Health System

The recent passage of a Kentucky bill prohibiting pharmacy benefit managers from recouping payments through pharmacy audits when there is no evidence of fraud bodes well for similar federal legislation, according to a recent statement from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.

Congressional approval of the bipartisan Generic Drug and Biosimilars User Fee Act could eliminate 90% of the backlog of Abbreviated New Drug Applications by 2017, FDA official Russell Wesdyk, BS, MBA, said in a presentation last month.

FDA approved the first 4-strain influenza vaccine live, intranasal (FluMist Quadrivalent, MedImmune) for the prevention of influenza. The vaccine?s 4 strains (2 type-A and 2 type-B lineages) help provide broad protection against circulating influenza A and B.

The new guidelines are based on data from 2 trials that focused specifically on treating elderly patients for hypertension, which hadn't been done before.

Help is at the ready for the millions of Americans who suffer from chronic and acute pain.

Prescribing errors in primary care offices were significantly reduced with pharmacist intervention, according to a recent study.

The safety of dabigatran is being called into question again. Concern has arisen about an increased risk of myocardial infarction in patients who are treated with the drug.

Polish up your skills and support each other or face irrelevancy like the Bates Stamper.

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

The business formula for success is simple and has withstood the test of time.

A new campaign helps encourage more patient-pharmacist interaction, making patients feel comfortable enough to ask the questions they usually don't.

Patients can serve as checkpoints to guide drug development down the most efficient path.

It's still good to be a pharmacist. With high job satisfaction rates, low unemployment, good salaries, and annual raises, most pharmacists continue to report they are happy with their career.

Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea now accounts for about 14,000 deaths per year in the United States. CDC is calling on hospitals to exercise better antibiotic stewardship to help stem the tide.

CMS's proposed regulation for long-term care consultant pharmacists is stirring up controversy.

Chalk up a first for hospital pharmacists in Kansas. Video conferencing was used to supervise a pharmacy tech working in a hospital 200 miles across the state.

An effective CPOE system needs clinical decision support to help prescribers, pharmacists, nurses, and others use the system effectively.

Learn about assistive devices and strategies to help improve care for these particular patients.

FDA approved ingenol mebutate gel and glucarpidase intravenous injection.

Readers speak out about the need for pharmacists to change their work environment, job satisfaction in the hospital pharmacy setting, and obesity drugs.

Specialty pharmacy is on a roll. And clinical support is its primary product.

Continuing legal battles between the Drug Enforcement Administration and Cardinal Health have raised questions about federal drug policy and the role of distributors.

Because pharmacists are making a measurable difference in the outcomes of their patients, their roles as providers are changing. There are some barriers, however.

What's your excuse when you call in sick or even just want to take a day off?

The blood-pressure medication prazosin was found to be an effective treatment to curb nightmares related to post traumatic stress disorder, according to a poster presentation, at the 20th European Congress of Psychiatry in Prague

Rivaroxaban, an oral blood thinner, is equally effective as standard therapy for the treatment of pulmonary embolism and may cause fewer bleeding complications, according to new data

The risk of Clostridium difficile infection among households is too low to justify interventions, other than avoiding unnecessary antimicrobials, according to a new study, published in April?s Journal of Infection.

The majority (90% to 98%) of sinus infections are caused by viruses and should not be treated with antibiotics, according to new guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Switching patients with rheumatoid arthritis to rituximab (Rituxan, Genentech) may be more effective than switching them to a second alternative anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) after a first anti-TNF therapy has failed, according to a study published online in Arthritis Care & Research.

New guidelines for management of hand, hip, and knee osteoarthritis were recently published in the April edition of Arthritis Care & Research.