Proposed "Patient Bill of Rights for Prescription Drugs" under ACA
The ACA has led to some early reforms popularly known as "The Patient Bill of Rights." Here's a proposal for a similar platform specifically addressing Rx drugs.
Letters
Readers discuss the pharmacist's role in OTC selection, voice appreciation for Stan Illich's views, argue that pharmacists need to realize who's in the driver's seat, and share their appreciation for JP.
Feeling like a real pharmacist
You leave the day job and what happens? The most fulfilling moments a pharmacist can have occur when you're nowhere near a pharmacy.
All wet: A pharmacy parable
Suppose a country were facing a flood of Biblical proportions but determined to focus on bringing in more tourism; what would you say about its priorities? Now suppose that country were a professional organization and ... well, read on.
Pharmacists: Who owns your soul?
Remember when hardworking coal miners "owed their souls to the company store"? Look a little closer to home and you just might find that someone you know is in a very similar spot.
PBMs and what they're doing to our healthcare: Time to shed some light
The ways of PBMs are convoluted and mysterious. If we don't keep a sharp eye out, one of these days we'll be getting prescriptions out of vending machines.
Readers have their say on unionization, fair reimbursement, and self-regulation.
Let's do the time warp again
When pharmacy trade journals are talking about the same issues and the same solutions as they were 15 years ago, more than just the times are out of joint.
MTM cuts hospital readmissions
Hospital readmissions constitute one of the most significant problems in healthcare. Medication therapy management is one way to reduce the problem.
Maybe in your lifetime ...
The future may lead pharmacy practice in several new directions. Here are a few of the possibilities.
Natural doesn't always equal harmless
A sizable segment of the medication-using public seems to have decided that "natural" is better than anything pharmaceutical. But nature isn't always harmless.
DXM and the threat to public health
Teens are using OTC cough syrup, with DXM as an active ingredient, to get high. While the drug may be legal, its harmful effects are similar to those of illegal drugs.
Stand up and make yourself heard
We've already felt the pain. When will we go for the gain? How many physical breakdowns, ruined home lives, and professional traumas is it gonna take before we finally say enough is enough and ORGANIZE?
Confessions of a counter-dealer, part 4: Be proactive!
In a competitive profession and an age of limits, the formula for success is still pretty simple: Sell yourself - and then deliver!
Power to the people
Maybe the best way to change the environment in pharmacy is to have an old-fashioned '60s-style protest
Continuing pharmacy education vs. continuing professional development
Drug Topics and the Office of Pharmacy Development, University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, introduce a new three-phase practice-based activity: "Medication Therapy Management for Patients with Diabetes"
The vertebral solution
Watch out for pharmacists who have had enough: They can find some imaginative ways of registering their dissatisfaction
Diabetic test strips and state tax laws
Because their classification is variable, the taxation of glucose test strips varies from state to state, giving rise to massive confusion and loss of revenue
The MAC pricing system must be fixed
The time has come for pharmacists to work on reforming the maximum allowable costs put forth by the pharmacy benefit managers
Fox in the henhouse
How much sense does it make to put employees of major drug chains on state Boards of Pharmacy? Depends on whose chickens that fox is guarding.
It ain't rocket science
The business formula for success is simple and has withstood the test of time.
A patient-centered approach
Patients can serve as checkpoints to guide drug development down the most efficient path.
Letters: April 2012
Readers speak out about the need for pharmacists to change their work environment, job satisfaction in the hospital pharmacy setting, and obesity drugs.
An appointment with the pharmacist
Because pharmacists are making a measurable difference in the outcomes of their patients, their roles as providers are changing. There are some barriers, however.
Drug shortages impede care, threaten lives
ASHP continues to make solving the drug shortages problem a top priority.
Forge ahead into the digital age–or not
What would happen if some future corporation decides it's more productive to revert back to the days of the typewriter?
Use it or lose it
Readers speak out about the title of "Dr." and pharmacies in Canada.
An update on our biggest partner
The NCPA will continue to work with the government in 2012 to make changes for you and your patients.
Letters: February 2012
Readers speak out about mail-order concerns and changes in the profession. One reader even waxes poetic.
Jumping on the cheapness bandwagon
Our salvation lies in cheapness. It is the way of the world, and embracing it is the key to our survival.