Community Practice

"This month, the Skin Cancer Foundation?s annual Road to Healthy Skin Tour will begin a journey that will take it to 80 malls, universities, and other locations. "

The willingness of the elderly to take medication for primary cardiovascular disease prevention is relatively insensitive to its benefit but highly sensitive to its adverse effects, according to a recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Patients with psoriatic arthritis undergoing their first treatment with tumor necrosis factor-? inhibitor showed a high adherence to therapy and a good response, according to a recent Danish study in Arthritis & Rheumatism.

GlaxoSmithKline is forming a Community Pharmacy Team to help pharmacists communicate with their patients about chronic diseases and medication adherence.

Community pharmacies can partner with local law enforcement if they want to get involved in the second National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, which will take place on April 30.

McNeil-PPC must cease manufacturing and distributing and destroy all drugs under its control that were recalled from the Fort Washington, Pa.; Las Piedras, Puerto Rico; and Lancaster, Pa., facilities since December 2009, according to a consent decree from the Department of Justice.

The U.S. House of Representatives requested in a letter to CMS that the agency consider the delay of a provision in a recently proposed rule requiring certain prescriptions to be dispensed in 7 days or less increments.

Last week, King Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Pfizer, voluntarily recalled Embeda (morphine sulfate and naltrexone hydrochloride) Extended Release Capsules, a schedule II controlled substance, from all U.S. wholesalers and retailers.

The anticancer drug bevacizumab could help prevent babies with retinopathy of prematurity from becoming blind, reports a new study from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School.

New data suggest that certain prescription drug products are associated with aggression and violence toward others.

For patients seeking new ways to keep their breath fresher and their pearly whites whiter, today's manufacturers continue to develop and rebrand products to better address both the health and beauty aspects of oral care.

The U.S. Senate last month voted to repeal a 1099 tax-filing requirement that would have been time-consuming for retail pharmacists.

Drug-seekers will go to sometimes ludicrous lengths to get what they want. For the addict's equivalent of "The dog ate my homework," read on.

The California Pharmacists Association has launched what may be the nation's first employee pharmacist ombudsman program sponsored by a state association.

Patents on many small-molecule drugs, which make up some of the most popular prescription medications in the world, are set to expire during the next several years, an occurrence that is expected to cause an unprecedented shift of billions of dollars in sales to generics in the United States and other markets.

Very few state laws require a pharmacy to use a drug container that meets minimum quality-control standards. Legal metrics are needed to guard against possible patient harm resulting from an adulterated drug product caused by a "bad" container.

Technology giant Intel recently opened a health and wellness center for employees at its Jones Farm Campus in Hillsboro, Ore., that will replace many tedious trips to the doctor's office with services provided on site.

The selection of an incorrect prescriber during the prescription order entry process may have consequences long after the prescription is filled.

The skepticism of modern medicine toward the placebo effect has kept a study proving its validity hidden in the shadows of medical research instead of giving it the attention it deserves.

New guidelines in a 2010 report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases contain major updates to its 2006 report that could prove significant for the nation's pharmacies.

Recent data suggest that thrombopoietin receptor agonists are safe and effective for the treatment of chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura, or ITP, over at least 6 years.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and 3 other healthcare industry groups are working to transform regulations to ease U.S. drug shortages.

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

Launched in January, The Prevention Plan is an online health-screening and primary prevention program similar to wellness plans already being marketed to employer groups. It costs $99.

FDA is limiting the amount of acetaminophen in prescription drug products, primarily combinations of acetaminophen and opioids.

Consumer out-of-pocket cost is the leading reason for members' failure to pick up filled prescriptions (drug abandonment), according to the healthcare data company Wolters Kluwer Pharma Solutions. The firm reports that by the second quarter of 2010, the drug-abandonment rate had risen 55% in 4 years.

A new prescription drug label format is in the works. Draft standards from the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention could bring dramatic changes to Rx labels in 2012.

Niche markets offer pharmacies a way to develop revenue streams, add to their bottom lines, and enhance customer service. Just ask Mark Williams, CPhT, marketing director for the Compounding Pharmacy in Hickory, N.C., a pharmacy that grew its business by thinking outside the box.

Competition in the diabetes medication therapy and supply market is likely to intensify through 2011.

Readers speak out about healthcare team roles, pharmacy credentials, efficiency, and e-tracking.