Community Practice

Veramyst is approved by the FDA to treat allergies

A new study, published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, concludes that the more cigarette marketing teens are exposed to in retail stores, the more likely they are to smoke, and that restricting these retail marketing practices would reduce smoking among teens.

The FDA is advising consumers not to purchase or use True Man and Energy Max products promoted and sold as dietary supplements throughout the U.S. Both products—touted as sexual enhancement aids and treatments for erectile dysfunction (ED)—are illegal products that contain potentially harmful, undeclared ingredients.

XLHealth Corp. is adding medication therapy management to its Care Improvement Plus Medicare Advantage plan in Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, South Carolina, and Texas.

Latebreakers: First bird flu vaccine approved

The use of intravenous (IV) syringes for non-IV applications such as enteral feedings poses many risks, especially for the pediatric and neonatal population which has a majority of their oral and enteral doses provided through a gastric tube. The Baxa Corporation recently announced the launch of a new educational campaign to make healthcare providers aware of these problems and offer solutions.

In 1951 pharmacies selling tobacco products was highly profitable for pharmacies, which were concerned with the increased use of local taxes on the products.

Michigan ranks among top states in teen abuse of Rx drugs The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and local Detroit experts urged parents to take action against the alarmingly high rate of teen prescription drug abuse in Michigan.

According to a study by PBM Express Scripts, spending on biotech drugs increased 21% in 2006.

The FDA and manufacturer Acorda Therapeutics have made changes to the Contraindications and Warnings sections of the prescribing information for tizanidine (Zanaflex), regarding coadministration with CYP1A2 inhibitors.

NACDS has issued a new study on new product introductions, chartered by the NACDS Advisory Board and conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

AARP and Consumers Union are backing two N.Y. bills that would impose limitations on drug marketing and lobbying.

A bipartisan group of Governors from eight states sent a letter to Congress pressing them to pass biogenerics legislation.

USP created the Pharmaceutical Ingredient Verification Program in response to increasing concerns throughout the industry about the quality and consistency of pharmaceutical ingredients.

A measure to expand Oregon?s prescription drug discount program to allow small businesses and labor unions to buy medicine for their employees through the program was signed into law by Gov. Ted Kulongoski.

Workers' compensation claims processor WorkingRx and Jopari Solutions, a developer of electronic billing systems, have implemented an end-to-end system for the electronic processing of pharmacy workers? compensations bills.

Beginning July 1, physicians will be able to delegate prescriptive authority to physician assistants (PAs) in Indiana.

A 72-year-old pharmacist, Sanford Kessler of Alvin's Pharmacy in Teaneck, N.J., has been charged with illegally selling sample medications to the public. Kessler has denied the charges.

DEA plans to make N-phenethyl-4-piperidone (NPP) a List I chemical in an effort to control the illicit manufacture of fentanyl, a schedule II controlled substance.

ApothéCure Inc., a drug compounding pharmacy in Texas erroneously made the drug colchicine 10 times more potent than intended, leading to the death of three people.

Beginning on April 30, participating members have been able to more effectively manage the performance programs from seven more drug- companies, including ReoPro (abciximab) from Eli Lilly and Integrilin (eptifibatide) from Schering.

ASHP has announced the release of ResiTrak, a free, Internet-based tool that tracks the learning progress of pharmacy residents.

The FDA has issued a warning about the sale of counterfeit prescription medications from on-line pharmacies.

XLHealth Corp. is adding medication therapy management to its Care Improvement Plus Medicare Advantage plan in Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, South Carolina, and Texas.

SupplyScape, which provides electronic pedigree security, has lined up more than 50 customers in the three years it has been in existence.

In a statement submitted recently to a Senate Finance Committee hearing, NACDS recommended eight specific enhancements for the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit program.

American consumers currently have access to nearly 59,000 retail pharmacies widely dispersed in urban, suburban, and rural areas throughout the country, giving them, on average, access to 21 competing pharmacies located near their current pharmacy.

The FDA is requesting an update to the existing black box to include information regarding the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in young adults ages 18 to 24 years old during the first two months of treatment.

AzaSite (azithromycin ophthalmic solution) 1% has been approved by the FDA.

Janssen has received word from the FDA giving it the green light to market Invega for long-term maintenance treatment of schizophrenia.