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Complying with HIPAA

Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvani pass laws allowing pharmacists to initiate and modify drug therapy

In order for things to evolve, they must change, and hopefully for the better. This is certainly true of pharmacy. Although there have been many changes in the way pharmacists are reimbursed for their services, marking their increased acceptance as healthcare providers, many more changes need to happen.

Men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) will soon have a therapeutic option that will reduce the risk of acute urinary retention and the need for BPH-related surgery, and improve the symptoms of BPH. On October 10, the FDA approved the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for dutasteride (Avodart, GlaxoSmithKline) for the treatment of BPH in men with an enlarged prostate. Dutasteride will be available in pharmacies in December.

Providers can expect insurers to put the squeeze on them over the increasing costs for specialty pharmaceuticals

Hospitals should be prepared for JCAHO surveys on pain management

A shortfall of up to 157,000 pharmacists by 2020 is predicted by attendees at Pharmacy Manpower Project conference. More pharmacists will be needed to deliver the patient care services aging baby boomers are going to need, conference attendees concluded.

Brighter lighting and quieter workplaces could cut dispensing errors in community pharmacies, according to an Aburn University School of Pharmacy study.

Generic biologics

Blues and generic drugs

JCAHO to survey hospitals by six patient safety goals in 2003

Ken Barker study shows 19% drug error rate in hospitals

Patients whose hypertension remains inadequately controlled despite the availability of several classes of antihypertensive drugs will soon have a therapeutic option with a unique mechanism of action. Eplerenone is the first agent that selectively binds to the mineralocorticoid receptor and blocks the binding of aldosterone.

On September 20, the FDA approved adefovir dipivoxil (Hepsera, Gilead Sciences) for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in adults with evidence of active liver disease. Adefovir dipivoxil is the first nucleotide analog to be approved for the treatment of chronic infection with hepatitis B. Adefovir dipivoxil is an acyclic analog of deoxyadenosine monophosphate.

Morris Weinberger study on pharmaceutical care among asthma patients

Once again, readers nominated pharmacists they considered a cut above the rest.

outstanding pharmacists of the year 2002 list of nominees

Bowl of Hygeia award

HHS issues final rule on Medicare-endorsed drug card program

OIG report draws alarm from R.Ph.s

Five pharmacies are pilot testing paperless patient inserts in a system developed by Thomson Healthcare and Health Information Designs as rival Etreby Computer Co. gears up it's web-based e-solution.

An exclusive,nationwide survey gives a candid view of pharmacists' attitudes toward drug companies

The industry needs to address the growing number of drugs requiring special risk managment programs that place undue burdens on pharmacies, according to APhA official Susan Winckler.

Chain drugstores must get more involved in state and national political debates over Medicaid and a Medicare Rx benefit, urged NACDS president Mark Griffin at the group's Pharmacy & Technology Conference.

Illinois, South Carolina, Maryland, and other states react to Medicaid waiver program.

The recent approval of oxaliplatin (Eloxatin, Sanofi-Synthelabo) by the FDA provides a treatment option for patients who previously did not have any alternatives except symptom-directed care. The Agency approved oxaliplatin, for use in combination with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and leucovorin (LV), for the treatment of patients with metastatic carcinoma of the colon or rectum whose disease has recurred or progressed during or within 6 months of completion of first-line therapy with the combination of bolus 5-FU/LV and irinotecan (Camptosar, Pharmacia & Upjohn).

Medicaid reimbursement cuts in Massachusetts and Washington have pharmacies threatening to drop out of the Rx program.

Highlights of FDA hearing on bar coding