A report by Medco Health Solutions, Inc. found that prescription drug use by children increased more than adult drug use last year. The report cited a 5 percent increase among kids in comparison to an overall rise of 1.3 percent. The highest jump was in anti-viral drugs use attributed to cases of the swine flu. […]
Gold Standard/Elsevier has announced that it will continue to publish drug price databases that include the average wholesale price (AWP) in addition to the calculated price types that include various markup percentages. The announcement comes as several other drug price databases have announced their intention to withdraw the AWP from their program price lists.
The Food and Drug Administration is responding to 121 known cases of consumers drinking Benadryl Extra Strength Itch Stopping Gel by asking consumers to pay close attention to the warnings not to ingest the topical gel. The 121 cases have been recorded between 2001 and 2009 and in most cases the bottle of topical gel […]
A study conducted at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, CA, suggests that the implementation of an electronic prescription system lead to a 20 percent drop in the mortality rate since 2007. The computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system is credited with the reduction because it has cut in half the time it takes […]
Last year the state of California implemented an online prescription database that records the drug use for patients who receive prescription medications. Doctors and hospitals are now able to access the records online to determine if patients might be prescription drug abusers or sellers.
The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) recently requested that congress consider requiring nationwide tracking of over the counter cold and allergy medication to combat methamphetamine production. The drugs impacted would be those that contain the ingredient pseudoephedrine (PSE) as they are commonly purchased in bulk by methamphetamine producers. Ten states have already enacted legislation that […]
Drug maker AstraZeneca is facing a $520 million fine for off-label promotion of its drug Seroquel. Seroquel is an antipsychotic that is the second highest seller for the drug maker and brought in $4.9 billion in sales in 2009. The federal government is collecting the fine to settle accusations that AstraZeneca promoted Seroquel for additional […]
As states voice growing concern about the possible redirection of negotiated rebates on drug prices; the federal government recently confirmed that some of money will be paid to the feds to help fund the health care overhaul. The new law mandates that state rebates for brand name drugs be increased from 15.1% to 23.1%. The […]
