Do clinics in drugstores bring in a captive audience?
June 6th 2005The next time you walk into a chain or mass-merchandiser pharmacy, don't be surprised if you find a clinic. Two separate entities, MinuteClinic and WellnessExpress Clinic, are forging partnerships with pharmacy chains, mass merchants, and corporations.
On-site pharmacies help employers control drug costs
June 6th 2005Quad/Graphics, West Allis, Wis., one of the largest printing companies in the United States, spent approximately $6,000 per employee on medical costs last year. This is 30% less than that spent by the average employer in the state. Do these stellar stats have anything to do with the fact that the company provides most of this health care itself?
States move to comply with drug pedigree laws
June 6th 2005T o counter the rise in drug counterfeiting, three states now have prescription drug pedigree laws on their books, another 15 have similar legislation in the pipeline, and the Food & Drug Administration is threatening to enforce its long- dormant Prescription Drug Marketing Act (PDMA) regulations related to drug pedigrees by the end of 2006.
NCCN: Use of growth factors can prevent neutropenia
June 6th 2005Neutropenia—the lowering of the white blood cells that fight infections—is a major dose-limiting side effect of systemic cancer chemotherapy. Neutropenia with fever, or febrile neutropenia, often requires hospitalization for further evaluation and the administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics. In addition to negatively impacting the patient's quality of life, such complications can result in chemotherapy delays or dose reductions, which may compromise clinical outcomes.
Future of hypertension control: Will there be a JNC-8?
June 6th 2005Although 65 million Americans have hypertension, nearly 70% of U.S. patients do not have their blood pressure (BP) controlled to goal. "We need to do a better job getting patients to understand that uncontrolled BP is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events, vascular disorders and endothelial dysfunction, metabolic syndrome and Type 2 diabetes, target organ damage, and dementia," said Thomas Giles, M.D., a professor of medicine at Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans. Giles addressed a media briefing on hypertension guidelines that was held recently in New York City. The event was sponsored by Novartis.
Leapin' lizards! New drug helps control diabetes, weight
June 6th 2005The Food & Drug Administration recently approved exenatide (Byetta, Eli Lilly/Amylin Pharmaceuticals) as adjunctive therapy to improve glycemic control in those with Type 2 diabetes who are taking metformin, a sulfonylurea, or a combination of both. Exenatide is a synthetic analog of a peptide found in the saliva of the Gila monster, a poisonous lizard. The drug is currently available in pharmacies.
ASCP sees Medicare Part D as boon for consultant R.Ph.s
May 15th 2005Consultant pharmacists can find plenty to like about Medicare Part D. The new prescription benefit that debuts next Jan. 1 is still provoking questions, but the overall impact on long-term care (LTC) pharmacy seems to be positive. "There are several very positive aspects in medication management and prescription drug plans [PDPs] for both long-term care pharmacy and long-term care pharmacists," said Tom Clark, director of policy and advocacy for the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists.
Activist pushes for access to hospital infection rates
May 15th 2005In 2002, with data supplied by the British National Health Service, newspapers in England began publishing the names of hospitals with high infection rates. By 2004, every hospital in Great Britain was required to display its infection rate in a prominent place where patients could see it.
Transplant group calls for pharmacists on team
May 15th 2005Pharmacists are gaining new support in the organ transplantation world. UNOS, the United Network for Organ Sharing, is encouraging all transplant centers to include at least one clinical R.Ph. on each transplant team. UNOS coordinates organ donation and transplantation specialists nationwide.
FDA approves label changes for Natrecor
May 15th 2005Scios Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, has changed its package labeling to add data about deaths associated with its heart failure drug nesiritide (Natrecor) after studies in prominent medical journals raised questions about an increased risk of fatal renal problems. The Food & Drug Administration-approved label change, which stops short of an outright warning, indicated that in clinical trials 5.3% of the patients treated with nesiritide died, compared with 4.3% who took other agents, including diuretics and intravenous nitroglycerin. However, the new label states that the data might not be statistically significant because of the small number of patients involved.
More states require med-error reports
May 15th 2005Does your state require the reporting of medication errors? If the answer is No, get ready for a change. Twenty-three states, including California, Florida, New York, and other major hospital population centers, already mandate med-error reports. Another six states are actively considering legislation, according to on-line publisher NETSCAN, based in Falls Church, Va.
Supermarket pharmacy programs can increase sales
May 15th 2005Innovative supermarket pharmacy programs can persuade customers filling prescriptions to shop the whole store. Results of a study, formulated by the Educational Foundation of the General Merchandise Distributors Council (GMDC), were presented at the Food Marketing Institute's 18th Annual Supermarket Pharmacy Conference in New Orleans.
Target to hit bull's-eye with ClearRx prescription bottle
May 15th 2005What's red, flat, and comes with six different colored rubber band rings? It's a new prescription bottle that is part of ClearRx, a packaging system created by graphic designer Deborah Adler that will debut exclusively at Target pharmacies.
More states have PBMs in their crosshairs
May 15th 2005Attempts continue unabated in the courts and state legislatures this year to make the dealings of pharmacy benefit managers more transparent, to make the organizations personally liable as "fiduciaries" under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), or to otherwise regulate them.
Medicare law presents new opportunities for pharmacies
May 15th 2005The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is designing a comprehensive Medicare information Web site for pharmacists, as well as a pharmacy kit. The agency will also be sharing more information through continuing education and special pharmacist outreach events.
New guidelines give the skinny on obesity management
May 15th 2005The American College of Physicians (ACP) recently issued guidelines for the management of obesity. Prepared by ACP's clinical efficacy assessment subcommittee, the paper was published in the April 5 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.
APS unveils guideline for treatment of cancer pain
May 15th 2005New evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of cancer pain were presented at the 24th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society (APS) in Boston last month. The meeting was designed to help clinicians and patients better control the pain associated with the disease. According to APS, approximately 1.2 million people are diagnosed with cancer each year. While effective treatment for pain exists, studies have reported significant undertreatment.
National panel to issue report on how to reduce med errors
May 15th 2005How do we improve medication-error rates? Indeed, how do we even set up systems to know whether med-error rates are improving? Should reporting of errors be voluntary or mandatory? And should agencies that receive such reports give the public information on them?
Part B changes to fire up specialty pharmacy market
May 2nd 2005You might see specialty pharmacies compete tooth and nail under a new Medicare Part B program proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Under the proposal, physicians can continue buying Part B drugs on their own. Under this scenario, their reimbursement switches from average wholesale price (AWP) minus 5% to average sales price (ASP) plus 6%. Or physicians can opt into a competitive acquisition program (CAP).
CMS chief needs you to help make Medicare law succeed
May 2nd 2005The administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Mark McClellan, is in a big hurry. A telltale sign is the rapid-fire way in which he spoke before pharmacists at the American Pharmacists Association annual meeting in Orlando last month. McClellan knows there are still many plans to be laid in the remaining months before Medicare Part D can be rolled out next January. But on schedule it will be, he vowed repeatedly at APhA's opening general session.