Chain Pharmacy

Compounding pharmacists are concerned about Express Scripts’ decision to stop covering around 1,000 active compounded drug ingredients used by compounding pharmacies to create topical treatments.

State lawmakers in California are considering a bill that would allow patients to opt out of health plan requirements that certain prescriptions be filled by mail order.

Retail pharmacies that use Cardinal Health’s Heart Health Specialized Care Center will now have more tools to help patients manage cardiovascular health and prevent heart disease.

Kim Ankenbruck has a knack for expressing what many of her fellow pharmacists are thinking. Here, she tackles the question of how to practice integrity in an environment designed to punish the attempt.

If it’s a positive return on investment you seek, look no further than your local free medical clinic.

The California State Supreme Court recently upheld a ruling that allows healthcare plans serving the poor to ignore what it costs pharmacies to obtain drugs when establishing Medi-Cal reimbursement rates.

A new law that will allow pharmacists in Kansas to create collaborative agreements with physicians will take effect in July.

A federal appeals court has ruled in Walgreens’ favor regarding a pharmacist who was dismissed after shooting at armed robbers with a legally concealed handgun.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has signed an emergency order allowing pharmacists to administer the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine to people 18 years or older.

Penn State Hershey Health System has joined the Rite Aid Health Alliance, which provides support to individuals with chronic and poly-chronic health conditions.

Electronic prescribing was supposed to be the savior of pharmacy. Things haven’t quite worked out that way.

Costly treatments are expected to drive unprecedented growth in U.S. drug spending over the next two years. Some analysts say that’s not good news for consumers or most pharmacists.

Patients must be taught what their meds mean and why they're taking them. That's a job for the pharmacist.

A direct response to the devastating fungal meningitis outbreak linked to NECC, the Drug Quality and Security Act gives FDA needed regulatory power to oversee compounders.

Pharmacies that want to keep their 340B Medicaid contracts had better police themselves for compliance irregularities and prepare for increased audits and oversight.

Approximately 7.8% of adults and 10% of children in the U.S. are afflicted with hay fever symptoms. Pharmacists are able to offer a number of over-the-counter solutions to improve patients' quality of life.

In May, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its final rule for 2015 Part D prescription drug benefit programs, requiring increased price transparency for pharmacies by 2016.

In a study of patients at high risk for stroke, patients without periprocedural warfarin who were bridged with low-molecular weight heparin showed a >10-fold increased odds of ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) in the 48 hours after ablation for atrial fibrillation, compared with those on uninterrupted warfarin.

Provider status, access to patient health information, more inclusion on the healthcare team, and recognition as patient-care professionals - progress in the pharmacy profession is taking place. Will you take the ball and run with it?

Pharmacists need to believe in the basic skills that were once taught. We need to practice pharmacy in the traditional sense.

A pharmacist must have a valid license issued by the board of the state in which he wishes to practice. New pharmacy graduates need to investigate individual state pharmacy board requirements.

Some healthcare professionals have to make “professional discretion” decisions based on the patient’s subjective opinion. Pharmacists need to be objective about subjective pain that patients express.

The creation of patient-specific compounds is one of the most constructive ways pharmacists can help provide meaningful pain management and address concerns with opiate use.

Every time pharmacists consult a patient about a prescription they need to address the safety of its use and proper disposal.

E-prescribing was supposed to reduce prescription errors by eliminating the problem of illegible Rxs. The result? Nowadays prescriptions are easier to read - and just as full of errors.

If a pharmacist has to hide what he is doing, then maybe he shouldn't be practicing pharmacy.

You can own your own pharmacy, and it can give you a fulfilling life. But you gotta play the angles.

New Rx, generics, and OTC for pharmacists

From reader Bill Tarr comes the second article in Drug Topics' new series, Pathways through Pharmacy. While the first signs of his professional direction may have come as something of a surprise, he rose to the challenge and found that it gave him a vehicle for the good life.

California is considering changes to state law designed to make the labels on prescription drug containers easier to understand.