Community Practice

The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy and ASHP have approved a new standard for managed care pharmacy residencies that aims to improve training for pharmacists as they prepare for this specialized area of practice. T

The new labeling requirements came about after the USP reviewed numerous case reports suggesting a potential link between ingestion of products containing green tea extracts and black cohosh and liver damage.

ASHP has reached an agreement with the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) to work together on initiatives for rural hospitals.

The FDA announced a final rule establishing regulations to require current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) for dietary supplements.

The new service, called HybridRx, is an extension of the company's onsite healthcare solution, Hybrid Health, which offers a comprehensive range of healthcare services for client employees, retirees, and their dependents.

The coin-to-card service allows consumers to convert their loose change to a CVS card at the Coinstar kiosk and pay no coin-counting fee.

A tractor trailer carrying more than 16 million doses of hydrocodone was stolen from an Illinois truck stop in June.

A Massachusetts judge ordered Wal-Mart to pay $2 million for wrongfully terminating a pharmacist. Cynthia Haddad was fired by Wal-Mart in April 2004 after asking to be paid the same as her male colleagues.

A progesterone vaginal insert has been OK'd for marketing and will be sold under the name Endometrin, from Ferring Pharmaceuticals. The new formulation will be available in a100-mg strength and is indicated to support embryo implantation and early pregnancy by supplementation of corpus luteal function as part of an assisted reproductive technology treatment for infertile women.

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals is making the Self-Infusion Training Kit available at no cost to hemophilia treatment centers around the nation.

The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends a two-dose series of the varicella vaccine for children 12 months through 12 years of age, with the doses separated by at least three months.

Information on Kawasaki disease (KD) has been added to the prescribing information for Merck's RotaTeq vaccine after three postmarketing reports were received of KD following vaccination.

A request from the FDA has led to a revision of the prescribing information for pioglitazone (Actos, Takeda Pharmaceuticals).

The CVS ExtraCare Plus card will provide CVS customers with a convenient and secure multipurpose reward and payment solution that links the cardholders' existing checking accounts to their existing ExtraCare accounts.

The FDA has approved DexCom Inc.'s STS-7 Continuous Glucose Monitoring System. The STS-7 System measures glucose levels every five minutes throughout a seven-day period.

The sudden death of a Staten Island, N.Y., high school track star was caused by the accidental overuse of OTC remedies to treat sore muscles and joints, according to the city medical examiner.

King Pharmaceuticals is the 11th pharmaceutical company to join Together Rx Access, a prescription savings program created by leading pharmaceutical companies to help individuals and families gain access to meaningful savings on drugs.

The FTC has accepted, subject to final approval, an Agreement Containing Consent Order with Rite Aid Corp. and the Jean Coutu Group. The agreement is designed to remedy the likely anticompetitive effects arising from Rite Aid's proposed acquisition of the Brooks and Eckerd retail pharmacies from Jean Coutu.

A Hallandale Beach, Fla., importer issued a voluntary recall of toothpaste it imported from China and distributed to wholesalers, saying the product may contain a poisonous chemical.

The Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health & Human Services issued a new study of average manufacturer price fluctuations.

Medical and consumer groups applauded Vermont after Gov. Jim Douglas signed into law a bill that will sharply limit the marketing and data-mining capabilities of drug manufacturers.

The suit against First Databank and McKesson alleged that the companies conspired to inflate AWP for prescription medications.

Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy (DSP) has entered into a joint agreement with Oncology Physicians Resources (OPR) to create a program for managing oncology medications, called OPRx.

According to a recent study of health plan sponsors conducted by ReedHaldyMcIntosh for Medco's Systemed Group, 90% of respondents currently use strategies that encourage the use of mail order and 38% have rules that require it.

Consumers most frequently pick mass-merchandisers over other outlets when it comes to purchasing OTC drugs.

After repeated warning about the devastating impact of the Medicare Part D benefit, NCPA officials finally have the data to back it up. In 2006, the first year of the new drug benefit, more than 1,100 community pharmacies closed shop and those that survived saw dramatically lowered net operating income and sales income even as their prescription sales rose.

According to a new study, consumers trust their pharmacists as a source of information on both the quality and cost of prescription drugs more than independent sources such as Consumer Reports, doctors, and Web sites.

Fluticasone propionate inhalation aerosol (Flovent HFA 44 mcg) and fluticasone propionate inhalation powder (Flovent Diskus 50 mcg), both inhaled corticosteroids from GlaxoSmithKline, will now offer a dose counter for children aged four and older with mild, persistent asthma.

A new painkiller, Magnacet, containing several strengths of oxycodone and 400 mg of acetaminophen, has been launched by Mallinckrodt Brand Pharmaceuticals.

The recent safety concerns regarding the use of the thiazolidinediones pioglitazone (Actos, Takeda) and rosiglitazone (Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline) and the risk that they lead to cardiac failure may cause an increased market uptake of other drugs used to treat Type 2 diabetes.