Blog: Pharmacy News & Industry Information - Page 38

Keeping Patients Informed — Grapefruit and Other Uncommon Prescription Interactions There are many medicines that interact with one another in adverse ways. It is a pharmacist’s job to understand, assess, and inform patients of these risks. Pharmacists also must check and double check medication to ensure that clients are receiving prescriptions that will not interact […]

December is Seasonal Affective Disorder Awareness Month Season Affective Disorder affects roughly 4-6% of the American population. As we head into winter, pharmacies around the country will undoubtedly receive some patients whom are living with SAD. It is estimated that an additional 10-20% of people living in northern climates are also affected with winter onset […]

Flucelvax Gets FDA Approval, Coming to a Pharmacy Near You Novartis’s seasonal influenza vaccine Flucelvax is the first of its kind. It is a cell culture derived vaccine, approved for patients 18 and over. Flucelvax just received its approval on November 21, 2012. Pharmacies nationwide will start seeing the vaccine available.

It’s November: What is Your Pharmacy Doing for National Diabetes Month? November is National Diabetes Month, and pharmacists can be on the front lines of getting the word out. We’re sure you have your diabetes supplies – blood sugar monitors, test strips, syringes, glucose tabs, and the like – in prominent display for the diabetics […]

The Hidden Costs of Prescription Drug Coupons and Discount Cards With health care costs soaring, patients are looking for any way they can to save money on prescriptions. And who can blame them? Let’s look at Effexor XR, for example, an antidepressant. The average monthly prescription cost for a single daily dose of Effexor XR […]

How to Help Combat Prescription Drug Abuse The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that approximately 7 million Americans took prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons in 2010. The most commonly abused prescription drugs were pain relievers, to the tune of 5.1 million users, with tranquilizers coming in second at 2.2 million users. Some communities […]

$95 Million Says Cardiovascular Drugs Were Marketed Improperly The U.S. Justice Department had a lot to say about the way Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. was promoting four of their prescription medications. A $95 million settlement resolves the allegations at Boehringer Ingelheim’s promotion of Aggrenox, Combivent, and Micardis, as well as dosage issues with Atrovent. The […]

FDA cracks down on illegal online pharmacies During this year’s International Internet Week of Action (IIWA), Operation Pangea V, an effort coordinated with international agencies took legal actions against more than 4,100 online pharmacies selling drugs illegally. Task force focus The focus of the annual initiative was internet pharmacies that sell unapproved, untested, unprescribed, and […]