Health System

An FDA advisory panel voted 20?12 to recommend that the agency allow rosiglitazone (Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline) to remain on the market. However, most panelists want to see tougher warnings on the diabetes drug?s label, according to various media reports.

FDA is once again tackling the naming, labeling, and packaging practices connected with drugs and biologics, according to a top official.

A systematic review assessing the comparative effectiveness of oral anti-diabetic drugs for preventing patients at high risk from progressing to type 2 diabetes has found glitazones (pioglitazone, rosiglitazone), biguanides (metformin), and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (AGIs; acarbose, voglibose) reduced the relative risk of diabetes by as much as 63%, whereas insulin secretagogues (sulfonylureas and glinides) had no effect.

Sens. Kay R. Hagan (D-N.C.) and Al Franken (D-Minn.) have introduced The Medication Therapy Management (MTM) Expanded Benefits Act, a bill that will allow seniors with one chronic illness to thoroughly review all their medications with a pharmacist in a one-on-one session.

FDA has announced that the agency is currently evaluating whether the use of the angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) olmesartan (Benicar, Daiichi Sankyo; also sold in combination with hydrocholorothiazide as Benicar HCT) was associated with increased cardiovascular mortality.

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 greatly reduced FDA involvement in assessing the safety of dietary supplements, leaving pharmacists with the problem of obtaining accurate information with which to advise patients.

Pharmacists speak out about the personal touch, personalized medicine, and "personality kids"

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) skin patches containing low doses of estrogen carry less risk of stroke than oral therapy and may represent a safer alternative.

Switching from branded to generic drugs for epilepsy did not cause increased incidents or utilization changes among patients, according to new study results.

For male pharmacists, anyway, the 1970s were good times, with a sense of fraternity among professionals. What happened to the group spirit?

In the first of its "FDA Drug Info Rounds," a new series of educational videos for pharmacists, FDA is tackling unapproved dispensing of colchicine.

Inhaled insulin may be making a comeback. That's the hope at MannKind, a California-based biopharmaceutical company developing a rapid-acting inhaled insulin known as Afrezza (insulin human rDNA origin).

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

The Drug Enforcement Administration has released its long-awaited interim final rule for electronic prescribing of controlled substances.

A ballot initiative moving toward approval in North Dakota could open the doors to chain pharmacy in the state.

Pharmacists now have another way to obtain continuing education credits for diabetes management.

The first non-drug treatment for severe asthma that is not well controlled by anti-inflammatory medicines won FDA approval April 27.

In the business world, it just seems like common sense that you dictate to your customers at your extreme peril. Even when you think God is on your side.

Bumps, bruises, and scrapes happen - especially during the summer months when knees and elbows are bare and so much time is spent outdoors. Many first-aid products can help.

The relationship between prescribing practitioners and nurses working in a long-term-care (LTC) facility is of significant concern to the LTC facility when controlled substances are needed.

Pharmacy directors who want to - or have to - operate 24/7 but don't have the staff to cover all 3 shifts have a new ally, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).

The number of e-prescriptions filled last year soared 181% to 191 million, according to "Advancing Healthcare in America," a report issued by Surescripts in Alexandria, Va.

As Americans increasingly turn to vitamins and herbal supplements as alternatives to prescription drug use, medical professionals and government leaders worry that few realize the implications.

Patients treated over long periods with the diabetes drug metformin (Glucophage, Bristol-Myers Squibb) are at risk of developing vitamin-B12 deficiency, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal, Reuters has reported.

FDA is investigating hundreds of consumer complaints involving children's medicines recalled by Johnson & Johnson on April 30, according to a congressional memo, the Associated Press reported.

Pharmacists are the most trusted source for medical research information, according to a recent survey.

Walgreens and CVS Caremark have signed a multi-year contract to keep Walgreens in the Caremark pharmacy network, resolving recent issues between the drugstore chains, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The American Medical Association (AMA) has responded favorably to concerns expressed in April by the American Pharmacists Association and six other pharmacy associations.

Pharmacists Planning Service, Inc. is calling for papers for its 17th International Public Health & Pharmacy Issues Conference aboard Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas.

Patients whose doctors over-prescribe antibiotics may develop drug resistance that can last up to a year, putting them and others at risk when more serious treatment is needed, according to a study published in May in the British Medical Journal.