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Walgreens Health Initiatives (WHI), a Walgreens company, was the highest rated PBM nationally in overall member satisfaction among the 18 major PBMs evaluated in the 2007 WilsonRx PBM Member Satisfaction Survey. WHI was top rated in several measures of satisfaction, including: overall coverage of retail prescriptions, information provided about medications, and overall coverage of branded and generic medications.

Primary care physicians are more willing than endocrinologists to prescribe Exubera (insulin recombinant human, Pfizer), and half of managed care pharmacy directors indicated they will not cover the inhaled insulin on their formulary on the basis of improved compliance alone.

The vast majority of pharmacists that responded to an on-line poll concluded that the "20/20" television expos? on drug errors had no impact on the way they practice pharmacy.

The Texas legislature passed a $153 billion budget that includes a higher Medicaid dispensing fee as well as stipulations to direct savings from the switch to average manufacturers price (AMP) to pharmacists. The bill, which has yet to be signed by Gov. Rick Perry, represents the most comprehensive approach yet taken by a state to deflect the expected impact of CMS' plan to use the AMP to determine pharmacy reimbursement.

Pharmacy had a hand in saving the two humpback whales stranded in a tributary to the San Francisco Bay. The whales were given compounded antibiotics to protect against infections.

NABP has accredited Redi-Mail Direct Marketing as a Verified-Accredited Wholesale Distributor (VAWD).

One-third of patients with serious mental illnesses are completely unaware that certain medications they take are associated with elevated blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol.

The American Heart Association (AHA) is urging women of childbearing age to take a multivitamin with folic acid to increase the chance that their babies will be born with a healthy heart.

NHIA said the legislation would close a gap in Medicare drug coverage that is affecting the sickest, most vulnerable patients.

The Blue Cross & Blue Shield Association's governmentwide Service Benefit Plan, also known as the Federal Employee Program (FEP), has awarded administration of its retail pharmacy program and clinical services program to Caremark. Additionally, Medco was awarded the mail-service prescription drug program, including specialty pharmacy, effective Jan. 1, 2008.

n a joint venture between Sanovia Corp. and the Advanced Concepts Institute (ACI), a department within the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP), a library of evidence-based prior-authorization criteria for the appropriate use of high-cost drugs and biologics will be developed.

The Warfarin DoseAdvise Genetic Test has been launched by Kimball Genetics. It can detect the presence of variations in the CYP2C9 and VKORC1 genes, both of which decrease the warfarin dose requirement.

According to a new study, pharmacists play a smaller role in drug research by patients than doctors, advertising, and on-line research.

Gary Linderman, R.Ph., owner of Ole Miners Pharmacy in Picher, Okla., has vowed that he will stay in town and keep dispensing to its remaining populace. The 1,500 residents in this small mining town are evacuating because of severe lead and zinc contamination.

Similac Special Care 24 Cal/fl. oz. Ready-to-Feed (RTF) Premature Infant Formula with Iron has been recalled for insufficient iron content.

A new birth control pill that is taken daily 365 days a year has received approval. The FDA gave Wyeth the go-ahead for Lybrel, a combination oral contraceptive (OC) that contains 90 mcg levonorgestrel and 20 mcg ethinyl estradiol.

Tinidazole (Tindamax) is the first new drug for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis in 10 years and will provide a shorter course of treatment with fewer daily doses than the current standard of treatment, according to its manufacturer Mission Pharmacal.

You'll be seeing a lot of the term downstream entity. That's the handle CMS proposes to use to signify pharmacies or pharmacists who contract with PBMs, dubbed first-tier entities, that, in turn, contract with Part D plan sponsors.

For decades, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) ws considere the answer not only to hot flashes but to a woman's long-term health. In July 2002, millions of women abruptly discontinued HRT.

Michael Paul Smith, a nurse at a Massachusetts nursing home, was sentenced to 63 months in jail for tampering with painkillers prescribed to patients at the home.

Infinisity Inc., Washington, D.C., has launched Mymedmanager, a three-step system that helps patients and caregivers keep track of their medications and record when they were taken.

Following a series of reports that private insurers involved in the Medicare Advantage (MA) program were using questionable tactics and high-pressured sales efforts, CMS plans to institute reforms and increase supervision of both MA and Medicare Part D plans.

Ophthalmologists have noted an increase in an eye infection, called Acanthamoeba keratitis, caused by a parasite, among contact lens wearers. The infection has been linked to a lens cleaner called Complete MoisturePlus Multi Purpose Solution.

The combination of doxorubicin HCl liposome injection (Doxil, Ortho Biotech) and bortezomib (Velcade, Millennium/Johnson & Johnson) has been granted FDA approval for treating patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior therapy but have not received earlier treatment with bortezomib.

A new boxed warning has been added to the labeling for five gadolinium-based contrast agents used to improve the visibility of internal structures during MRI scans. This came after the FDA received reports of the risk of developing nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF), a potentially fatal disease causing thickening of the skin and connective tissues that inhibits their movement.

Home Diagnostics has launched TrackRecord Data Management Software, an electronic diabetes management system. The system is designed for use with Home Diagnostics' blood glucose meters and will enable people with diabetes and healthcare professionals who treat them to better understand how various lifestyle and behavior choices impact blood glucose levels.

RESTAT, a PBM, will now make its data available on RxHub's national patient health information network to provide access to patient prescription information nationwide.

Rite Aid Pharmacies have teamed up with the Skin Cancer Foundation to offer consumers information on skin care protection this June and July.

Manufacturers of timed-release guaifenesin products that have not been FDA approved have 90 days to stop making the products and 180 days to cease shipping them.

According to PhRMA, there are currently 277 medications either in clinical trials or under review by the FDA for treating heart disease and stroke, the two leading causes of death in the U.S.