Chain Pharmacy

When frightened girls come back from emergency trips to Mexico and ask you how to use an off-label drug as an "abortion pill," what are you going to tell them?

With the flu season right around the corner, pharmacies should engage payers as early in the year as possible to ensure adequate time to finalize contracting, fully test their billing capabilities, and stock inventory before the official start of the vaccine season.

Massachusetts' Harvard Pilgrim Health Care has instituted a policy shift excluding coverage of prescription drugs compounded for adults. Plaintiffs call this "a callous decision" and "a major blow" to the state's many patients who depend on compounded medications.

A new survey of U.S. neurologists indicates that one-fifth have not been aware of FDA safety alerts connected with anti-seizure drug therapies.

A look at upcoming Continuing Pharmacy Education units on osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, and cardiometabolic syndrome.

As a healthcare model, the PCMH is a work in progress, but all signs point to its increasing importance. And pharmacists are key members of the team.

Numerous studies have concluded that the risk of influenza vaccination leading to Guillain-Barre syndrome is slim indeed. To see the odds, read on.

Indianapolis pharmacists and the college of pharmacy at Butler University brainstorm solutions to the problem of medication adherence in a live CE program.

An estrogen receptor agonist, ospemifene counteracts the effects of declining estrogen hormones on vaginal tissue, thereby reducing pain during intercourse.

The War on Drugs began a century ago. It's still going strong -- and so is the traffic in illegal drugs. What's up with that?

A 12,000-patient Danish study suggests that the addition of one antiplatelet agent to oral anticoagulation is sufficient.

Drug Topics readers weigh in on natural medicines, foreign-made pharmaceuticals, and drugstore tobacco sales.

Quadrivalent and trivalent vaccines from major pharmaceutical manufacturers are shipping now.

2D barcodes hold more than the NDC. Their 2,300 characters (compared to 48 in linear barcodes) can hold lot numbers and expiration dates, along with the product IDs.

While many drug store chains are educating customers about the soon-to-be-implemented Affordable Care Act, Rite Aid is taking the education a step further.

Patients who do the best job of properly taking their medicine tend to be older, with higher incomes and more education, according to a study published in the September 2013 issue of Medical Care.

Walgreens has reached agreement with privately held Kerr Drug to acquire its retail drugstores and specialty pharmacy business, which last year had sales of about $381 million.

Walgreens officially began a 10-year distribution agreement through which all of Walgreens’ brand-name drugs will be sourced through AmerisourceBergen.

Pharmacists in Canada were recently given broader responsibilities including, in certain provinces, prescribing privileges, vaccination abilities, and the ability to order and interpret laboratory tests. This newly expanded role for Canadian pharmacists can benefit both patients and physicians, according to an article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

In response to the federal crackdown on Rx fraud, CVS Caremark has told physicians it believes overprescribe controlled substances to take their business elsewhere.

New study shows that simultaneous treatment of alcohol dependence and PTSD is more effective than either treatment would be alone.

Despite last season’s flu outbreak, less than half the people surveyed (46%) by CVS/pharmacy said they were more likely to get a flu shot this year.

New Rx, indications, generics, and OTC

A recent OIG study reveals that in 2009, Medicare Part D paid $5.4 million to massage therapists, dieticians, and other individuals who clearly lacked authority to prescribe drugs

It's cheaper to prevent chronic diseases than to treat them. Through promotion of health literacy, medication adherence, health screenings, and tertiary care, pharmacist can have a real impact on public health.

When it comes to employee drug utilization reviews, one pharmacist is beating PBMs at their own game. If businesses and healthcare systems followed her lead, more would change than just the DURs.

The Specialty Sterile Pharmaceutical Society launches, with its own product and safety standards standards and a plan to march on Washington.

BMJ study finds small but statistically significant changes in Qmci scores of dementia patients who initiate hypertension treatment with ACE inhibitors.

Is your pharmacy ready for the new Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Omnibus Rules? New privacy rules took effect in March, 2013, and enforcement begins in September.

As a faculty trainer for the American Pharmacists Association’s Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery certification program and a pharmacist who offers immunizations, I have trained hundreds and vaccinated thousands of individuals. Here are some tips and experiences that will hopefully be beneficial to pharmacists in any setting who want to immunize patients.