Community Practice

Drug Topics' annual business outlook survey, conducted online in October, drew more than 400 responses from community, hospital, and long-term-care pharmacists. Their conclusions about the coming year may surprise you.

In this season of gustatory indulgence, it can't hurt to prepare for the occasional upset stomach.

This issue is a milestone for Drug Topics, with the publication of the 200th column by Jim Plagakis to appear under the heading "JP at Large."

Patients with health insurance are abandoning their prescriptions at higher rates than they did a year ago and far more frequently than they did 5 years ago, according to a recent study.

New data show that while nearly all MI patients receive beta blockers, most patients receive suboptimal doses that are never increased.

Despite the barriers to provision of MTM that exist for pharmacists, figuring out a way to do it is our professional obligation.

A pharmacy that engages in veterinary compounding has been embroiled in a struggle with FDA since it compounded a vitamin supplement for administration to 21 polo ponies during the U.S. Open Polo Championships in April 2009. When they were injected with the compounded vitamin supplement, all 21 ponies collapsed and died. FDA's subsequent court challenge raises the question of when compounding becomes manufacture.

In his 200th column for Drug Topics' "JP at Large," Jim Plagakis reflects on some moments that stand out.

Counterfeit medications and substandard medications are on the rise, according to Interchange 2010, a conference sponsored by the Partnership for Safe Medicines.

PainSAFE, an initiative of the American Pain Foundation, has launched a website to educate patients and practitioners about pain-management therapies and their risks.

At the Third Annual Risk Management and Drug Safety Summit, attendees and presenters discussed the latest issues related to risk and safety, and examined how REMS and drug safety have fared since 2007.

A survey of new Rx, new generic, and new OTC products

Pharmacists speak out about the pros and cons of the placebo effect.

The first interstate electronic exchanges of real patient information should begin shortly in Ohio, at what is expected to become a national hub that will enable information related to prescription drug monitoring to flow across state lines.

The promise of genomic discoveries is tremendous, but modern medicine is not yet ready to use the bulk of these discoveries, said Muin Khoury, MD, PhD, at the annual meeting of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology (ACCP) in Baltimore, Md.

After fighting about it for years, Congress included legislation in the mammoth healthcare reform bill that would allow an easier approval path for ?biosimilars,? sometimes referred to as generic versions of biologic products.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation received $1.76 million from 120 benefactors at its 12th annual dinner, held in New York City in November.

In this section we showcase products and product news that ran up against space limitations or fell outside the parameters of recently featured categories in the print edition. Look for more OTC Product News in upcoming issues of the Drug Topics e-newsletter.

Johnson & Johnson announced another product recall, this one involving Children's Benadryl Allergy Fastmelt Tablets, Junior Strength Motrin Caplets, and Extra Strength Rolaids softchews, the Associated Press reported.

The majority of Americans and Canadians are getting enough vitamin D and calcium to meet their needs, according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

The National Community Pharmacists Association installed Robert Greenwood of Iowa as its new president during the organization?s 112th Annual Convention and Trade Exposition, held in October in Philadelphia.

A team of pharmacy students from Washington State University?s College of Pharmacy won the 2010 Good Neighbor Pharmacy National Community Pharmacists Association Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition. The announcement was made during NCPA?s 112th Annual Convention and Trade Exposition in October in Philadelphia.

The National Association of State Controlled Substances Authorities (NASCSA) has received a $200,000 grant from Purdue Pharma LP, which it will distribute to state government agencies that are able to accept private funding specifically for their state prescription-monitoring programs. NASCSA will manage the solicitation, review, and funding of the grant proposals. Selection of recipients will be based on an independent review conducted by its Special Projects Committee, which consists of association members with expertise in the fields of prescription drug abuse and diversion, and prescription drug-monitoring programs. NASCSA expects to distribute the grants by the end of 2011. The grant is part of Purdue Pharma?s efforts to support the operation, expansion, and awareness of appropriately designed state prescription drug-monitoring programs.

McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, is voluntarily recalling nearly 128,000 bottles of Tylenol 8-hour caplets after some consumers complained of a musty or moldy odor in the products, the company announced.

In this section we showcase products and product news that ran up against space limitations or fell outside the parameters of recently featured categories in the print edition. Look for more OTC Product News in upcoming issues of the Drug Topics e-newsletter.

FDA is asking the manufacturers of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists to add new safety information to the Warnings and Precautions section of the drugs? labels about an increased risk of diabetes and certain cardiovascular diseases.

New safety information has been added to the label for the HIV antiviral drug saquinavir (Invirase, Genentech), describing potentially life-threatening side effects on heart function when used with ritonavir (Norvir, Abbott Laboratories), another HIV antiviral medication, FDA announced.

FDA is requiring a labeling change and Medication Guide to warn patients and healthcare providers about the possible risk of atypical thigh-bone (femoral) fracture in patients who take bisphosphonates for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.

For women with epilepsy, the risk of infertility increases with each additional antiepileptic drug, and more than one-third may be unable to conceive, according to research published online October 11 in Neurology and reported by HealthDay News.

Older cancer patients who receive intravenous bisphosphonate therapy may be at a modestly increased risk for atrial fibrillation (AF), supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), and stroke, according to research published online October 12 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, HealthDay News reported.