Chain Pharmacy

Continuing legal battles between the Drug Enforcement Administration and Cardinal Health have raised questions about federal drug policy and the role of distributors.

Because pharmacists are making a measurable difference in the outcomes of their patients, their roles as providers are changing. There are some barriers, however.

What's your excuse when you call in sick or even just want to take a day off?

Rivaroxaban, an oral blood thinner, is equally effective as standard therapy for the treatment of pulmonary embolism and may cause fewer bleeding complications, according to new data

The majority (90% to 98%) of sinus infections are caused by viruses and should not be treated with antibiotics, according to new guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

In this latest installment, we learn of the New Zealand pharmacist's biggest surprise: some pharmacies in his new home country are contracted to supply methadone for opioid-dependent patients.

Several innovative student pharmacist medication adherence campaigns were recently named as winners of the first Script Your Future Medication Adherence Challenge.

New guidelines for management of hand, hip, and knee osteoarthritis were recently published in the April edition of Arthritis Care & Research.

Should independent pharmacies be given anti-trust immunity to act against contracts presented by pharmacy benefit managers? A representative of the Federal Trade Commission said ?no? and pharmacists said ?yes? during a Congressional subcommittee hearing on HR 1946 last week.

In an extension of its health tours for underserved communities, Walgreens recently started the Way to Well Health Tour with AARP.

Teva Pharmaceutical has launched the authorized generic of Provigil (modafinil), a drug marketed as a wakefulness-promoting agent used to treat sleep disorders, the company announced.

Federal marshals seized more than 1,600 containers from a Missouri distributor last week, alleging that the drugs were unapproved by FDA and misbranded.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved the $29.1 billion merger of Express Scripts and Medco Health Solutions on Monday, but the retail pharmacy industry continues to fight the deal, vowing to push a request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that it filed on Friday.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), the National Community Pharmacists Association, and 9 retail pharmacy companies filed a lawsuit Thursday to stop the proposed merger of pharmacy benefit manager giants Express Scripts and Medco Health Solutions.

Daily supplementation with antioxidants, vitamins E and C, and alpha acid, did not improve memory function in patients with Alzheimer?s disease, according to a new study.

Enhanced pharmacist care for patients with dyslipidemia improves low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, according to a study published in the March issue of Pharmacotherapy: The Journal of Human Pharmacology and Drug Therapy.

Express Scripts and Medco Health Solutions may be able to close the transaction of its merger as early as next week, according to an announcement Wednesday by Express Scripts.

FDA added new label warnings for the antidepressant citalopram (Celexa, Forest Laboratories), discouraging patients with certain conditions from using the drug and lowering the dosage recommendations to 20 mg daily for patients aged 60 and older. The warning is also applicable to generic versions of Celexa.

FDA has approved peginesatide (Omontys, Affymax) to treat anemia in adult dialysis patients who have chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Pharmacists and pharmacy advocates conducted more than 350 meetings with U.S. senators and representatives on Capitol Hill last week during RxIMPACT Day, sponsored by the National Association of Community Drug Stores.

A New York community pharmacist highlighted the problem of mail-order waste after a man turned in $30,000 worth of medications to the pharmacy.

Walgreens recently added a mobile coupon service available through social media service foursquare, following the launch of new prescription mobile apps.

A bi-partisan bill that would extend anti-trust immunity to independent pharmacies is slated for hearings before the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., later this week.

The American Pharmacists Association and the National Community Pharmacists Association supported a new nonprescription class of drugs at FDA?s public hearing last week.

FDA has approved beclomethasone dipropionate (QNASL Nasal Aerosol, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries), a ?dry? nasal aerosol corticosteroid that treats year-round and seasonal nasal allergy symptoms in people aged 12 years and older.

Diacetylmorphine, or heroin, may be a more effective, cheaper treatment than methadone for people with relapsing chronic opioid dependence, according to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Clinical pharmacists were instrumental in reducing errors in patients' physician-acquired medication histories, according to a study published online on March 13 in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues to close the “donut hole” coverage gap for millions of Medicare beneficiaries, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, said in a news release Monday, saving them more than $3.2 billion on prescription drugs since the ACA took effect almost 2 years ago.

Drug Topics ranked No. 1 among professional journals on the reading list of pharmacists, according to a survey recently released by Long Island University.

New programs and recognitions make 2012 a great year for community pharmacies to be more involved in medication therapy management, according to a speaker at the FMI Health & Wellness Conference in Orlando, Fla., this week.