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Several U.S. senators and representatives are speaking at the National Community Pharmacists Association's annual Legislative Conference, which will be held May 7-9 in Washington, D.C.

Owners of a ship that slammed into the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in 2007 are trying to blame California pharmacists for the crash, claiming that they "recklessly" provided prescription medications that clouded the judgment of the ship?s pilot.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, FDA, and other government agencies have made considerable progress on fighting prescription drug abuse in the past year, but much more remains to be done, according to officials.

More than 75% of the nation's opinion leaders believe that the best way to control healthcare costs is through discovering innovative ways to deliver services, according to the new NEHI Innovation Barometer survey.

FDA has issued a safety alert, warning patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals about the dangers of accidental exposure to and improper storage and disposal of fentanyl patches.

Twice-daily dabigatran etexilate mesylate (Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingleheim) was shown to be associated with lower rates of fatal and traumatic intracranial hemorrhage compared with warfarin, according to a retrospective subanalysis published online, April 5, in Stroke, the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Novartis has agreed with FDA to update US prescribing information on fingolimod (Gilenya) to include updated patient selection parameters based on certain cardiovascular considerations to aid in the identification of candidates for Gilenya.

The new chairman of the board of the National Association of Chain Drugs Stores emphasized that community pharmacies provide the value of ?an improved health outcome that only a face-to-face encounter with a community pharmacist can accomplish.?

FDA has strengthened its oversight of drugs after they?ve been approved, thanks to its updated postmarket drug safety program, according to a new report by the agency?s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and ACPE providers have teamed up to create the CPE Monitor. This new system will allow for the electronic transmission of continuing pharmacy education data.

Security experts and others offered their advice to community pharmacists during Protect Your Pharmacy Week that was held April 16-20.

More organizations are partnering with the Drug Enforcement Administration this year on its National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day April 28.

As many as 80% of patients who are candidates for preventive treatments for migraine headaches could be helped by these treatments, the author of new guidelines issued by the American Academy of Neurology told Drug Topics.

Medicare Part D beneficiaries with cardiovascular conditions who had no financial assistance during the "donut hole" coverage gap were 57% more likely to discontinue their medications than beneficiaries with consistent drug coverage, according to a new study.

Compliance with environmental laws and regulations pertaining to pharmaceutical waste disposal is an essential part of pharmacy management. Here are some tips to make the process less daunting.

FDA has issued a Drug Safety Communication (April 20) warning of possible risks when using blood pressure medicines containing aliskiren with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) in patients with diabetes or kidney (renal) impairment. These drug combinations are contraindicated in patients with diabetes.

Guidelines for managing elevated blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus, developed jointly by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), are being published concurrently in the ADA?s journal, April 19 online edition of Diabetes Care and in EASD?s journal, Diabetologia.

Fibromyalgia patients taking pregabalin had significant improvements in sleep and decreased daily pain, according to a new study published in the April 2012 issue of Arthritis Care & Research.

FDA has approved insulin detemir [rDNA origin] injection (Levemir, Novo Nordisk) pregnancy Category B classification, indicating that when used in pregnant women with diabetes, the injection did not increase the risk of harm to the unborn baby.

Patients using periprocedural dabigatran had a significantly higher major bleeding rate than those using warfarin, according to a study published online first February 1, 2012, in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Pharmacy benefit manager giant Express Scripts has developed a predictive model, ScreenRx, to combat what its chief scientist calls "the most costly healthcare issue in America" ? non-adherence.

AccentHealth, one of the largest health education television networks, has expanded its patient waiting room television programming to include 8 new condition-specific networks that reach 173 million viewers annually.

When co-pays are similar, patients prefer community pharmacies versus mail order to fill their prescriptions by a ratio of 4 to 1, according to a new study published in the April 2012 issue of The Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy.

What's different in your drug stores this month? A new source of iron in a prenatal multivitamin supplement drink. Healing lotion that contains aloe and vitamin E to protect skin from dryness. A topical pain reliever that is applied like a deodorant and stored in the freezer. For those year-round coughs and colds, a soothing, non-drowsy liquid formula. An omega-3, 6, 9 vitamin to support the body's natural anti-inflammatory response. Yogurt-based products that help quench the skin's "moisture-thirsty" cells. And there are even more new over-the-counter items featured in the print edition of Drug Topics.

California pharmacists would be able to better assist patients with increasingly more complicated over-the-counter assessment tests if the state?s Senate approves new legislation, according to Jon Roth, CEO, California Pharmacists Association.

The recent passage of a Kentucky bill prohibiting pharmacy benefit managers from recouping payments through pharmacy audits when there is no evidence of fraud bodes well for similar federal legislation, according to a recent statement from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.

Congressional approval of the bipartisan Generic Drug and Biosimilars User Fee Act could eliminate 90% of the backlog of Abbreviated New Drug Applications by 2017, FDA official Russell Wesdyk, BS, MBA, said in a presentation last month.

FDA approved the first 4-strain influenza vaccine live, intranasal (FluMist Quadrivalent, MedImmune) for the prevention of influenza. The vaccine?s 4 strains (2 type-A and 2 type-B lineages) help provide broad protection against circulating influenza A and B.

The new guidelines are based on data from 2 trials that focused specifically on treating elderly patients for hypertension, which hadn't been done before.

Help is at the ready for the millions of Americans who suffer from chronic and acute pain.