Automatic interchange of the ACE inhibitors: Decision-making process and initial results (PDF)
January 1st 2002Clinicians at Nebraska Methodist Hospital, a not-for-profit acute care facility, developed and implemented an automatic interchange program for the ACE inhibitor class of drugs. This article presents the ACE inhibitor review upon which the formulary decisions were based as well as the initial clinical and economic results of the interchange program. (This pdf version includes an appendix that was not included in the print issue)
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Managing America's toughest challenges
January 1st 2002Perhaps the greatest criticism leveled at America's healthcare system is the fact that millions of people have no healthcare insurance at all. Our physicians are among the best trained in the world, and the equipment and technology they work with is state of the art. But those things are meaningless to patients who fall between the cracks of the system and can't access that care.
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Focus On: Fondaparinux: A novel synthetic antithrombotic for prevention of venous thromboembolism
December 1st 2001Fondaparinux, the first in a new class of antithrombotics that selectively target factor Xa, has been deemed approvable by the FDA for prevention of venous thromboembolism following orthopedic surgery. Four phase III trials have suggested that it may be more effective than enoxaparin in this setting with little to no additional bleeding risk. This Focus review examines data from these trials and others in an effort to sketch out this pending agent's likely therapeutic role.
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Bioterror response to alter pharmaceutical development and marketing
December 1st 2001Uncle Sam is poised to authorize more than $1 billion to buy medicines and vaccines for the national pharmaceutical stockpile, and federal agencies are gearing up to spend millions more on research related to infectious disease. In response, the pharmaceutical industry is assessing how these developments may alter the way it does business.
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PBM shares strategy behind Prozac switch success
November 1st 2001In less than 2 weeks after the launch of generic fluoxetine in August, Merck-Medco had switched 85% of its mail-order Prozac prescriptions to generic versions of the antidepressant. It says its generic switch rate for retail Prozac scripts was 69% over the same time period.
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Federal protocols plus local follow-through is key to hospitals' terrorism readiness, experts say
November 1st 2001The September 11 terrorist attacks and October's wave of anthrax cases have forced hospitals and health systems to examine their emergency preparedness from a new perspective. When it comes to planning for possible shortages of critical drugs and the need for biodefense, experts say the right mix of federal guidance and local implementation is key.
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Practice setting, other variables determine success of preferred drug sample closet
November 1st 2001Harvard Pilgrim HealthCare, Wellesley, MA-It's well accepted that the provision of drug samples influences physician prescribing practices. Annually, the pharmaceutical industry provides billions of dollars worth of drug samples to physicians' offices and studies have shown the effectiveness of sample medications in shaping physician prescribing patterns.
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Federal fraudbusters focus on drug pricing while quest for Rx discount card continues
November 1st 2001With the government spending billions to fight terrorism at home and abroad, federal investigators are looking closely at all health care programs for opportunities to stymie abuses and collect big penalties.
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