Chain Pharmacy

January is prime time for colds and other respiratory illnesses. Because people tend to equate January sniffles with colds and flu, they may go straight to the cough/cold area and bypass the allergy/sinus aisle, which is also of concern this time of year.

Medication therapy management is looking like the next new career opportunity for pharmacists as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, health plans, and employers press for its adoption.

Drug Topics' annual business outlook survey, conducted online in October, drew more than 400 responses from community, hospital, and long-term-care pharmacists. Their conclusions about the coming year may surprise you.

In this season of gustatory indulgence, it can't hurt to prepare for the occasional upset stomach.

This issue is a milestone for Drug Topics, with the publication of the 200th column by Jim Plagakis to appear under the heading "JP at Large."

Patients with health insurance are abandoning their prescriptions at higher rates than they did a year ago and far more frequently than they did 5 years ago, according to a recent study.

New data show that while nearly all MI patients receive beta blockers, most patients receive suboptimal doses that are never increased.

Despite the barriers to provision of MTM that exist for pharmacists, figuring out a way to do it is our professional obligation.

A pharmacy that engages in veterinary compounding has been embroiled in a struggle with FDA since it compounded a vitamin supplement for administration to 21 polo ponies during the U.S. Open Polo Championships in April 2009. When they were injected with the compounded vitamin supplement, all 21 ponies collapsed and died. FDA's subsequent court challenge raises the question of when compounding becomes manufacture.

In his 200th column for Drug Topics' "JP at Large," Jim Plagakis reflects on some moments that stand out.

Counterfeit medications and substandard medications are on the rise, according to Interchange 2010, a conference sponsored by the Partnership for Safe Medicines.

PainSAFE, an initiative of the American Pain Foundation, has launched a website to educate patients and practitioners about pain-management therapies and their risks.

At the Third Annual Risk Management and Drug Safety Summit, attendees and presenters discussed the latest issues related to risk and safety, and examined how REMS and drug safety have fared since 2007.

A survey of new Rx, new generic, and new OTC products

Pharmacists speak out about the pros and cons of the placebo effect.

The first interstate electronic exchanges of real patient information should begin shortly in Ohio, at what is expected to become a national hub that will enable information related to prescription drug monitoring to flow across state lines.

The promise of genomic discoveries is tremendous, but modern medicine is not yet ready to use the bulk of these discoveries, said Muin Khoury, MD, PhD, at the annual meeting of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology (ACCP) in Baltimore, Md.

After fighting about it for years, Congress included legislation in the mammoth healthcare reform bill that would allow an easier approval path for ?biosimilars,? sometimes referred to as generic versions of biologic products.

Pharmacists speak out about choosing the right antibiotic, prescription drug abuse, and generic acquisition costs.

Lack of patient awareness coupled with ballooning numbers of diabetes cases across the United States have impelled pharmacies and organization to make diabetes care and education a priority.

In late September, presenters at the annual meeting of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported their phase 1 evaluation findings for the Pharmacy Quality Alliance medication-use demonstration project.

To help provide consumers with some protection against winter ailments, manufacturers have introduced a number of new treatments and preventives for dry lips and cold sores, as well as cold and flu medicines for children.

Jon Roth, who has 20 years' experience in healthcare and healthcare association management, will begin his new role as CEO of the California Pharmacists Association on Nov. 22.

A question was posed to students of a pharmacy ethics class. In every case, the answers given by the students were different from the responses of the practicing pharmacists.

Many community pharmacists do not want to get the influenza vaccination; they don't think they need it, and employer incentives aren't there, a new study reveals.

A survey of new Rx, new generic, and new OTC products

Recreational drug use has evolved over the years and "pharming" - kids lifting pills from the folks' medicine cabinets - is now second only to marijuana use.

A growing body of data supports greater pharmacist involvement in medication safety, said speaker Deb Saine at a recent Pharmacy OneSource webinar.

The pharmacist sitting in the office is interested in squeezing out another penny per prescription. The pharmacist behind the locked gate is interested in going home before midnight. Both cannot happen. A side must be chosen.

Interventions for medication adherence should be multifaceted, speakers told attendees at the recent Pharmacy and Technology Conference in San Diego sponsored by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.