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A new study by AHRQ shows that physicians and pharmacists fail tocorrectly identify the tablets of three common medications morethan a third of the time. The research suggests that the lack of astandardized system for marking prescription tablets withidentifying codes and symbols can lead to confusion and perhapsmedication errors.

The launch of many brand-name drugs and an increased volume ofprescriptions written for Medicaid enrollees between 1997 and 2002were responsible for a doubling of Medicaid expenditures duringthis time period, according to a new report from the Agency forHealthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ). At the same time, the useof generics fell from 47% to 44%.

Following a six-month trial on corruption charges, former IllinoisGovernor George Ryan was found guilty on all counts related toracketeering, mail fraud, obstructing the IRS, tax fraud, and lyingto the FBI. Ryan, a Republican, was a pharmacist in Kankakee beforehe entered politics.

Accredo Health Group, a subsidiary of Medco, won a five-yearcontract as the sole specialty pharmacy for Flolan (epoprostenolsodium, Myogen) for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Terms ofthe deal were not announced.

Pharmacists rank No. 9 on a list of the top 10 best jobs in thecountry, in a survey just released by Money magazine andSalary.com. The surveyors reviewed factors such as jobsatisfaction, wages, stress levels, growth prospects, workinghours, and number of vacation days before coming out with theirfindings.

Cigna Pharmacy Management is launching new preventive prescriptiondrug plan options that are designed to promote medicationcompliance by providing a higher level of benefit coverage toemployees who need certain medications to prevent illness oraddress specific chronic healthcare conditions. One option allowsemployers to waive the plan deductible for more than 700 usuallycovered preventive prescription drugs.

Erin Cutler, a Marion County woman who is already suing Walgreensafter allegedly finding demeaning comments attached to herprescriptions in the section reserved for patient information, hasadded a "failure-to-warn" count to the lawsuit. Cutler claims thata Walgreens pharmacy did not warn her that her bipolar medicationdecreases the effectiveness of her birth control.

Starting April 16, CVS customers began receiving Extra Bucksrewards from purchases they made in the first quarter of 2006.Extra Bucks are free money that cardholders can spend on almostanything in the front store.

CMS has advised Medicare Part D plans that as of Oct. 1, they canno longer put the logos and/or names of co-branding partners onbeneficiary cards. The agency instituted the logo ban because somebeneficiaries mistakenly thought they could fill prescriptions onlyat the pharmacies shown on their Part D cards.

Out of the 11,190 candidates who sat for the North AmericanPharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) last year, 85% received apassing grade, compared with 92% in 2004, according to the NABPadvisory committee on examinations. The 7% drop was attributed to anew NAPLEX standard adopted last year that requires a slightlyhigher level of ability for candidates to achieve a passing scoreof 75% or higher.

Seniors and the Medicare Part D program could potentially save morethan $23 billion over the next five years, as at least 14brand-name drugs commonly used by seniors are scheduled to becomeavailable in generic form, according to a new analysis released byPCMA. The analysis examined the top 100 drugs used by seniors toarrive at a conservative estimate of potential Medicare costsavings.

Early results from a national pharmacist intervention pilot studyshowed that 75% of asthma patients do not have their disease undercontrol, according to NCPA, which is conducting the study withMedical Care and Outcomes and GlaxoSmithKline. By mid-April, theprogram had enrolled 369 independent pharmacists, who use afive-question assessment tool to determine how well a patient'sasthma is being controlled.

Walgreens is offering one-on-one Medicare drug benefit assistanceevery Monday through Friday from 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. through May 15 at1,000 select locations. Pharmacy staff will explain how the newprogram works, provide information on different plans, and reviewthe factors that should be considered in order to make a goodselection.

American Pharmaceutical Partners, which produces many multisourceinjectable drugs for cancer, critical care, and infection control,has merged with American BioScience to form Abraxis BioScience, LosAngeles. A major drug in its portfolio is the breast cancer drugAbraxane for Injectable Suspension (paclitaxel protein-boundparticles for injectable suspension) (albumin-bound).

The American Medical Association and America's Health InsurancePlans have developed a form for doctors to use to ordernonformulary drugs under Medicare. This Exceptions Request Form isavailable atwww.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/Downloads/Form_Exceptions_final.pdf onthe CMS Web site.

The Inspector General has issued an advisory opinion declaring thatit doesn't plan to take any action against Schering Plough'spatient assistance programs (PAPs), which provide free medicines toneedy patients, including Medicare beneficiaries. Drugmanufacturers had been worrying about whether their PAPs would bedeemed as steering Medicare patients to their drugs and thus aviolation of antikickback laws.

The HHS Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announcedan award of $16 million over the next five years to establish fournew Centers for Education & Research on Therapeutics (CERTs) toincrease awareness of the benefits and risks of therapeuticproducts, including prescription medicines, biological products,and medical devices, and to translate research findings intoimproved health care. The CERTs are located at Rutgers, the StateUniversity of New Jersey in New Brunswick; the University of Iowa;Baylor College of Medicine in Houston; and Weill Medical College ofCornell University in New York City.

A Baptist college's expulsion of a student who revealed that he isgay has Kentucky's Gov. Ernie Fletcher considering a line-item vetoof $10 million earmarked for a new pharmacy school.

PrairieStone Pharmacy is introducing DailyMed, a retail drugpackaging solution that presorts multiple prescriptions, OTCs, andvitamins into easy-to-use single-dose packets. DailyMed is approvedby the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy and is available in most statesby calling 1-(800) 973-1955.

Some of the eligible products include Ensure, Glucerna, Depend, Poise, Huggies, Cottonelle Fresh Folded Wipes, Citrucel, Comfort Personal Cleansing, No-Rinse, and Os-Cal.

The low molecular weight heparin enoxaparin (Lovenox, Sanofi-Aventis) is superior to unfractionated heparin as an adjunct to thrombolytic therapy in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (MI), researchers reported at the 55th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology (ACC). The meeting was held in Atlanta last month.

The market for home infusion services is approaching $10 billion annually. The amount is split almost evenly between reimbursement for drug product and for the services pharmacists provide in preparing, delivering, and supporting home IV therapy.

Cedar River Clinics, a woman's health clinic and abortion provider, complained to the Washington State Board of Pharmacy that a hospital outpatient pharmacist cited moral objections for refusing to dispense a script for an abortion-related antibiotic, according to published reports.

Longs Drug Stores has entered into an agreement to buy Network Pharmaceuticals' 22 retail pharmacies, one wholesale pharmacy, and one closed-door pharmacy in southern California for about $10 million.

Consensus guidelines have been developed for the first time for the treatment of peripheral neuropathic pain associated with diabetes.

Eyetech Inc. and Pfizer have notified healthcare professionals of labeling changes for pegaptanib sodium injection (Macugen).

Changes to the labeling for Euflexxa (1% sodium hyaluronate, Ferring Pharmaceuticals), a treatment for the pain associated with osteoarthritis, have been approved by the FDA.

More than 1,350 pharmacy students participated in the residency matching program held in mid-March, representing an almost 13% increase over last year. In addition, more than 1,000 participants were matched with a residency, a 15% increase compared with the previous year.