Associations News

A coalition that includes several pharmacy groups is asking Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to delay implementation of the Medicaid average manufacturer’s price (AMP)-based federal upper limits (FULs) for prescription medications.

Poor transitions in care cost the U.S. healthcare system $45 billion in 2011. Of the 1.5 million medication errors that harm patients each year, approximately 60% occur during transitions of care, according to Stephanie Kleyman, PharmD, who spoke about opportunities for pharmacists in transitions of care at the 2014 American Pharmacists Association annual meeting in Orlando.

During the American Pharmacists Association’s annual meeting in Orlando last weekend, the leadership called on its members to advocate for provider status and expanded scope of practice.

The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Foundation, with its partner PrescribeWellness, is offering community pharmacies new tools to help diabetes patients manage their disease and health, according to an announcement from the APhA annual meeting in Orlando.

ASHP, ISMP, AHA, and other stakeholders have developed a list of long-term strategies to address drug shortages and released their recommendations in a new report.

A coalition of groups that includes the NAACP and Amnesty International is urging the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) to ban its members from making compound drugs used in lethal-injection executions.

State and national pharmacy groups are rallying behind two proposed bills they believe would provide transparency in drug reimbursements while limiting the auditing practices of pharmacy benefit managers.

The National Community Pharmacists Association is asking Iowa’s Gov. Terry Branstad to sign into law H.F. 2297 legislation that would provide a level of transparency for how pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) determine reimbursement for multiple source generic drugs. The legislation would give the insurance commissioner authority to request information from PBMs in Iowa, according to a March 11 letter from NCPA to the governor.

NCPA study finds that community pharmacy med-synch programs can improve patients’ medication adherence and boost the pharmacy's bottom line.

Unsalable quantities of expensive branded medications and specialty drugs. Skyrocketing prices for generic drugs. Medicaid rules about what to dispense. And there's more.

Is your hospital ready? The emergency is here.

Pharmacy groups, representing more than 100,000 pharmacists in different pharmacy practice settings, have written to CMS Administrator Marilyn B. Tavenner to express their support for the expansion of medication therapy management (MTM) services to Medicare Part D beneficiaries in the CMS proposal released in early January.

Claiming pharmacy benefit managers are trying to run them out of business, more than 100 Oklahoma independent pharmacists recently rallied at their state capitol.

Leaders in ambulatory care pharmacy practice, medicine, and nursing met to draft recommendations to advance patient care in ambulatory settings.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has endorsed a congressional proposal to establish a workgroup to collaborate on solutions to reduce prescription drug abuse and without comprising access to medications.

Michigan will be the first state to standardize concentrations for children’s liquid prescriptions, due to a statewide initiative to reduce pediatric medication errors.

The National Institutes of Health, FDA, 10 biopharmaceutical companies, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, and several nonprofit organizations have launched an unprecedented public/private partnership to transform the current model for identifying and validating the most promising biological targets of disease for new diagnostics and drug development.

Saline shortages are affecting three out of four hospitals and healthcare facilities throughout the country, with nearly 30% of these facilities not having adequate supplies to meet patient needs, according to a survey by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Foundation has announced the winners of its 2014 Student Scholarship Program that recognizes students’ involvement in their school’s APhA-ASP chapter.

Millions of avoidable cancers could be prevented through widespread human papillomavirus vaccination (HPV), according to a report released by the President's Cancer Panel. And chief amongst the report’s recommendations to prevent these avoidable cancers and deaths is empowering pharmacists to administer HPV vaccinations.

Eight months ahead of the event, only 10% of exhibit space remains.

A DEA spokesman said the agency is not trying to limit access to opioid painkillers.

Numerous studies have shown that medication adherence, or the lack of it, is a major driver of healthcare costs. As millions of consumers select health plans as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) believes they should have information on the success of individual healthcare plans in improving medication adherence.

During a recent episode of his nationally syndicated television show, Dr. Mehmet Cengiz Oz suggested that rapid diagnostic tests for strep throat should be available in pharmacies.

NABP effort seeks worldwide protection for consumers and users of pharmacies online.

A survey of more than 1,000 pharmacists conducted by NCPA reveals high numbers of chronic-pain patients who had to wait or search to fill their prescriptions and pharmacies without supplies to fill them at all.

Two big causes drive NCPA's new president.

Gerald Meyer, president of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), discusses the importance of provider status during an interview at ASHP's Midyear Clinical Meeting in Orlando, Fla.

Members of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) will meet the 2014 president-elect candidates during the APhA annual meeting and exhibition in Orlando in March.

NCPA has asked congressional leaders to look into the reasons behind the skyrocketing costs of generic drugs.