Community Practice

The American Pharmacists Association annual meeting opened in Washington just days before the big March vote on healthcare reform, and a number of people from the political realm were there to praise pharmacists and ask for their support.

FDA would like to alert healthcare providers to the recent proprietary name change for dexlansoprazole delayed-release capsules. Now known as Dexilant, dexlansoprazole is the proton pump inhibitor formerly known as Kapidex.

An overview of several provisions of "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" affecting pharmacies and pharmacy practice.

Drug Topics' 2010 Chain of the Year award goes to Kerr Drug, a regional chain based in Raleigh, N.C.

Clinical pharmacy pioneer Mary Anne Koda-Kimble, PharmD, dean of the School of Pharmacy at University of California, San Francisco, was awarded the 2010 Remington Honor Medal, the highest honor given by the American Pharmacists Association, at its recent annual meeting in Washington.

A report issued by the Senate Finance Committee earlier this year noted that Avandia is associated with 83,000 excess heart attacks occurring between 1999 and 2007.

Compounded medicines - also called personalized solutions - have become an important element in many independent pharmacies.

Prescription-drug benefit plans prosper by exploiting a non-transparent, non-accountable system. This needs to change.

Supermarket chains Albertsons and Harris Teeter have launched online tools to help shoppers pursue health and wellness.

There is an answer to 12-hour shifts, inadequate support, 20-minute lunch hours, and no bathroom breaks. Ask the United Steelworkers of America.

Pharmacists speak out about job satisfaction, pharmacist shortage, and mail-order pharmacy.

While many people were trying to escape the scenes of death and destruction within Haiti, pharmacists Tamara Neff and Jess Streif were finalizing plans to travel there.

Here's one drug industry extravaganza that you won't forget in a hurry.

FDA announced that clopidogrel, an antiplatelet agent given to reduce the risk of heart attack, unstable angina, stroke, and cardiovascular death in patients with cardiovascular disease, will require a new black-box warning about its reduced effectiveness in patients who are poor metabolizers of the drug.

There is room for individual expression in our workplace; however, in a profession such as pharmacy, the main effort should be dedicated to patient care rather than how to successfully navigate the toxic personalities in the pharmacy.

More than 50 million Americans, including up to 40% of children, suffer from indoor and outdoor upper respiratory allergies. This year, several manufacturers have new offerings to control and treat asthma, allergy, and sinus symptoms.

In response to a flurry of drug thefts plaguing pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors in recent months, the Center for Healthcare Supply Chain Research, an arm of the Healthcare Distribution Management Association (HDMA), is holding a seminar on Supply Chain Security May 10 and 11 in Alexandria, Va.

Seven metered-dose inhalers for treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease will soon be phased out, according to FDA. The move goes along with U.S. commitments to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

A reformulation of controlled-release oxycodone (OxyContin, Purdue Pharma), designed to curb misuse and abuse of the drug, has received FDA approval.

Following FDA?s expanded indication for rosuvastatin (Crestor, AstraZeneca) in February, the drug?s producer now plans to extend the market for the drug by offering it as a preventive measure to people who do not have cholesterol issues.

Patients taking oral antidiabetes drugs who switched from exenatide twice daily to liraglutide once daily experienced further reductions in hemoglobin A1c and weight loss, according to the results of a clinical study.

Galderma Laboratories has received FDA approval for adapalene lotion, 0.1% (Differin), a first-of-its-kind lotion formulation of the retinoid adapalene for treating acne.

Carglumic acid tablets (Carbaglu, Orphan Europe) for treatment of a rare genetic condition characterized by excess ammonia in the blood have received FDA approval.

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD, addressed health leaders worldwide who represent industry, academia, government, and advocacy to help kick off a global consortium to fight tuberculosis (TB). She recently spoke at a press conference in Washington.

Following the FDA Amendments Act of 2007 that enabled the agency to mandate REMS for drugs and biologics that pose greater risks, a new document finds that REMS may be effective if FDA uses the proper approach and incorporates new technologies (e.g., genetic testing, electronic medical records).

A final rule requiring pharmacies participating in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program to electronically submit their Part D prescriptions to patients? Medicare plan sponsors or their intermediaries was published by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in the Federal Register, reported Health Data Management.

A pharmacist's most important job is to see that the right drug in the right strength with the right label reaches the right patients.

As the years went by, it became evident just how much of a stamp the first person to get hold of you professionally will put on your career.

Doctors have no idea how much valuable knowledge resides in the brain of a pharmacist. If they did, they'd be on the phone a lot more often.

As graduation nears for many pharmacists, most will be making a six-figure salary. However, they will also carry a six-figure debt. Success may well depend on how that debt is handled.