense

Get ready for a new wave of companies to introduce tamper-evident packaging to deter drug counterfeiting

Hospitals selecting ISO certification, instead of JCAHO accreditation, pay less cost and claim to be more outcome focused

Grant to Michigan hospitals to study ICU safety

This installment covers what happens if changes occur to protected health information

Clinicians will soon be able to offer HIV-positive patients a protease inhibitor (PI) that combines the convenience of flexible dosing with no restrictions on food or water. The FDA recently approved fosamprenavir (Lexiva, GlaxoSmithKline/Vertex Pharmaceuticals) for the treatment of HIV infection in adults in combination with other antiretroviral agents. Fosamprenavir will be available in pharmacies later this month.

Massachusetts hospital's discovery of an unlicensed pharmacist on staff offers lessons for other hospitals

FDA holds meeting to discuss strategies to thwart drug counterfeiting

HDMA's task force releases guidelines on how to prevent drug shortages

Reasons why authorized generics are experiencing a resurgence

Clinicians will soon be able to offer their patients the first aldosterone-receptor blocker to be approved for the treatment of congestive heart failure (CHF). The FDA recently approved eplerenone (Inspra, Pfizer) to improve the survival of stable patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction and clinical evidence of CHF following an acute myocardial infarction (MI).

National Quality Forum releases new standards that nursing homes must meet

Pharmacists have to fight the stereotype that all they do is count, pour, lick, and stick

Pharmacy boards that licensed Medco mail order facilities are closely watching the federal lawsuit filed against the giant PBM that include allegations of numerous violations state pharmacy practice acts.

USP drug safety review #2 - The dangers associated with vaccinations

Pennsylvania phases in program requiring hospitals to report drug-related and nondrug-related incidents under a new law

The federal prosecutor in Philadelphia filed fraud charges against Medco Health Solutions alledging that the PBM accepted drug manufacturer kickbacks for switching medications and ignored pharmacy practice regulations at its mail order facilites.

National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention issues guidelines to reduce med errors when meds are administered in schools, to the elderly in assisted living facilities, day care centers etc.

Clinicians will soon be able to treat serious bacterial infections using the first cyclic lipopeptide agent to receive FDA approval. The FDA recently approved daptomycin (Cubicin, Cubist Pharmaceuticals) for injection for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections caused by susceptible strains of Staphylococcus aureus (including methicillin-resistant strains), Streptococcus pyogenes, S. agalactiae, S. dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis, and Enterococcus faecalis (vancomycin-resistant strains only). Daptomycin is not indicated for the treatment of pneumonia. According to the manufacturer, daptomycin is expected to be available in hospitals in early November.