Compounding act becomes law with APhA support
December 2nd 2013Last week, President Obama signed the Drug Quality and Security Act into law, providing FDA with the authority and responsibility to regulate “outsourcing facilities,” compounders that make large volumes of compounded drugs without individual prescriptions. The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) supported and helped with the drafting of the legislation.
Infusion site influences specialty drug spending, report shows
November 21st 2013Changing the infusion site of specialty drugs can lower costs for patients with cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and other complex diseases, according to the 2013 Specialty Trend Management Insights Report, released by CVS Caremark.
Improper dosing in IV bags led to diluted chemotherapy solutions
November 19th 2013Improper dosing of chemotherapy in IV bags recently caused a problem among a group of patients in Canada, so the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) is cautioning healthcare practitioners about chemotherapy dosing.
Michigan bill calls for pharmacy medical marijuana dispensing
November 18th 2013The Michigan Senate has approved a bill that would allow medical marijuana to be dispensed by pharmacies throughout the state. However, the vote by the Michigan senators is merely symbolic, as FDA would have to reclassify marijuana as Schedule II to allow such dispensing.
Collaborative care to boost medication adherence may not improve outcomes significantly
November 18th 2013Collaborative care with pharmacists helped to boost medication adherence in patients with acute coronary syndrome after hospital discharge. However, after 12- month follow-up, the proportion of patients who achieved blood pressure and LDL-cholesterol goals were not significantly different from patients treated under usual care, according to a recent study published online for JAMA Internal Medicine.
FDA approves rare blood cancer drug under breakthrough therapy designation
November 15th 2013FDA has approved ibrutinib (Imbruvica, Pharmacyclics and Janssen) to treat patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), a rare and aggressive type of blood cancer. It is the second drug with breakthrough therapy designation to receive FDA approval.
Walgreens HIV pharmacies increase med adherence rates
November 15th 2013Medication adherence rates for HIV patients with associated comorbidities such as mental illness was higher for patients using Walgreens HIV-specialized pharmacies than for patients using the chain’s other retail pharmacies, according to two recently released studies.
Studies: Lurasidone effective for treating depression associated with bipolar disorder
November 15th 2013Lurasidone HCl (Latuda) reduces depressive symptoms in adult patients with bipolar depression when used as monotherapy and adjunctive therapy to lithium or valproate. This flexibility is important given the multiple unmet needs of patients with bipolar depression, according to two phase 3 studies published recently in The American Journal of Psychiatry.
U.S. healthcare needs team-approach, patient focus
November 13th 2013The U.S. healthcare system, broken even before the Affordable Care Act, needs a team-based care approach that’s more focused on patients, as well as an increased political effort to advance healthcare, according to researchers speaking at a JAMA media briefing at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on November 12.
Statin use urged for 33 million Americans
November 13th 2013Statin therapy is now recommended for approximately 33 million Americans who don’t have cardiovascular disease (CVD), but have an estimated 10-year CV risk of 7.5% or higher. These individuals also have LDL cholesterol between 70 mg/dL and 189 mg/dL, according to new guidelines issued Nov. 12 by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.