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The National Community Pharmacists Association commended BB&T Corporation's recent decision to reemphasize and continue its employees' choice in filling their maintenance prescriptions, including at independent community pharmacies.

The first trial to provide evidence that drugs used to treat HIV can also help to prevent HIV infection among men who have sex with men (when combined with other prevention strategies) was reported late November online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America is set to release its first guidelines for the treatment of the increasingly common and potentially deadly methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection.

Compared with conventional 21-day regimens, 24-day oral contraceptive regimens containing a progestogen with a long half-life show higher contraceptive effectiveness under routine medical conditions, according to research published in the January 2011 issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

FDA has approved fentanyl (Abstral, ProStraken) transmucosal tablets to manage breakthrough pain for adults with cancer.

Duloxetine (Cymbalta, Eli Lilly), used to treated depression and anxiety, was found to be effective at reducing joint and muscle pain associated with breast cancer treatment.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. recently recalled 64 million tablets of Avalide blood pressure medication in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Some Medicare Advantage patients have a new way to buy over-the-counter products: OTCNetwork, a prepaid point-of-sale card.

Oncology treatment and benefits are changing. Buy-and-bill, the traditional methodology that had physicians buying chemotherapeutic products, treating in the office, and billing the payer, is going the way of surgery by barbers. But no one is quite sure what will replace the one-time standard of payment.

Many pharmacies are aware of the 340B Drug Pricing Program, but few understand the mechanics of how such a program works and to what extent a community pharmacy may be able to capitalize on its benefits.

The states that are looking for ways to stop illegal sales of pseudoephedrine should be commended. But a prescription requirement for cold and allergy medications that customers rely on every day is bad public policy that will have an unnecessary impact on many patients.

After much legal wrangling, pharmacies in San Francisco can no longer carry cigarettes.

A survey of new Rx, new generic, and new OTC products

While there may be some notable breakthroughs to brighten an otherwise bleak pharmaceutical pipeline for 2011, the overall outlook remains grim as the number of new drugs under development continues to shrink, compared to the glory days of just a few short years ago.

Pharmacists save the medical system millions of dollars every day by being the last resort for the poor people who have nowhere else to turn.

Medtronic Inc. in Minneapolis, Minn., recently received FDA approval for its new CareLink Pro 3.0 Therapy Management software.

An OIG audit concluded that CMS is paying pharmacies for dispensing terminated drugs under Medicare Part D, while CMS insists it is not.

A relief pharmacist should spend the first 10 minutes with an internal checklist. Its items may be small in themselves, but overlooked, they will make the day considerably harder.

Pharmacists speak out about dental care, pharmacy associations, and the effects of direct-to-consumer advertising.

In October 2010, FDA approved dabigatran etexilate (Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim), the first oral direct thrombin inhibitor for the prevention of thromboembolic stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.

Starting this month, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires employees with tax-advantaged health accounts to have a prescription for an OTC drug to qualify for account reimbursement and preferred tax treatment. Insulin and OTC medical devices and supplies are exempt.

Under the federal Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is classified as Schedule I, a definition that gives it a high potential for abuse, with no current safe or medical use. Meanwhile, in 14 states, patients have access to medical marijuana upon physican recommendation.

January is prime time for colds and other respiratory illnesses. Because people tend to equate January sniffles with colds and flu, they may go straight to the cough/cold area and bypass the allergy/sinus aisle, which is also of concern this time of year.

Medication therapy management is looking like the next new career opportunity for pharmacists as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, health plans, and employers press for its adoption.

FDA has approved the premix formulation of vancomycin injection, USP (750 mg/150 mL) (Baxter). Vancomycin is an antibiotic used to treat severe infections caused by susceptible strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and/or treat patients who are penicillin-resistant.

A study released by the Canadian Medical Association Journal reported that the use of acid-suppressive drugs could be linked to an increased risk of pneumonia.

The addition of bortezomib to the standard induction therapy before double autologous stem-cell transplantation for patients with multiple myeloma appears to improve nearly threefold the rates of complete or near-complete response, according to research published online in The Lancet, HealthDay News reported.

The California Pharmacists Association is preparing to launch what may be the first employee pharmacist ombudsman program sponsored by a state association.

Further reductions in LDL cholesterol through more intensive statin regimens safely produce definite further reductions in vascular events, even down to very low LDL levels, lower than current targets, according to the results of 2 meta-analyses, The Lancet reported. There was no evidence of any lower threshold where the benefit is not seen.

Daily aspirin over at least 5 years appears to greatly reduce mortality from gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal cancers, according to research published online in The Lancet, HealthDay News reported.