Health System

Patents on many small-molecule drugs, which make up some of the most popular prescription medications in the world, are set to expire during the next several years, an occurrence that is expected to cause an unprecedented shift of billions of dollars in sales to generics in the United States and other markets.

Very 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.

Technology giant Intel recently opened a health and wellness center for employees at its Jones Farm Campus in Hillsboro, Ore., that will replace many tedious trips to the doctor's office with services provided on site.

The selection of an incorrect prescriber during the prescription order entry process may have consequences long after the prescription is filled.

The skepticism of modern medicine toward the placebo effect has kept a study proving its validity hidden in the shadows of medical research instead of giving it the attention it deserves.

New guidelines in a 2010 report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases contain major updates to its 2006 report that could prove significant for the nation's pharmacies.

Recent data suggest that thrombopoietin receptor agonists are safe and effective for the treatment of chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura, or ITP, over at least 6 years.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and 3 other healthcare industry groups are working to transform regulations to ease U.S. drug shortages.

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

Launched in January, The Prevention Plan is an online health-screening and primary prevention program similar to wellness plans already being marketed to employer groups. It costs $99.

FDA is limiting the amount of acetaminophen in prescription drug products, primarily combinations of acetaminophen and opioids.

Consumer 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.

A new prescription drug label format is in the works. Draft standards from the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention could bring dramatic changes to Rx labels in 2012.

Niche 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.

Competition in the diabetes medication therapy and supply market is likely to intensify through 2011.

For pharmacies in the compounding business, an attractive, centrally located clean room that is visible to patients will generate substantial return on investment, propel business growth, and market the pharmacy as an innovator.

Until 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.

Chief executives from key pharmacy organizations met in mid-2010 to reinforce the joint message that the fight to move pharmacy into a central healthcare role has just begun.

A roundup of information on compression stockings after stroke; quality of home INR testing; and cardiovascular risk in users of clopidogrel

Walgreen 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.

Intuity Medical, Inc., the maker of POGO, a fully-integrated blood glucose monitoring system, secured a $20 million credit facility from Silicon Valley Bank and Oxford Finance Corporation.

Children 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.

A new website, HealthCareandYou.org, has been created to educate pharmacists, other health professionals, and patients about the Affordable Care Act.

FDA recently announced its plans to remove certain unapproved prescription medicines used to treat cough, cold, and allergy symptoms.

According 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'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.

Rheumatoid arthritis patients who have been treated with glucocorticoids have an increased risk of gastrointestinal perforation, according to a study published in Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Tifacogin 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.

A new study published in Science Translational Medicine found that patients? expectations regarding the effects of pain medications influence medication efficacy as well as the pain-related brain pathways activated during treatment.

U.S. Marshals acting on a request of FDA seized all lots of Auralgan otic solution from Integrated Commercialization Solutions in Brooks, Ky.