October 24th 2024
Nina Vadiei, PharmD, BCPP, a clinical associate professor at UT Austin and a clinical pharmacy specialist in psychiatry at San Antonio State Hospital, discusses her career as a psychiatric pharmacist.
Rx medications: The importance of container integrity
March 15th 2011Very few state laws require a pharmacy to use a drug container that meets minimum quality-control standards. Legal metrics are needed to guard against possible patient harm resulting from an adulterated drug product caused by a "bad" container.
Drug abandonment compromises quality of care, pharmacy productivity
March 15th 2011Consumer out-of-pocket cost is the leading reason for members' failure to pick up filled prescriptions (drug abandonment), according to the healthcare data company Wolters Kluwer Pharma Solutions. The firm reports that by the second quarter of 2010, the drug-abandonment rate had risen 55% in 4 years.
Pharmacy reaps benefits from sports-medicine niche market
March 15th 2011Niche markets offer pharmacies a way to develop revenue streams, add to their bottom lines, and enhance customer service. Just ask Mark Williams, CPhT, marketing director for the Compounding Pharmacy in Hickory, N.C., a pharmacy that grew its business by thinking outside the box.
Interprofessional teamwork: From education to practice
March 15th 2011Until recently, none of our education systems has been preparing healthcare professionals for teamwork. That is beginning to change. While more remains to be done, we must look to a future characterized by high-functioning interprofessional teams in all practice settings.
Walgreens sells PBM to Catalyst Health Solutions for $525 million
March 15th 2011Walgreen Co., based in Deerfield, Ill., announced last Wednesday the sale of Walgreens pharmacy benefit management business, Walgreens Health Initiatives, to Catalyst Health Solutions Inc. of Rockville, Md., for $525 million in cash.
Coadministration of flu, pneumococcal vaccine increases risk of febrile seizure
March 15th 2011Children 6 to 23 months of age who receive trivalent inactivated flu vaccine concurrently with the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine are at increased risk of febrile seizures, according to researchers at the CDC and Harvard Medical School.
Numeric rating scale offered to fewer than half of hospitalized pain patients
March 10th 2011According to a survey published in the March issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing, nearly two-thirds of hospital in-patients had experienced pain in the previous 24 hours, and 42% of those rated their pain as more than 7 out of 10.
FDA advisory committee recommends approval of once-daily bronchodilator for COPD
March 9th 2011FDA's Pulmonary-Allergy Drugs Advisory Committee voted to approve Novartis' QAB149 (indacaterol) 75 µg as a once-daily long-term maintenance bronchodilator treatment of airflow obstruction in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, including chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema, PR Newswire reported.
Tifacogin ineffective against severe community-acquired pneumonia
March 8th 2011Tifacogin does not appear to improve outcomes of patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia, according to a global study published online in the American Thoracic Society?s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, ahead of the print edition.
Corticosteroids' safety affirmed in treatment of childhood asthma
March 8th 2011Children being treated with a short course of oral corticosteroids for an acute asthma attack may experience a brief and transient depression of their immune response, according to a recent study conducted by Université de Montréal.