The Generic Pharmaceutical Industry Association (GPIA) has released a statement opposing the recently approved bill that will require them to pay substantial rebates to state and federal Medicaid programs as a part of health care reform. The bill, which passed last week in the Senate Finance Committee, requires generic drug makers to pay $460 million […]
Rite Aid drug stores have recently decided to offer flu shots to pregnant women without a prescription. Up to this point the chain has required prescriptions despite the announcements that pregnant women are a part of the priority group for seasonal and H1N1 flu shots. Although doctors recommend the shots, pregnant women traditionally have low […]
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an announcement to pharmacists regarding a recent number of Mefloquine prescriptions that have incorrectly instructed patients to take the 250 mg dose daily rather than weekly. Mefloquine is prescribed to treat malaria prophylaxis for individuals traveling abroad.
It has been almost three weeks since Michael Jackson’s death and I thought the media circus would change to another topic. But it seems that there was a recent survey conducted by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacist (AHSP) to 200 pharmacists, who worked in ambulatory and chronic care practice, asking them if there was […]
As pharmacist, we are inundated with stress and pressure from our daily work. Often, there isn’t much we can do to eliminate that stress. But two recent court cases, in the US and UK, make it clear that the stakes for dealing with that stress have just gone up considerably.
Though the GAO recently decided not to create a third-drug class for OTC medications, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a ruling that OTC pain medications made from acetaminophen and NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents) need to have a new warning label regarding potential overdose complications. Although consumers view acetaminophen as relatively harmless, accidental overdose […]
Most recently tested in Vermont but also used in areas of Alaska and Montana, automatic dispensing units are increasing the flexibility of consumers to pick up their prescriptions. The machines allow a pharmacist in one location to dispense medications for patients over larger geographical areas. The operation of the machines depends first on a pharmacist […]
An Illinois judge is enacting a temporary rule that two pharmacists who have religious objections cannot be forced to dispense the “morning after pill”. The pharmacists object to the use of the pill because they believe its use is comparable to abortion. The judge issued a restraining order that allows the two (who own a […]
