Last Tuesday, drug makers Pfizer and Glaxo signed a ten year deal to provide vaccines at a reduced cost to poor, developing nations. The deal sets the supply of pneumococcal vaccines at 60 million per year for a ten year period. The deal was set up by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) […]
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) began in the mid-1970s with the goal of tracking and investigating medication errors. Through voluntary reporting they review and investigate over 1000 medication errors each year. The most common problems notes are not the pharmacists but the process of medication prescription and use. Examples of breakdowns include, “look-alike […]
Thieves recently broke into an Eli Lilly warehouse in Enfield, Connecticut and made off with an estimated $75 million in prescription drugs. The thieves entered the warehouse at night by cutting a hole in the roof and rappelling down to the ground below. At that point they disabled the alarm system and were able to […]
Medical marijuana use is increasing across the United States. Currently, fourteen states have provisions and laws that allow the regulated use of medical marijuana. Twelve additional states have legislation pending that will make allowances for medical use and that number is likely to increase substantially over the next several years. Although the federal government still […]
Governor Brian Schweitzer (D) of Montana is seeking permission to set up purchasing agreements with Canadian drug suppliers for the state’s Medicaid program. His goal is to set up an agreement with a wholesaler to furnish the discounted prescriptions to local pharmacies where the state would complete the purchase. Schweitzer estimates that the move could […]
A team of public interest groups recently completed a comparison of drug prices across the state of New York. The study focused on the consumer price for ten of the most popular drugs available. The research concluded that the prices for prescription drugs vary dramatically by location and provider. In one county in New York, […]
Walgreens lost a recent appeal to overturn a decision that awarded $33 million to the family of a woman who died because of an improperly filled prescription. In 2002, Beth Hippely was prescribed the blood thinner Warfarin to help treat her breast cancer. The prescription that she was given was approximately 10 times the level […]
A Montgomery, Alabama jury last month leveled a $2.5 million fine over an incorrectly filled prescription from 2006. Reva Tosh was accidently given the steroid Decadron in place of the pain medication for her rheumatoid arthritis. Ms. Tosh took high doses of the steroid for 28 days after which she developed Cushing’s syndrome. She suffered […]
