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For patients, preventive services are a vital healthcare resource. For the healthcare delivery system, they produce cost savings. Pharmacists are a key link.

As clinical specialists, these pharmacists are in the best position to monitor psychiatric patients, who often have other medical issues and are receiving additional drug therapies.

Statins and ED drugs lead the way, and there are plenty more on the horizon.

Research results indicated that while intracranial hemorrhage is frequently observed in patients with brain metastases, treatment with low molecular weight heparin does not increase the risk.

The combination product is indicated to treat either complicated intra-abdominal infections, where it is used in combination with metronidazole, or complicated urinary tract infections in patients with few or no other treatment options.

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Some tips for keeping these hardworking organs happy and healthy.

As specialty meds pour out of the pipeline, pharmacists knowledgeable in disease states and side effects stand ready to manage administration and patient monitoring.

MI and stroke risk can rise just weeks after NSAID use commences. Labels will be updated to reflect this.

Last month, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) approved a policy that calls for adequate pharmacist representation on state boards of pharmacy by pharmacists from various practice settings, including hospitals, health systems, clinics, and nontraditional settings, to ensure proper oversight to protect public health.

Patients hospitalized for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at high risk for 30- and 60-day readmissions. In 2008, the mean 60-day admission rate following an emergency department visit of COPD patients was 18% and the mean readmission rate was more than 30%.

As sponsor of The Skin Cancer Foundation’s Road to Healthy Skin Tour, Rite Aid will offer free skin cancer screenings at locations in Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia this summer.

FDA approved sacubitril/valsartan (Entresto, Novartis), an angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI), a first-in-class drug for heart failure. It is indicated for patients whose condition is classified NYHA class II-IV, to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death and heart failure hospitalization.

Who wouldn't want a med specialist on hand when they're wheeled into the Emergency Department?

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf recently signed legislation that allows children as young as nine to receive flu vaccinations at local pharmacies.

The number of methamphetamine lab seizures in West Virginia is plummeting, and some are attributing that decline to pharmacy restrictions on pseudoephedrine products such as Sudafed and Claritin-D.

California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed a bill into law that eliminates religious and other personal exemptions some parents previously used to keep their children from getting vaccinations that prevent communicable diseases.

Patients enrolled in public health exchange plans have a harder time with medication adherence than those in traditional health plans, a recent Express Scripts report found.

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) issued a warning in June to stop using dosing cups for liquid medicine that are embossed with scales for drams, ounces, teaspoon, and tablespoon measures. These measurement scales can be easily confused with the milliliter dosing scales.

In a recently published Federal Register notice, FDA threatened action against companies that manufacture or distribute certain unapproved eardrop products labeled for prescription use.

One quarter of patients prescribed opioid painkillers for the first time progress to long-term use of these medications, according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic.

Over the course of a career, errors are inevitable. For pharmacists, who never forget that lives are at stake, the prospect is chilling. Yet close calls still happen. This was one.

The American Pharmacists Association Foundation has introduced a self-management tool designed to improve healthcare outcomes for diabetes patients and to reduce overall costs.

ASHP and NCPA commended the FDA’s decision to postpone the compliance deadline to November 1, 2015.

Despite efforts by law enforcement and increased security measures by many pharmacies, the number of pharmacy robberies across the country increased during the first five months of 2015.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has signed legislation that authorizes pharmacists in that state to be paid for clinical services and expands collaborative practice agreements.

Starting next year, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists will provide review courses and recertification resources for the Board of Pharmacy Specialties.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is using billboards to post the faces of people suspected of looting dozens of pharmacies during Baltimore’s Freddie Gray riots in April.

The St. Louis College of Pharmacy recently announced plans to construct a $40 million, seven-story student center, residence hall, and recreation facility.

The Oregon Board of Pharmacy has ordered the emergency closure of a pharmacy and the suspension of a pharmacist accused of manufacturing marijuana products and dispensing controlled substances without prescriptions.