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Pharmaceutical Clinical Technology's new paradigm expands the pharmacist's role to include management of devices, as well as drugs.

What business contracts must be obtained from HIPAA business associates?

The FDA recently approved azelaic acid (Finacea, Berlex Laboratories) 15.0% gel for the topical treatment of the inflammatory papules and pustules characteristic of mild-to-moderate rosacea. Finacea should be available in pharmacies during the first quarter of 2003.

The Massachusetts attorney general blasted pharmcies for passing a new $1.30 per Rx tax onto consumers. The tax was imposed to raise $36 million for the state Medicaid program but the law doesn't spell out whether pharmacies can charge consumers to the levy.

More states pass laws requiring the reporting of drug errors

Medicaid reimbursement chart

Tennessee pharmacists are bracing for a change that will force them to absorb Rx copays that will exceed the dispensing fee paid by the state's Medicaid program, TennCare.

"It's Illegal" is a new campaign to make US consumers and the media aware that importing Rx drugs is unlawful has been launched by the National Community Pharmacists Association

A record number of pharmacists requested licensure transfer in 2002, according to the National Association of Boards of Pharamcy.

Can pharmacies transmit PHI to manufacturers for rebate processing?

Forteo (teriparatide) treats osteoporosis in men,and women who have gone through menopause.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) now have a first-of-its-kind therapeutic option that is safe, convenient, and effective. The FDA recently approved adalimumab (Humira, Abbott Laboratories) for reducing the signs and symptoms and inhibiting the progression of structural damage in adult patients with moderately to severely active RA who have had an inadequate response to one or more disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). The approval of adalimumab comes just nine months after regulatory submission. Adalimumab will be available in pharmacies by mid-January.

Happy Harry's, Rite Aid, and Eckerd have reached an agreement with DHSS regarding Medicaid reimbursement rates. They were threatening to pull out of Medicaid in 2002.

More state pharmacy boards are moving to requiring that technicians be certified.

Keeping patients on long term therapy requires multifaceted interventions but even complex approaches don't lead to big improvements in adherence or improved outcomes, according to researchers from the McMaster University Faculty of Health Sciences in Ontario.

Second installment to Countdown to HIPAA

In an apparent first, Massachusetts has added a physician and a nurse as members of the state pharmacy board.

You can prevent drug errors by providing patient counseling.

How brand-name manufacturers can get their drugs out the door faster.

NACDS thinks there's a good chance Medicare drug benefit will pass in 2003.

Changes in health benefits to retirees are expected to drive the growth of mail order.

Drug errors relating to Bextra.

The FDA recently approved teriparatide (rDNA origin) injection [Forteo, Eli Lilly], a recombinant form of human parathyroid hormone, for the treatment of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis who are at increased risk for fracture. Teriparatide is also indicated to increase bone mass in men with primary or hypogonadal osteoporosis who are at high risk for fracture.

Pharmacy continued it's growth spurt last year, as state pharmacy boards registered more pharmacists, technicians, and stores.

Pharmacy needs to define the education, training, regulation, and role of technicians, according to the Sesquicentennial Stepping Stone Summit Two report issued by 14 national groups.

Some states have additional CE requirements beyond acceptance by ACPE.

You can prevent drug errors by providing patient counseling.