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 […]
An advisory panel for the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has voted to amend the recommendations for flu shots to everyone over 6 months of age. The CDC expects to implement the panel’s recommendation for the 2010-2011 flu season. Health care analysts believe that part of the reason more people don’t get the shots is […]
The New York Times reported recently that a government report has suggested a link between Avandia and an increased risk of heart attacks and heart failure. Avandia, used to treat type 2 diabetes, was linked to just over 300 deaths during the third quarter of 2009 alone. GlaxoSmithKline, who makes Avandia, has stated that they […]
A Massachusetts study recently found that 22 to 28 percent of medication prescriptions go unfilled by patients. The study examined electronic prescription records in two heath plans as well as pharmacy claims to check which prescriptions were filled. All patients in the study did have medical insurance. The findings noted that 22 percent of the […]
Surescripts electronic prescriptions implemented an overall rate reduction for their services in January of this year. The reduction is an attempt to encourage smaller pharmacies and physician groups to use electronic prescription services. The drop is estimated at a 10-15% reduction for smaller independent pharmacies. The amount of the decrease varies slightly depending on the […]
Jonathan Medina, a former Connecticut pharmacist, was recently sentenced to probation after creating an online sex posting for a customer that he had an argument with. Medina said that the day had been very busy and he was overwhelmed by it all when the woman began an argument with him about her prescription at the […]
The debate about morning after contraception is unlikely to be resolved soon. Court cases are still pending for pharmacists who object to selling the morning after pill because they believe it to conflict with their religious and/or ethical beliefs. In the mean time, a new morning after pill has been made available in Europe that […]
