News

FDA is investigating 2 unexplained deaths in patients who received an intramuscular injection of the antipsychotic drug Zyprexa Relprevv (olanzapine pamoate), according to an FDA Drug Safety Communication.

The US Supreme Court today stated that pay-for-delay agreements between brand name drug companies and generic manufacturers are subject to antitrust scrutiny.

Within our healthcare-driven society, the increase in the identification and diagnosis of mental illnesses has led to a proportional increase in the prescribing of psychotropic medications. The prevalence of mental illnesses and subsequent treatment approaches may employ monotherapy as first-line treatment, but in many cases the use of combination of therapy can occur, leading to polypharmacy.1 Polypharmacy can be defined in several ways but it generally recognized as the use of multiple medications by one patient and the most common definition is the concurrent use of five more medications. The presence of polyharmacy has the potential to contribute to non-compliance, drug-drug interactions, medication errors, adverse events, or poor quality of life.

FDA has issued a complete response letter (CRL) to for Aveo’s investigational agent tivozanib for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Unsafe injections remain a problem in the United States and throughout the world, according to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

I have been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of the pancreas, a disease that’s long been considered not just incurable, but almost impossible to treat-a recalcitrant disease that some practitioners feel has given oncology a bad name. I was told my life would be measured in weeks.

Despite being considered a protected class of drugs, anticonvulsant medications for the treatment of epileptic seizures had lower levels of coverage for Medicare prescription drug plans (PDPs) than commercial health plans.

The Obama administration on Monday abandoned its attempt to restrict access to the emergency contraceptive Plan B One-Step (Teva Women’s Health Inc.) as an over-the-counter (OTC) medication-a decision that’s being celebrated by some groups.

Older adults with diabetes mellitus may be at increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia following a hypoglycemic event, according to a study published online by JAMA Internal Medicine on June 10th.

Enroll America and private web entities could be avenues for new exchange customers

Few employers say they will drop benefits or reduce workers

Could wellness programs supplant the loss as Cadillac plans fade away?

KFF analysis shows group segments remain steady while individual segment moves into compliance

As it celebrates the 20th anniversary of its MedWatch program, FDA has launched two new tools designed to make it easier for consumers and healthcare professionals to report product information to the agency

Endometrial cancer patients who took statins and aspirin reduced their chance of death by 84% with the use of statins and aspirin, according to a new study by researchers at Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care (MECCC), presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago. Additionally, women who used only statins saw their risk of dying decline by 45%.

In a phase 3 study of previously treated patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), crizotinib (Xalkori, Pfizer) more than doubled median progression free survival (PFS) than when treated with standard chemotherapy, according to a study published June 1, 2013 online in New England Journal of Medicine.

FDA advised healthcare professionals not to use magnesium sulfate injection for more than 5-7 days to stop preterm labor in pregnant women, according to a May 30 drug safety communication.

Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), the antidepressant bupropion, and the drug varenicline can help smokers quit, according to a new systematic review published in The Cochrane Library.

Forty-three members of Congress are urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) not to implement a new policy that prohibits independent community pharmacies from providing same-day, home delivery of diabetes testing supplies (DTS) to homebound seniors.

A number of myths and misunderstandings have surfaced about HIXes.

Medication underdosing and underprescribing are often overlooked and can result in poor patient outcomes. They can also contribute to polypharmacy and significant cost to the healthcare system. Pharmacists can play a key role in preventing underdosing and underprescribing of medications by ensuring that patient-specific pharmacotherapy is prescribed and administered, and by providing patient and provider education regarding appropriate use of medications. While numerous examples of effective pharmacist-led interventions to reduce medication underdosing and underprescribing are described in the literature, further research is needed to elucidate new ways to improve patient outcomes and reduce unnecessary cost to the healthcare system. This article describes the clinical consequences of medication underdosing and underprescribing and provides examples of pharmacist-led interventions to address these medication issues.

Health insurers should use both medical and pharmacy data to forecast specialty drug costs, which are predicted to rise to 50% of commercially insured total drug costs by 2018, according to a new study presented at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy’s 25th Annual Meeting & Expo in San Diego, in April.

Biologic anti-inflammatory (BAI) specialty medications to treat autoimmune inflammatory conditions-such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriasis or inflammatory bowel disease (eg, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis)-are among the most commonly used specialty drugs and costs are rising rapidly. Three new studies presented at the 2013 Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy’s 25th Annual Meeting & Expo in San Diego, in April, highlight the use, effectiveness and cost trends for BAIs.

Specialty drugs now account for half of the cost of treating patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or hepatitis C (Hep C), according to 2 studies presented by St. Paul-based Prime Therapeutics (Prime) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy’s 25th Annual Meeting & Expo in San Diego, in April.

Medication errors and adverse drug events (ADEs) pose large threats to patient wellbeing and safety. Medication errors are the most common errors occurring in hospitals. Preventable ADEs are linked with 1 in 5 injuries or deaths. Medication errors occur at key points of transition during the hospital stay. 4-6 At one institution, failure to reconcile medications at transition points accounted for 50% of all medication errors and 20% of ADEs. Medication errors and ADEs are harmful, but also costly to the patient and the healthcare system.7 Complete and accurate medication reconciliation is crucial for reducing medication errors and ADEs

Implementation of a pharmacy service that provides dosing, monitoring, education, and ensured safe transition from the inpatient to the outpatient setting is associated with improved patient satisfaction with overall care and with care related to anticoagulation management, according to a study published in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy.

Although the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in hospitalized patients remains unknown, an estimated one-fourth of inpatients experience hyperglycemia.1 Hyperglycemia is linked to poor health outcomes, and there is evidence that intensive glucose control in the hospital reduces mortality, need for dialysis, infections, and length of stay.2 The American Diabetes Association (ADA) publishes clinical practice guidelines annually, which offer clinicians, patients, researchers, and payers current, evidence-based recommendations on all components of diabetes care, general treatment goals, and tools to evaluate the quality of care. The updated guidelines focus on changes in the recommendations for care of the hospitalized diabetes patient.

The appropriate use of specialty drugs is a major priority for health plans and will become increasingly important for future growth over the next 3 to 5 years, according to a comprehensive survey on payer approaches to specialty drugs. Furthermore, the research finds significant variation in what health plans view as emerging areas of opportunity to manage these drugs.

Total spending on medicines declined by 3.5 percent, according to the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics report, Declining Medicine Use and Costs: For Better or Worse?” report. In addition, nominal pharmaceutical spending reached $325 billion in 2012, or real per capita spending of $898, a decline of one percent.