Community Practice

The American Academy of Pediatrics has announced its endorsement of the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendation that thimerosal not be banned from vaccines.

Vitamin D deficiency may increase risk for developing autism, a researcher suggests.William Grant, Ph.D., Sunlight, Nutrition, and Health Research Center, San Francisco, Calif., and John Cannell, M.D., Vitamin D Council, San Luis Obispo, Calif., found that children ages 6 to 17 years old who lived in states with lower solar UVB doses during the summer and fall were more likely to be diagnosed with autism than those children who lived in states with higher solar UVB doses.

The FDA has warned more than 350 medical practices that they may have received counterfeit, contaminated or ineffective medications.

The use of aspirin, statins and lifestyle changes prior to elective peripheral vascular intervention for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) may reduce the risk for repeat procedures within six months, according to researchers. However, about half of patients failed to receive this therapy, the researchers found.

Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) can now be used to treat children who are 2 weeks of age and older, according to an FDA press release.

Augmentation therapy with L-methylfolate may benefit patients who have been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and have had a partial or no response to SSRIs.

The label on telaprevir (Incivek, Vertex Pharmaceuticals) will now carry a boxed warning about potentially serious skin reactions following reported fatalities.

Pharmacological resistance to aspirin is rare. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia said they could not identify one case of true drug resistance, according to the study published online Dec. 4 in the journal Circulation.

Following priority review, FDA approved ponatinib (Iclusig , ARIAD Pharmaceuticals) to treat adults with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL), two rare blood and bone marrow diseases.

About 75% of patients with mental illness and their caretakers reported that community pharmacists "seldom or never" assisted them with safety or effectiveness monitoring assistance, according to a National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) online survey.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that California has the right to cut reimbursement rates made to Medi-Cal providers-including pharmacies-by 10%, which overturns a lower-court ruling that blocked the rate cuts, according to a recentreport from the Associated Press.

Rite Aid pharmacies in the Cleveland, Ohio area are participating in a Diabetes Control Program (DCP) through UnitedHealth Group to help patients manage their disease, according to a Rite Aid statement.

Screening practices for multidrug-resistant (MDROs) in intensive care units (ICUs) vary widely from hospital to hospital, according to a new study.

Instead of thinking of the future as something to come, pharmacists should act like the future is here today.

Women who regularly took the analgesics ibuprofen or acetaminophen 2 or more days per week had an increased risk of hearing loss, according to a study.

You might know about medical foods, but they are making their way into ambulatory care and community pharmacy.

A round-up of OTC products that helps get the digestive track back in working order.

After dealing with a patient who was clearly a marijuana user, a pharmacist reflects on how so much attention is paid to illicit drugs, but very little is given to prescription drug abuse.

Individuals with high cholesterol who stay on their statin medications over a two-year period are healthier than comparable nonadherent individuals, but the overall cost of their care is slightly higher, according to a new study.

Patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NAVF) who also have diabetes experienced similar safety and efficacy with dabigatran relative to warfarin, in comparison without diabetes who have NVAF.

The Affordable Care Act may allow you to make money by filling in the gaps that you already do.

A look at how pharmacists can be involved with the "meaningful use" incentive program.

The Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC), based in Minneapolis, Minn., significantly reduced hospital readmissions and emergency room visits by forming an accountable care organization (ACO) team.

A pharmacist looks at the life expectancy numbers in the U.S. and wonders how healthcare could have come so far, but still be failing patients.

Has the pharmacy grind made you dream of owning your own? It's not as simple as you might think.

A new study indicates that adults are keeping their hypertension in check.