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Oncology care faces two cliffs, said Lee Schwartzberg, M.D., board member of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA): a planned $400 million to $500 million in Medicare cuts and severe payment cuts announced by private insurers. An access-to-treatment crisis was averted primarily by the addition of $400 million in funding through the implementation of a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services oncology demonstration project at the end of 2004. Schwartzberg, also a medical oncologist in private practice at The West Clinic in Memphis, addressed a plenary session on the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) at the First Annual Oncology World Congress, held recently in New York City.

Reducing excessive or inappropriate antibiotic use is the best way to slow down the spread of antimicrobial resistance in bacterial infections. A report examining dozens of studies of quality-improvement (QI) interventions found that actively engaging the clinician in workshops or educational outreach on antibiotic treatment appears to be more effective than simply posting signs about correct/incorrect antibiotic use. However, most QI interventions are generally effective at reducing both inappropriate antibiotic selection and treatment.

Dissatisfied with the attention hospitals have been giving to medication reconciliation, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has issued a sentinel event alert, signaling the high priority it's placing on this issue.

Over the past few years, more than 2,200 U.S. soldiers have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, more than 16,000 soldiers and Marines have been wounded but have survived. Ironically, this is due largely to new, high-tech ceramic body armor and new field medical and evacuation systems.

The Food & Drug Administration has been counting on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to be ready for widespread adoption next year, allowing drug product packages to be tagged with tiny chips containing an electronic product code or unique electronic serial number. Now the agency thinks that may not happen and is in a bit of a quandary.

Believe it or not, one in four hospitalized patients has diabetes and the annual cost of treating inpatient diabetes in the United States has reached $40 billion. These stunning statistics represent only two of the reasons why the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) joined forces in late January to develop a position statement outlining strategies for improving inpatient glycemic control.

Not long ago, facing up to the reality that more than 50 million Americans live with persistent pain, Congress declared the period from 2001 through 2010 "The Decade of Pain Control and Research."

The number of electronic queries about Medicare Part D beneficiary eligibility has dropped since the 6.5 million peak during the first week of implementation. But pharmacists were reminded of how the system works in a recent conference call set up by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Why would a company that specializes in sales and marketing to the grocery, food service, drugstore, and convenience store business and an association of regional drugstore chains form a strategic alliance? If you are Federated Group and the Chain Drug Marketing Association (CDMA) the answer is to reap the benefits of sharing private-label brands.

Patients filling scripts at Bashas' United Drug pharmacies in Arizona will, like the canary in the coal mine, be the first to signal if there are problems with newly marketed drugs in the nation's first-of-its-kind active drug surveillance system.

Given the technical difficulties that led to lack of accurate beneficiary information during implementation of the Medicare Part D benefit, drug plans should let pharmacies submit claims that are up to 90 days old, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

It's time to reevaluate hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in menopausal women, according to Lawrence Phillips, M.D., a professor of medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta.

A new vaccine that could eliminate the human papillomavirus (HPV) may soon hit the market. Because of HPV's link to cervical cancer, researchers hope the vaccine will become a standard of preventive care for adolescents.

More than 60 million adults are obese in America, putting them at risk for multiple chronic conditions like heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, respiratory problems, and possibly breast and colorectal cancer. To date, weight-loss medications have been marginally successful, due to lack of insurance coverage for an "obesity indication" and to side effects that cause patients to discontinue the drug. Enter rimonabant (Acomplia) from Sanofi-Aventis, a novel investigational agent that could be FDA-approved within months.

Authorized generics. Patent reform. Biodefense legislation. Funding for the Office of Generic Drugs (OGD). These are some of the challenges, opportunities, and issues that the Generic Pharmaceutical Association will continue to tackle in 2006 in order to lead America into a healthy future. This message was delivered by Kathleen Jaeger, GPhA president/CEO, to attendees of the association's annual meeting held recently in Boca Raton, Fla.

Many enrolled in two Part D plans

BioScrip has acquired Intravenous Therapy Services, a specialty infusion company located in Burbank, Calif. BioScrip, Elmsford, N.Y., provides pharmaceutical care solutions. The company is focused on two core areas: specialty medication distribution and clinical management services, and pharmacy benefit management services.

NSF International, an independent organization that develops standards and certifies products, has launched a new athletic banned substances certification program for dietary supplements and sports nutrition products. The new program has been recommended by key athletic organizations, including Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association

Medicare beneficiaries should be wary of phone callers asking them for bank account information in order to help them enroll in a Part D plan, CMS warned. The scheme is called the "$299 ring" for the amount of money beneficiaries are typically scammed into withdrawing to pay for the fictitious drug plan.

The Government Accountability Office is recommending that Congress consider establishing a uniform payment update to the DME fee schedule for 2008 for class II and III DME devices. GAO conducted a study and found that manufacturers of class III devices, with limited exceptions, have higher premarketing costs than manufacturers of class II devices that are similar to class III devices.

Admissions to treatment for methamphetamine abuse have increased nationally, moving across the country from west to east. States in the Midwest and South that had few admissions to treatment for methamphetamine/amphetamine abuse in 1993 are now experiencing high rates of admissions.

BioScrip has acquired Intravenous Therapy Services, a specialty infusion company located in Burbank, Calif. BioScrip, Elmsford, N.Y., provides pharmaceutical care solutions. The company is focused on two core areas: specialty medication distribution and clinical management services, and pharmacy benefit management services.

CVS announced that it will take part in National Patient Safety Awareness Week, which takes place this year from March 5-11. The company will broadcast prescription safety tips for customers through its in-store radio network during the week of the campaign.

Palm Beach Atlantic University Lloyd L. Gregory School of Pharmacy has received a $500,000 grant from the Quantum Foundation.

The National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA) reacted to the House Committee on Government Reform's hearing on the regulation of dietary supplements, stating that anabolic or "designer" steroids, even if they are labeled as "dietary supplements," are illegal drugs that are masquerading as legitimate supplements in the face of inadequate enforcement. The industry also contends that the typical consumer who purchases vitamins, minerals, or other nutritional supplements is not at risk of inadvertently ingesting anabolic steroids.

There could be no retail pharmacies left in 11 rural North Carolina counties as a result of proposed cuts to Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement, according to the state pharmacy board. The board's confidential survey of most of the retail pharmacies in 40 rural counties also showed that an additional 14 counties would feel substantial impact with only one or two pharmacies left to serve a county's entire population.

The Albertson's chain is preparing to switch its pharmacy network to ARx, a software application it developed with RMTG Inc. to automate or simplify many pharmacy functions normally performed by hand, over the phone, or by multiple employees. RMTG is also preparing to offer the product to other chains as an enterprise pharmacy system named SuccessRx.

Physicians using the GE Centricity electronic medical record (EMR) can now electronically send prescriptions via the SureScripts e-prescribing network, which includes more than 90% of U.S. pharmacies. Kryptiq Corp. will provide the connectivity services that link physicians and pharmacies.

NSF International, an independent organization that develops standards and certifies products, has launched a new athletic banned substances certification program for dietary supplements and sports nutrition products. The new program has been recommended by key athletic organizations, including Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association