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The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy and ASHP have approved a new standard for managed care pharmacy residencies that aims to improve training for pharmacists as they prepare for this specialized area of practice. T

The new labeling requirements came about after the USP reviewed numerous case reports suggesting a potential link between ingestion of products containing green tea extracts and black cohosh and liver damage.

ASHP has reached an agreement with the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) to work together on initiatives for rural hospitals.

The FDA announced a final rule establishing regulations to require current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) for dietary supplements.

The new service, called HybridRx, is an extension of the company's onsite healthcare solution, Hybrid Health, which offers a comprehensive range of healthcare services for client employees, retirees, and their dependents.

The coin-to-card service allows consumers to convert their loose change to a CVS card at the Coinstar kiosk and pay no coin-counting fee.

A tractor trailer carrying more than 16 million doses of hydrocodone was stolen from an Illinois truck stop in June.

A Massachusetts judge ordered Wal-Mart to pay $2 million for wrongfully terminating a pharmacist. Cynthia Haddad was fired by Wal-Mart in April 2004 after asking to be paid the same as her male colleagues.

A progesterone vaginal insert has been OK'd for marketing and will be sold under the name Endometrin, from Ferring Pharmaceuticals. The new formulation will be available in a100-mg strength and is indicated to support embryo implantation and early pregnancy by supplementation of corpus luteal function as part of an assisted reproductive technology treatment for infertile women.

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals is making the Self-Infusion Training Kit available at no cost to hemophilia treatment centers around the nation.

The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends a two-dose series of the varicella vaccine for children 12 months through 12 years of age, with the doses separated by at least three months.

The FDA has given the go-ahead to Cephalon Inc. to market armodafinil (Nuvigil) for the treatment of excessive sleepiness associated with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome, narcolepsy, and shift-work sleep disorder.

CompPharma LLC has been formed to enable PBMs specializing in workers' compensation to share the cost of researching and developing solutions for industry-wide issues.

CMS' proposal to limit payments to hospitals for nosocomial infections has won the support of Consumers Union.

As part of the sampling effort being done for the investigation into toothpaste made in China, the FDA has updated the list of products that have tested positive for diethylene glycol (DEG) on its Web site.

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) has launched a multiyear, multimillion-dollar public relations campaign that will focus on "whys and ways" people incorporate dietary supplements into their lifestyle.

According to Repro-Med Systems, which designs and manufactures medical devices for medical respiratory products and infusion therapy, notification received from CMS indicated that the Freedom60 has been rereviewed for Medicare billing.

Sepracor is unhappy with the way CMS proposes to pay for its Xopenex (levalbuterol HCl) Inhalation Solution. CMS plans to bundle levalbuterol with generic albuterol inhalation solutions under Medicare Part B.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) has proposed a new list of 62 medications that it thinks fit its criteria for hazardous drugs and a list of 88 products that don't fit those criteria.

The Bridgewater, N.J., firm maintains that cancer patients could be hurt by CMS' reduced coverage proposal for these antianemia agents.

Yet another group has come out against CMS for its proposal to withdraw coverage of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) for many uses.

The Department of Defense has issued a notice advising interested parties of a demonstration project in which the department will evaluate allowing selected OTCs to be included on the TRICARE uniform formulary.

Humana announced that fully insured commercial Humana health insurance plan enrollees will have their first copayment for a generic equivalent waived when utilizing the insurer's prescription home delivery service, Right Source.

NACDS called for the enactment of provisions that would provide healthcare cost savings, expand access to medications, facilitate effective communications with consumers, and foster operational efficiency for community pharmacy.

In federal court papers filed last week, NCPA stated its opposition to the proposed settlement in the average manufacturer price-fixing suit, insisting that it might radically reduce or eliminate the already-thin profit margin for community pharmacies.

An internal analysis of the outcomes of the Walgreens Health Initiatives medication therapy management (MTM) program reveals savings of more than $50 per member per month for patients receiving interventions.

Most Medicare Part D beneficiaries have access to most drug classes despite wide variations in formularies, according to a report in the June 20 issue of JAMA.

According to a just-released study of Medicare Part D data from 2006, conducted by the Department of Health & Human Services Office of the Inspector General, 97% of retail pharmacies offer at least one Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.

The Michigan Department of Community Health has expanded its prescription drug price Web site from 30 medications to 150.

The Department of Health & Human Services has withdrawn a controversial proposed rule that would have allowed it to exclude from government health programs any provider that submitted reimbursement claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal and state healthcare programs that were held to be "substantially in excess" of the provider's "usual charges," unless the provider had "good cause" to submit the claim.