Community Practice

Oregon's law requiring prescriptions for pseudoephedrine products practically eliminated its illicit methamphetamine problem. But some pharmacists, consumer groups, and the drug industry say that it will increase healthcare costs and inconvenience consumers. They think electronic sales-tracking systems would be a better approach.

The CEO of APhA responds to the recent AMA policy statement on the place of pharmacists in healthcare.

The promise of personalized medicine is approaching realization. As more medications are developed, pharmacists will be on the front line of individualized prescribing based upon genome-based diagnostic tests.

Our feet contain one-fourth of all the bones in our bodies, 33 joints, and a network of more than 100 tendons, muscles, and ligaments, to say nothing of blood vessels and nerves. Small wonder that foot ailments afflict millions of Americans. Fortunately, manufacturers offer an arsenal of relief.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores recognized Charles Vance Burnett, JD, BS Pharm, and Stanley F. Barshay with its highest honors at the 2010 annual meeting in Palm Beach, Fla.

Adding fenofibrate to statin therapy fails to reduce cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes, according to results of the first trial to evaluate combination therapy presented at the 59th annual scientific session of the American College of Cardiology.

The healthcare reform legislation signed into law March 23 is expected to give healthcare access to 32 million Americans who are currently uninsured. The legislation gives pharmacists a role in helping alleviate the influx of new patients.

Named for Ohio pharmacy pioneer John Uri Lloyd, the Lloyd Medicinal Garden at the governor's residence in Columbus pays tribute to the history of the profession.

The continuing debate over healthcare reform keeps the subject of medication adherence in the public eye. For pharmacy, says NACDS, the issue is a top priority.

Pharmacies can enhance their continuous quality improvement program results by working on three critical elements: implementation, training, and monitoring.

More than 850 U.S. community pharmacies are participating in the "Dispose My Meds" campaign sponsored by the National Community Pharmacists Association and Sharps Compliance.

Despite the wear and tear on most pharmacists at the bench, when new pharmacies are built, ergonomics are rarely considered.

Pharmacists speak out about personal finance, compounding, and the importance of mentors.

A growing public health concern is the presence of potentially harmful pharmaceuticals in drinking water, due to improper disposal of waste prescription drugs. At least 20 states now have collection programs for unused medications. The greater use of such programs requires the reeducation of the community to raise awareness of the dangers and of the solutions to the problem of waste pharmaceuticals. The more convenient the options for disposal of most medications, the more likely they will be disposed of properly.

On May 11th the news that Walgreens, partnering with Pathway Genomics, was going to offer customers a genetic testing kit made headlines almost as fast as a world peace announcement. Then Pathway received a letter of inquiry from the FDA, and Walgreens decided to halt the initiative until more clarity was reached. However, when genetic testing kits do become available at retail outlets, there will be a need for plenty of patient education, which pharmacists can best provide.

Both the FTC?s consumer protection and competition bureaus are spearheading an investigation into CVS Caremark?s alleged monopolistic practices. HHS is investigating possible false Medicare claims. DEA is investigating charges of improper sale of pseudoephedrine in 2007 and 2008. And the SEC has received complaints of insider trading.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) recognized Charles Vance Burnett, JD, BS Pharm, and Stanley F. Barshay, with its highest honors at the 2010 annual meeting in Palm Beach, Fla.

Pharmacology pioneer Leslie Z. Benet, PhD, who established the foundation for much of what is now known about the rate at which drugs are metabolized in the body, was honored with the premier prize from the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) elected a new chairman of the Board of Directors at its 2010 annual meeting in April in Palm Beach, Fla. In addition, the NACDS Foundation awarded nearly $300,000 in scholarships to pharmacy schools during the meeting.

The National Community Pharmacists Association?s (NCPA) Ownership Academy has announced a new program, Jumpstart Your Pharmacy Business: A Seminar for Owners, to be held July 17 to 18 in Alexandria, Va.

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) has endorsed two legislative bills that are aimed at controlling healthcare costs by requiring greater transparency of pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) and ensuring that Medicare patients with diabetes can continue to obtain their medical supplies from their local community pharmacies, during its 42nd annual National Legislation and Government Affairs Conference held in Washington last week.

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) and the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) have launched a new diabetes self-management training program for community pharmacy.

Since Congress passed healthcare reform legislation in March, Drug Topics has continued to run its poll asking for your feedback, here are the results.

In a large randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study that evaluated the general safety of the live herpes zoster vaccine (Zostavax, Merck) in adults aged 60 or older, the safety profile of ZOSTAVAX was similar to that of placebo with respect to serious adverse events.

New OTC packaging intended to enhance patient safety began appearing on pharmacy shelves after a new rule for OTC internal analgesic, antipyretic, and antirheumatic drug products took effect on April 29, 2010.

A significant number of patients with chronic illnesses are not filling their prescriptions, according to a new study conducted by CVS Caremark and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

The FDA issued new label information on May 6 affecting all approved protease inhibitors for treatment of HIV when co-administered with colchicine (Colcrys, USP).

The FDA on April 29 announced the approval of sipuleucel-T (Provenge, Dendreon Corp.) for the treatment of certain men with prostate cancer, marking the first approval of a vaccine to treat cancer.

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

Even though Bruce Roberts strongly criticized pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) during his tenure as executive vice president and CEO of the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), he is enthusiastic about the prospect of heading up a type of PBM.