Legal News

Record budget problems have pushed California to eliminate funding for the largest poison control system in the nation. Keep reading to find out about a California pharmacy's fight to keep the poison control system going.

CVS, Merck, and Pfizer are just a few of the pharmaceutical heavyweights working together to electronically trace pharmaceutical products through the healthcare supply chain.

More than 80 community pharmacists from the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) and several patients met with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) May 13 to discuss concerns about the impact of the March 2007 CVS/Caremark merger and to urge the FTC to re-examine it.

Citizen petitions to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) work. Sometimes.

The major message of the 2009 National Community Pharmacists Association's Annual Conference on National Legislation & Government Affairs was "get into politics, or get out of pharmacy."

The stimulus package passed in February has catapulted the field of comparative effectiveness research into a defining moment.

WellPoint's plan to sell its NextRx pharmacy benefits management unit to St. Louis-based Express Scripts is drawing criticism from independent pharmacists.

Pharmacist have many career options. Whether they're interested in politics, teaching, or travel, they can find fulfillment on and off the beaten path.

The New York Senate is considering a bill to permit qualifying seniors to obtain their prescription medications from a Canadian pharmacy group. New York pharmacists oppose any plan to take pharmacy dollars out of the state.

The former owner of a former pharmacy near Pittsburgh and one of his workers are charged with submitting $1 million in bogus prescription claims to Medicaid and private insurance companies.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) is endorsing a congressional effort to crack down on the bulk sale of a cough syrup ingredient sometimes abused as a recreational drug.

With violence against pharmacists mounting across the country, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) initiates a long-range study.

Widespread confusion about the new label format for prescription drugs has sent FDA officials to association meetings around the country, explanations in hand.

Now that pharmacists are empowered to vaccinate and immunize in every state but Maine, each state must work out regulatory requirements and protocols.

California may be moving toward a new form of liability. The state Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Wyeth in a case the held the drug maker liable for injuries caused by generic versions of Reglan (metoclopramide) made by another manufacturer.

A bipartisan bill that would allow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve affordable copies of biotech drugs has been introduced in Congress.

In an effort to permit community pharmacies to negotiate better contracts, Reps. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) recently introduced legislation designed to level the playing field between community pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).

In a news conference today, President Obama nominated Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to the post of secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Pharmacies are being robbed across the country in increasing numbers. Many of these robberies involve controlled substances. New prevention approaches are needed.

North Dakota's attorney general wants to authorize state and local officials to prosecute online pharmacies trafficking in illegal painkiller prescriptions.

DEA wants to make it easier for hospitals, long-term-care facilities, patients, and others to dispose of controlled substances. FDA, EPA, and state agencies are also dealing with this issue.

Drugstore.com continues to experience growth, particularly in sales of OTC products, and is expanding internationally, a company executive told attendees at the Jeffries 5th Annual Internet & Media Conference in New York this week.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) applauded a decision by U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth to postpone a February hearing about Medicaid Average Manufacturer Price (AMP).

Henry Waxman this week told attendees of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association Annual in Florida that he would work to pass legislation that would allow generic versions of biogenerics and biosimilar pharmaceuticals.

Twelve pharmacy groups have formed a coalition to promote common pharmacy principles for health care reform.

Versions of the Pain Care Act have been introduced in Congress every year since 2003. Passed in the House of Representatives in 2008, it must pass there again before moving to the Senate.

South Dakota pharmacists can now authorize, supervise, and verify prescriptions filled by pharmacy technicians in remote locations.

Rite Aid and subsidiaries in eight states were fined $5 million for violating the Controlled Substances Act.

Medications are often prescribed for off-label purposes without evidence of effectiveness or safety. Unsupported use is especially high for antidepressants, antipsychotics, and sedatives.

Three pharmacy owners and four pharmacists were among 12 people recently indicted for participating in a conspiracy that dispensed and sold thousands of dosages of anabolic steroids ? including powerful veterinary steroids approved for animal use only ? to users throughout the United States.