Chain Pharmacy

In which a determined pharmacist battles the forces of ignorance and stupidity on behalf of his patient and his own sanity.

In most retail chain stores, the buck stops at the pharmacy supervisor’s desk. Here's a look at the pharmacy biz from their point of view.

Patients should decide how a pharmacy can best communicate with patients. And they can use a very American way to make their feelings known.

The OIG determined that per-fill fees are “inherently subject to abuse” because of their direct tie to the number of patient prescriptions referred to the specialty pharmacy.

Adults can protect themselves against flu with a needle-free option. There's a benefit for vaccine administrators too - no needle sticks.

Each of the 26 free CE modules features an online Powerpoint lecture, a training video, an interactive activity set, and assessment questions.

By 2020, approximately 62% of all active pharmacists will be women. Here we follow three paths to rewarding and creative careers.

The Affordable Care Act is drastically changing the way patients and employers pay for healthcare and prescriptions.

Whether ACA thrives or bombs, the future is likely to bring upheaval that results in cost savings and improved delivery of healthcare services.

Health plans that have not scored at least three stars for the last three consecutive years will be vulnerable to elimination from the Medicare system. Pharmacists are in an ideal position to help with those scores.

New Rx, indications, generics, and OTC products

It's time to tackle the unmentionables.

Letters, e-mails, and posts from Drug Topics readers

Following the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that killed 64 people and sickened hundreds, FDA tightened regulations on compounders like the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts to which the tainted drugs were linked.

The maelstrom that has erupted since Genentech switched three top-selling cancer medications to specialty distributors is not expected to die down anytime soon.

Arizona led the nation with 77 pharmacy robberies in 2013, according to statistics from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Overall, pharmacy robberies nationwide dipped slightly from 745 in 2012 to 713 last year.

Some pharmacies and health clinics in the United States and Canada are waiting on quadrivalent influenza vaccine, after production issues this fall. Clinics that had expected to receive the vaccine by mid-September are now forced to wait until mid-October.

Walgreens will soon provide WebMD content, including virtual coaching programs, directly to its customers, the two companies recently announced.

CVS Health’s pharmacy benefits management company will pay $6 million to settle federal charges it failed to reimburse Medicaid for prescription costs also covered by private plans, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

U.S. citizens visited foreign destinations 62 million times last year. Many needed travel vaccines. That's a big niche.

Independent retail pharmacies must conduct criminal background checks on new hires and established employees along with regular, random drug testing, according to one expert.

A New York legislator said he plans to introduce a bill aimed at preventing an Upper East Side pharmacy from charging 9/11 responders $150 to obtain printouts of their records.

How often do patients reach out to pharmacists in brick-and-mortar stores? The answer may surprise you.

Two fathers and their sons keep the ideals of small-town pharmacy practice alive for 65 years.

One in five males were unable to buy the emergency contraceptive Plan B in several New York City pharmacies, according to a study published in the journal Contraception.

A literature review going back 20 years found only a modest increase in patients' risk of developing statin-related conditions.

He's not filling a niche, he's serving a need, says pharmacist Frank Vostatek, who can add "role model" to the rest of his job description.

Albiglutide injection is the newest GLP-1 approved for once-weekly dosing in patients with type II diabetes, to be used in addition to diet and exercise.

It's back-to-school season. Mom and Dad can be losing their hair for a few reasons - finding something crawling on the kids' heads is just the beginning. Here's a host of solutions for parents and their young.

Letters, e-mails, posts, and tweets from the readers of Drug Topics magazine.