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AMN Healthcare Services, the nation's largest healthcare staffing company, has acquired Rx Pro Health and Pharmacy Choice, leading providers of pharmacy staffing, workforce technology solutions.

Walgreens has completed its acquisition of Take Care Health Systems, a leading convenient care clinic operator.

How should risk minimization programs be designed to promote better health care? That's the focus of an upcoming two-day workshop to be held by the FDA.

These sites provide New Yorkers with convenient access to high-quality, urgent and nonemergency medical services at affordable prices, with the option to see on-site physicians on a walk-in basis for immediate examination and treatment.

In comments filed with the Senate Judiciary Committee, NACDS reported that it is "greatly concerned" about the threat to patient safety posed by rogue Internet sites and wants to work with Congress to eliminate illegal Internet sites from the market.

MedBasics, Irving, Texas, a leading operator of retail health clinics, announced it would expand its clinic operation into retail drugstores under a new affiliation with Pine Bluff, Ark.-based USA Drug.

The investigation looked at prices at 200 pharmacies in nine communities for 11 medications not currently listed on the site. The investigation found price differences of nearly $100 for prescriptions of Ambien (zolpidem, Sanofi-Aventis) in Detroit and Lansing.

Spectrum Laboratory Products has issued a recall of its Caffeine Citrated, Powder, Purified product after complaints about potential subpotency.

Two out of three patients with schizophrenia will fail to adhere to their medication as prescribed. The new tool includes eight factors that can be related to nonadherence.

The atypical antipsychotic quetiapine fumarate is now available in an extended-release formulation. Seroquel XR, from AstraZeneca, has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults.

An article in the May 2007 issue of The Oncologist proposes a new system for handling skin toxicities associated with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors, an adverse reaction that ranges in type and severity and occurs in more than half of treated patients.

Roche Diagnostics has announced a resolution to a problem with its CoaguChek PT test strips, which were the subject of an Urgent Medical Device Correction issued last October after the strips showed random falsely high INR test results.

he union is demanding that pharmacy chains provide protection for pharmacists, particularly those working at night in dangerous neighborhoods.

Mylan Laboratories will become the third-largest generic drug company in the world (behind Teva and Novartis) after signing a definitive agreement under which it will acquire Merck's generic business in a deal worth $6.7 billion.

CVS has suspended pharmacy technician Katie Dudash from its Euclid, Ohio, store after learning that she was involved in administering a lethal dose of medication to a child while she worked as a technician at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland.

A recent survey by Medimix International of 400 physicians and pharmacists in the U.S. and Europe asked respondents what print publications and Web sites they read and/or visit on a regular basis, either for personal or professional reasons.

According to a study from Wolters Kluwer Health, 4.2 million seniors-nearly one-third of the standard eligible Medicare Part D recipients-fell into the donut hole coverage gap in 2006.

NABP has awarded DMEPOS (durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies) accreditation to Advanced Diabetes Supply, a division of North Coast Medical Supply, Carlsbad, Calif.

Biotech and unbranded generics growth outpaced nonbiotech brands and total market in 2006, with generics continuing to gain traction, according to an IMS Health report.

The APhA Foundation has partnered with the National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH) to help patients better manage chronic health conditions.

Not only have CMS' procedures created problems for dual-eligibles attempting to find a prescription drug plan, but the report notes that pharmacies may be affected adversely when "key information about a beneficiary's dual eligibility is not yet processed and available."

he union is demanding that pharmacy chains provide protection for pharmacists, particularly those working at night in dangerous neighborhoods.

A five-month-old baby was poisoned after ingesting a psychotropic drug prescribed for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults, according to the lawsuit.

Gary Wirth, R.Ph., has been named NACDS VP of state government affairs.

umana Inc. announced that it will allow its commercial and Medicare members in Pratt, Kiowa, and Ottawa counties in Kansas to obtain early refills of their prescriptions in the wake of the devastating tornado that struck the region on May 4.

The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) claimed that the home care industry has stepped up efforts to crack down on Medicare fraud and looks forward to continuing work with federal agencies and Congress to prevent fraudulent activity.

CMS recently published its 2008 Call Letter, which will serve as a guidance and establish changes for Medicare Part C and D benefits in the next calendar year. The Call Letter includes several changes related to formularies, including one that AMCP has been advocating since the development of the Part D benefit.

The Iowa General Assembly unanimously passed legislation that would regulate PBMs, while the Texas Senate unanimously passed the first in a series of bills calling for transparency in contracts between the state of Texas and PBMs.

CMS proposes paying for darbepoetin (Aranesp, Amgen) and epoetin alfa (Epogen, Amgen; Procrit, Ortho Biotech) only to treat anemia in certain cancer patients. Still to be considered is the use of the antianemia drugs among patients with kidney failure.

While more than 100 House and Senate members have sent letters to CMS expressing their concern about the new rule, the bipartisan group at the news conference called for new legislation addressing the issue.