The Washington State Pharmacy Association (WSPA), National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), and National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) applauded Tacoma Federal Court Judge Robert J. Bryant for issuing a temporary restraining order (TRO) halting the Medicaid reimbursement cuts to pharmacies for 10 days, the maximum delay for a TRO. The Medicaid cuts would have been implemented at midnight last night.
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CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) announced results of their annual client survey noting that a majority of the company’s employer clients said they were more focused on strategies to change plan participant behavior and improve engagement rather than programs that achieved overall savings by simply shifting costs to the member.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first generic versions of Topamax tablets (topiramate) to prevent seizures. “Generic drugs undergo a rigorous scientific review to ensure they will provide patients with the same dose of high quality, safe and effective active ingredient as the name brand product,” said Gary Buehler, director of the Office of Generic Drugs in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
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If you recently went to your doctor and received a handwritten prescription, you soon may be the exception, not the rule. That’s right, in New Jersey more and more physicians are choosing to put down the prescription pad in favor of e-prescribing technology that is improving the quality of health care throughout the state. Since 2004, more than 5.
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Allscripts announced that Scripps Health has selected the Allscripts Enterprise(R) Electronic Health Record (EHR) to automate its electronic prescription orders, lost charge capture and clinical quality solutions for nearly 550 physicians in its 19 outpatient clinics in San Diego County.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned nine companies to stop manufacturing 14 unapproved narcotic drugs that are marketed in several dosage forms and are widely used to treat pain.
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The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) commends the American Association of Retired People (AARP) Public Policy Institute for its recent study report, “Beyond 50.09 Chronic Care: A Call to Action for Health Reform.” The survey of chronically ill patients and their caregivers finds health care poses significant challenges for the 70 million Americans 50 and older who have at least one chronic condition.
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Patients and health services are getting a poor return on their investment into new drugs, say experts in an article published on bmj.com today. Industry makes much of the expense of bringing a new drug to market, yet the public provides most of the support for developing and evaluating new drugs, write Silvio Garattini and Iain Chalmers.
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Whitehead Institute researchers have quintupled the number of identifiable prion proteins in yeast and have further clarified the role prions play in the inheritance of both beneficial and detrimental traits.
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The hormone prolactin is necessary for the production of breast milk, but it also affects adipose (fatty) tissue and the body’s metabolism. This has been shown by a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Raised prolactin levels in a woman who is not pregnant or breast feeding reduces lipid (fat) metabolism. Over 30 000 Swedish men and women may have raised levels of prolactin.
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