Community Practice

The Kansas and Iowa legislatures have both passed budgets that would channel projected Medicaid savings from lower pharmacy reimbursement back to pharmacists through higher dispensing fees.

Thirty-eight people accused of defrauding Medicare of more than $142 million have been arrested in southern Florida.

Dalteparin (Fragmin, Pfizer/Eisai) can now be used to reduce the recurrence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with cancer.

Central precocious puberty may now be treated with a once-daily subcutaneous implant called Supprelin-LA, from Indevus Pharmaceuticals.

A unique delivery for a new dopamine agonist has been approved to treat symptoms of early Parkinson's disease (PD).

At press time, the Senate has passed the Food & Drug Administration Revitalization Act (S. 1082), which gives the FDA more powers to require manufacturers to conduct postmarketing studies to improve patient safety.

A report from the HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has found that most states have not decided whether to use average manufacturer price (AMP) data for Medicaid drug reimbursement due to concerns over the availability and quality of AMP data.

Many pharmacists will dispense oral contraceptives yet balk at dispensing Plan B. The author believes this practice is inconsistent.

New branded drugs, generics, OTCs, home health, health and beauty care items

Medication therapy management may hold the key to connecting managed care pharmacy and community pharmacy.

Interview with Susan Winckler from FDA, formerly with APhA, on FDA goals.

This column challenges you to determine the name of a drug, based on the clues given. See if you can figure it out.

Is pharmacy a good career for a young man? One hundred years ago Druggist's Circular published a debate on the question

The differences between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are discussed along with emerging treatments for both conditions. The recent withdrawal of tegaserod (Zelnorm) for the treatment of IBS-c has left many searching for new therapies.

Pharmacy organizations and technology companies prepare emergency database to be ready for the next disaster

Study looks at impact of pharmacists on community project about metabolic syndrome and its implications for heart disease.

The FDA has approved Altabax (retapamulin, GSK) antibacterial ointment, the first in a new class of antibacterials known as the pleuromutilins to treat impetigo.

Pharmacists need better representation to improve their working conditions

The much-anticipated results of recently completed studies on new drugs to treat heart failure (HF) have somewhat dampened the prospects of extending patients' lives

-->

Health-system pharmacists could raise quality and safety in hospitals. Yet they are underutilized in areas of discharge counseling and drug-abbreviation confusion. Medication errors result.

Pharmacists can help control drug-resistant infections

Three trials at this year's ACC meeting in New Orleans focused on pharmacotherapy effects on cardiovascular disease, one with a strong showing for medical therapy alone versus mechanical intervention.

Veramyst is approved by the FDA to treat allergies

A new study, published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, concludes that the more cigarette marketing teens are exposed to in retail stores, the more likely they are to smoke, and that restricting these retail marketing practices would reduce smoking among teens.

The FDA is advising consumers not to purchase or use True Man and Energy Max products promoted and sold as dietary supplements throughout the U.S. Both products—touted as sexual enhancement aids and treatments for erectile dysfunction (ED)—are illegal products that contain potentially harmful, undeclared ingredients.

XLHealth Corp. is adding medication therapy management to its Care Improvement Plus Medicare Advantage plan in Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, South Carolina, and Texas.

Latebreakers: First bird flu vaccine approved

The use of intravenous (IV) syringes for non-IV applications such as enteral feedings poses many risks, especially for the pediatric and neonatal population which has a majority of their oral and enteral doses provided through a gastric tube. The Baxa Corporation recently announced the launch of a new educational campaign to make healthcare providers aware of these problems and offer solutions.

In 1951 pharmacies selling tobacco products was highly profitable for pharmacies, which were concerned with the increased use of local taxes on the products.