Will GOP states reject the Affordable Care Act in defiance of the Supreme Court ruling? The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold or strike down the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was guaranteed to be controversial either way, but the real surprise came in the aftermath when 10 Republican governors announced that they would refuse to implement […]
Pharmacy Outreach: Raise Awareness about Heat Related Illnesses Temperatures are soaring, and records are set to be broken across the continental United States. Many people are avoiding outdoor excursions while others continue about their daily routine with very little thought to the dangers presented by the extreme temperatures. High temperatures can be especially harmful to […]
With the entire country struggling to come to terms with the rising cost of healthcare, insurers are increasingly choosing the easy way out – making the sickest patients shoulder more of the cost for specialty drugs. Chronic ailments are undeniably expensive. Conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, AIDS, and cancer account for a big chunk of prescription […]
It may be a long way in the future, but stem cell researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel have made a step in that direction. In a fascinating experiment, scientists removed skin cells from two heart failure patients and regressed the cells to an embryonic state. These cells, called induced pluripotent […]
In nearly every episode of Star Trek, somebody had to be injected with something. The hypos were accompanied by a mysterious hissing sound, there were no needles, and they were administered, inexplicably, to the neck. Since the uniforms covered most of the body, we might presume this was to preserve the dignity of the crew. […]
Much to the dismay of independent pharmacists, consumer and patient advocates all over the country, the acquisition of Express Scripts (ESRX) of Medco Health Solutions (MHS), was approved by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission this month. The approval went through without even the regulations proposed by FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz designed to prevent the pharmaceutical […]
On May 2, over 500 law enforcement agents from the FBI, HHS-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), multiple Medicaid Fraud Control Units, and other law enforcement agencies came down like a ton of bricks on medical professionals in seven cities across the nation. The massive sting nailed 107 doctors, nurses, social workers, and other medical professionals […]
Well, it’s happened. Lipitor, the biggest blockbuster drug in history, went off patent in November, and Pfizer is feeling the pinch. Sales fell off by 42% immediately, and even with sales of other on-patent drugs like Celebrex and Lyrica soaring, overall pharmaceutical sales dropped a full 25%. The first quarter of 2012 saw Lipitor sales […]
