Community Practice

FDA has requested that all companies that manufacture, distribute, and/or market unapproved single-ingredient oral colchicine, a medication commonly used for the daily prevention of gout, to treat acute gout flare-ups, and for the treatment of Familial Mediterranean Fever, stop manufacturing this drug.

Amgen and Johnson & Johnson are recalling certain lots of the anemia drugs Epogen and Procrit because vials of the injectable medicines might develop tiny glass flakes that could cause blood clots and other serious health problems.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. recalled 60 million tablets of the blood pressure medication Avalide (irbesartan-hydrochlorothiazide) in the United States and Puerto Rico.

FDA has approved the oral multiple sclerosis treatment fingolimod 0.5 mg, as a first-line treatment for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. The approval makes fingolimod the first oral treatment indicated for relapsing forms of MS available in the United States.

Problems with the content and format of consumer medical information distributed with prescription drugs at retail pharmacies are the primary barriers to providing appropriate information to patients, a recent evaluation suggests. The reading level and length of CMI were also cited as shortcomings.

Partnering with Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, the American Pharmacists Association is offering coverage of medication therapy management services provided by pharmacists to employees who are members of Kaiser Permanente.

A new website sponsored by the National Community Pharmacists Association, www.PharmacyMatching.com, will bring together independent pharmacy owners preparing to sell their pharmacies, pharmacy owners who desire additional stores, and entrepreneurs seeking to become pharmacy owners.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs purchased online may be worse than useless. They could pose significant health risks.

Improper waste management affects both the environment and public health, so it is important to know the regulations governing pharmaceutical waste and to teach patients how best to dispose of unused drugs.

The anticipated approval of Gardasil for women 27 to 45 years of age has thrown the issue of vaccine reimbursement for pharmacists into the spotlight.

Pharmacists are uniquely situated to administer vaccines to their patients. But with so many problems still overlooked and unresolved, are community pharmacists ready for this new task?

Does she or doesn't she? Only her drugstore knows for sure. Even in today's racy culture, certain products are not discussed in polite company. Yet even blushworthy personal care products are essential, and their manufacturers are tuned to the preferences of 78 million style-conscious Baby Boomers.

Pharmacists speak out about quota systems, pain management, sexism in the work place, and pharmacy tobacco sales.

FDA has determined to significantly restrict the use of formulations that contain rosiglitazone (Avandia, Avandamet, and Avandaryl, GlaxoSmithKline) to patients with Type 2 diabetes who cannot control their diabetes with other medications.

The need to find balance in her own life led Anna Garrett, PharmD, to establish the National Association for Women in Health Care, an organization committed to helping nurses, pharmacists, and other women healthcare professionals take care of themselves.

Want to save $1 million annually on pharmacy costs? Go lean, as in lean management. That's what Elkhart General Hospital did with medication administration.

Pharmacies soon may be stocking their shelves with laboratory-developed tests that first require FDA approval.

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

For this pharmacist, the best education is in magazine advertisements. The ads give the big three: What the drug does. Why it is better than the others on the market. What the dangers are.

Recalling the desperate fight for life that was waged by juvenile diabetes patients not even a century ago, "Breakthrough: The Dramatic Story of the Discovery of Insulin" will be on view at the New York Historical Society from October 2010 through January 2011.

Each year, community pharmacists are recognized by their peers through nominations for Drug Topics' annual Top Independent Pharmacists awards, which honor 3 pharmacists or pharmacy teams for their contributions to local life.

From medication therapy management to diabetes self-management education programs, retail pharmacists have begun to solidify a new role for themselves on the healthcare team.

Pfizer plans to acquire King Pharmaceuticals for $3.6 billion in cash, expanding its current portfolio of treatments for pain relief and pain management.

Abbott is complying with FDA's request to withdraw sibutramine (Meridia) from the U.S. market because the obesity drug may pose unnecessary cardiovascular (CV) risks to patients.

The DEA has changed its policy and now recognizes long-term-care nurses as agents of prescribers of Schedule C-III through C-V medications, according to a Federal Register notice released today.

Underlying a recent FDA-hosted public meeting and workshop was the question of how FDA as a regulatory agency should increase its current oversight of clinical laboratories, specifically those developing genetic tests that may be offered at their own facilities or made available through direct-to-consumer channels.

Thirty-nine states now have a tool to help pharmacists identify at least some questionable prescriptions and suggest when a patient may be doctor-shopping or pharmacy-shopping in order to obtain controlled substances. That tool is the state prescription monitoring program.

FDA advisory committee members voted 25 to 10 to reject a proposed plan to establish a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy for extended-release and long-acting opioid analgesics during the joint meeting on July 23 of the Anesthetic and Life Support Drugs Advisory Committee and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee in Adelphi, Md.

Community pharmacists face a "War on Drugs" different from the one heard about on the news. This war doesn't even seem to be on lawmakers' radar.

Denying yourself food to protest the policies of a corporate behemoth seems a bit ... extreme. Nonetheless, such an action may be a legitimate warning about the state of retail pharmacy today.