Spiraling drug costs, drug shortages, and increasingly complex and demanding regulations are making the intravenous (IV) services business more challenging than ever. Pharmacies providing IV compounding must comply with USP 797 (and soon USP 800) and state compounding regulations requiring detailed documentation. The financial impact is obvious. Increased workloads often have required staff additions. USP 797 regulations have prompted costly remodeling to provide buffer rooms and ante rooms.
"Pharmacosynchrony” is a new concept rapidly attracting interest
As prescription drug abuse in the United States escalates, diversion of controlled substances is becoming an increasingly critical issue for hospitals and health system executives to monitor. In hospitals, diversion of controlled substances not only negatively impacts staff and places liability on the facility but it also affects patient safety, satisfaction, and in most cases, the hospital’s bottom line. As such, hospital executives are looking to pharmacy leaders to provide creative solutions to proactively prevent diversion and better control this evolving public health issue.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is cancer prevention and the healthcare industry needs to do a better job of providing the HPV vaccine to all adolescents, according to a survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
FDA approved oxycodone hydrochloride and naloxone hydrochloride extended-release tablets (Targiniq ER, Purdue Pharma), an extended-release/long-acting (ER/LA) opioid analgesic to treat pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate.
For selected infants and children with increased risk for meningococcal disease, there will be a new recommended vaccine in their immunization schedule, according to updated recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
Paracetamol did not improve recovery time for people with low back pain, compared to placebo, according to a study published in The Lancet.
While there are signs of progress in the epidemic of prescription drug misuse, everyone is at risk of misuse, according to a new study.
FDA approved idelalisib (Zydelig, Gilead Sciences) to treat patients with 3 types of blood cancers.
The AbbVie purchase of Shire for about $54 billion will create one of the biggest deals so far this year.
FDA has approved C1 Esterase Inhibitor [Recombinant] (Ruconest, Salix and Pharming Group) for the treatment of acute attacks in adult and adolescent patients with hereditary angioedema (HAE).
Multidisciplinary efforts, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and families all working together, are needed to eliminate pediatric medication errors, according to a study published recently in Pediatrics.
Networks must have ‘safety valves’ for assuring members have access
Clinicians are still more likely to prescribe antibiotics rather than antiviral medications to outpatients with flu, including to high-risk patients who would benefit from early empiric antiviral treatment, according to a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Health plans can help improve their members’ medication adherence by Incorporating these principals
Global antibiotic use has risen 36% over the last decade, according to a study published in the July 10 issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
As the numbers of orphan drugs increase as well as their costs, patients are facing growing challenges accessing orphan drugs, according to a study from the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (CSDD) at Tufts University.
Possible side effects, population vulnerability also concerns
Where on-again, off-again has landed us
Better care coordination is needed
Many children are without dental benefits
Plans seek new strategies to assess drug value, ensure appropriate prescribing
Industry updates in business, health management
Spike in U.S. cases signals need for new collaborative healthcare strategies
Quality program to provide value, identify clinically effective solutions
Women who are regular users of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) should be aware that these medications may increase the risk of adverse cardiovascular events, according to a study published in the July issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.
Psoriasis patients treated with interleukin-17A (IL-17A) inhibitor secukinumab demonstrated statistically significant skin clearance, according to in 2 pivotal phase 3 studies published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Rates of opioid overdose in Ontario, Canada, have increased more than 3-fold over the past 2 decades, according to a study online in Addiction. Furthermore, deaths are clustered among younger Ontarians; in 2010, 1 in 8 deaths among those aged 25 to 34 years were related to opioids.
Older men treated with intramuscular testosterone did not appear to have an increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI). For men with high MI risk, testosterone use was modestly protective against MI, according to a study published in Annals of Pharmacotherapy
Otherwise healthy, non-smoking adults with BMI values within the class III obesity range may considerably extend their life expectancy by avoiding additional weight gain, according to a study published in PLOS Medicine.