Associations News

The American Pharmacists Association Foundation has published a white paper on a prescription synchronization program for improved medication adherence and produced a tool kit for implementation.

WellTransitions program helps improve health outcomes and lower hospital rates of hospital readmission through inpatient counseling and medication reconciliation provided by Walgreens pharmacists.

Pharmacists throughout California are a signature away from being able to give a full range of immunizations, as well as dispensing birth control pills and certain medications for international travel.

A coalition that includes pharmacy-advocacy groups has endorsed legislation it says will bring fairness and integrity to the Medicare Part D pharmacy program.

A coalition that includes the Maine Pharmacy Association has sued that state to stop a new law that allows consumers to buy mail-order prescription drugs from unlicensed international firms.

Knowing which patients are most at-risk for adverse drug events would help hospitals direct pharmacist-led counseling services to those who need it the most. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Foundation is funding research it believes will make it easier to identify those patients.

Dennis C. Wagner, a national and international leader in healthcare quality improvement, the environment, and social marketing, will present the fourth annual William A. Zellmer Lecture on September 17, 2013, during the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Policy Week in Bethesda, Md.

The Pharmacy Technician Accreditation Commission (PTAC), a group charged with overseeing pharmacy technician education and training programs, will begin operation next year.

An audit by the Department of Defense’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found the TRICARE mail-order pharmacy program to be “more efficient and effective than retail programs” and less error-prone.

Pharmacists in Canada were recently given broader responsibilities including, in certain provinces, prescribing privileges, vaccination abilities, and the ability to order and interpret laboratory tests. This newly expanded role for Canadian pharmacists can benefit both patients and physicians, according to an article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

As the Drug Enforcement Administration increases scrutiny of pharmacies dispensing controlled substances that are sometimes illegally diverted, new policies designed to curb Rx abuse are pitting pharmacists against physicians.

The Specialty Sterile Pharmaceutical Society launches, with its own product and safety standards standards and a plan to march on Washington.

Hillary Rodham Clinton urged pharmacists to help exercise leadership when she spoke at the NACDS Total Store Expo in Las Vegas.

Nearly all prescription drug websites geared toward Americans are operating out of compliance with U.S. pharmacy laws, according to a study by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.

The Specialty Pharmacy Association of America is concerned about the language involving refill reminders and marketing in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ newly released revisions to HIPAA concerning the HITECH Act.

Various organizations recently gathered at a Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners strategic planning retreat in Alexandria, Virginia.

NACDS' Total Store Expo, opening at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, on Saturday, August 10, brings together its Marketplace Conference, its Pharmacy & Technology Conference, and its Supply Chain & Logistics Conference.

Rear Admiral Scott F. Giberson, this year’s recipient of the American Pharmacists Association’s Distinguished Federal Pharmacist of the Year Award, recently became Acting Deputy U.S. Surgeon General.

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association has asked Congress to consider policy changes it believes will reduce prescription drug abuse and Medicare fraud.

Testifying before a congressional committee weighing options to strengthen oversight of compounding pharmacies, National Association of Boards of Pharmacy Executive Director Carmen Catizone supported legislation proposed in the U.S. Senate.

Student pharmacists from the University of Arkansas, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of the Pacific are finalists in 2013 Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition.

B. Douglas Hoey, CEO of the National Community Pharmacists Association, this week testified before a congressional committee considering tightening FDA oversight of compounding pharmacies following last year’s New England Compounding Center’s fungal meningitis tragedy.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation has announced a request-for-proposals to research integrating medication therapy management services into the hospital discharge process.

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When it comes to taking medication properly, Americans 40 and older with chronic medical conditions earn a C+, according to a patient survey by the National Community Pharmacists Association.

A nonprofit dedicated to ensuring online pharmacy safety, whose roots date back to an informal advocacy group started 4 years ago, was this week officially chartered in Washington, D.C. The board of the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies includes industry leaders from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Eli Lilly, LegitScript, and FWD Strategies International.

The 250 independent community pharmacies that comprise the Northeast Pharmacy Services Corporation, a New England regional pharmacy advocacy group, have joined the National Community Pharmacists Association.

In addition to boosting patient health outcomes, medication therapy management is vital to a pharmacy’s bottom line, according to various speakers participating in the recent Pharmacy Quality Alliance’s webinar “Boosting MTM Program Compliance.”

The National Education Association Health Information Network is set to release a resource guide designed to help educators teach students about prescription drug abuse and misuse.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists will begin offering more than 20 hours annually of continuing pharmacy education courses through an online subscription service.