Category Archives: Pharmacy

Target and Costco were among those community pharmacy leaders recognized by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Foundation during the associations recent 2012 NACDS Pharmacy and Technology Conference. The awards in the form of donations made in the name of honorees to help advance NACDS Foundation initiatives -- recognize forward-thinking leaders who have shown a commitment to cultivating the future and the present of healthcare in community pharmacy. The Foundation also recognized pharmacy educators who have made significant contributions to patient care in the community pharmacy setting. The NACDS Foundation, along with our generous donors, recognizes those individuals who, day-to-day, are committed to improving pharmacy education, patient care and healthcare delivery in their communities, said Kathleen Jaeger, NACDS Foundation president. We are honored to recognize these distinguished award recipients, and to support programs that will foster the next generation of patient care. The award recipients were: John Holcomb, Target Corp. VP, healthcare operations: IMS HEALTH awarded the IMS HEALTH Pharmacy Partnership Award to Holcomb, and a contribution of $10,000 was made in Holcombs honor to the NACDS Foundation. The award recognizes a leader who values the importance of data in fact-based communication and will support Foundation efforts to … Continue reading →

Aug. 27, 2012, midnight Emma Heazlewood FROM a record number of entries, Terry White Chemists pharmacy assistant Emma Heazlewood has taken top honours being named the Tasmanian Pharmacy Assistant of the Year. Mrs Heazlewood was among 12 finalists to be grilled by judges in Hobart on their industry knowledge and experience, leadership skills and product knowledge. "It was very nerve-racking," she said. It was Mrs Heazlewood's first nomination in the prestigious Pharmacy Guild of Australia/GSK National Pharmacy Assistant of the Year awards and she did not disappoint, wowing the panel of judges. Mrs Heazlewood has been working at Terry White Chemists in the Fourways for two years and now manages 50 staff after starting out as a junior at West Side Pharmacy in Ulverstone where she spent 11 years learning all aspects of the pharmaceutical business. "I've always been interested in advising people on health care, it just seemed a natural thing after I left school," she said. "I've been lucky, it's a really rewarding career. There's lots of different areas you can take it. I love being part of the team here the staff and customers all make it a really great work environment." Mrs Heazlewood is currently completing … Continue reading →

Q: Years ago, I heard you on the radio praising the benefits of coffee. You made an exception for French press coffee, though. I never understood why this would pose a problem when regular coffee doesn't. I really like French press coffee, but I wonder if it could do me harm. A: Research during the past decade suggests that coffee drinkers are less likely to be diagnosed with heart failure (Circulation: Heart Failure online, June 26, 2012) or develop type 2 diabetes (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, April 2010). Regular coffee consumption also seems to delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease (Journal of Alzheimer's disease online, June 5, 2012) and may help to protect against prostate and uterine cancers (Journal of National Cancer Institute online, May 17, 2011; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention online, Nov. 22, 2011). The problem with French press and other types of unfiltered coffee techniques lies with blood lipids. Compounds from coffee can raise total cholesterol, triglycerides and bad LDL cholesterol (European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, August 2012). The culprits are in coffee oils that get trapped by filters, so people drinking filtered coffee should get the benefits without the higher cholesterol. Q: Three times I … Continue reading →

Chris Venier joined the family business when he was 12 years old, manning the soda fountain at Theatre Pharmacy. Some 60 years later, Venier, 72, owns the pharmacy, which has been a fixture in Lexington Center for nearly eight decades. Veniers father, Ed, opened the store in 1935 with the help of Lexingtonian Jackie Ray. Jack was what you might call the front store guy, who knew everybody in town, Venier said. The pharmacy operated a soda shop, which provided the young Venier with his first job. My first job was scraping gum from underneath the soda fountain, then I graduated to actually working behind the soda fountain, he joked. He became a full-time pharmacist in 1962, working alongside his father. Theatre Pharmacy was originally located adjacent to a vaudeville theater (now the Lexington Venue). Venier said the pharmacy would open from 7 a.m. until as late as 11 p.m. to catch the theatergoers for soda and ice cream. In 1950, with the business growing, Veniers father decided to move the store to a bigger location (now Signature Stationers) on the other side of the theater. The store became more successful in the second location because it was one of … Continue reading →

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- On August 20, 2012, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) announced that it acquired MOMS Pharmacy, a specialty pharmacy focused exclusively on providing medications and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS. AHF is the largest non-profit provider of HIV/AIDS medical care in the United States, operating pharmacies and healthcare centers throughout the country. According to Senior Director Jonathan Petrus, who managed the transaction for AHF, The acquisition of MOMS Pharmacy bolsters our growth in the HIV/AIDS specialty pharmacy space while allowing us to expand our core mission of providing medical services to patients regardless of their ability to pay to new geographic regions. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Led by partner Stephen Phillips, Hooper, Lundy & Bookman provided legal advice to AHF. Pierre Zamorano, Managing Director at Gerken Capital Associates, served as financial advisor. AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF)is the largest global AIDS organization. AHF currently provides medical care and/or services to more than 176,000 individuals in 27 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. http://www.aidshealth.org See more here: AHF Expands HIV/AIDS Specialty Pharmacy Business With Acquisition of MOMS Pharmacy … Continue reading →

FLINT, Mich., Aug. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy announced today that, for the fourth consecutive year, they earned a position on Inc. magazine's exclusive, annual ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America. "We're proud to be recognized by Inc. again this year, earning a position of 1585 in the nation, but if you dig a little deeper into Inc.'s numbers, the details are even more remarkable," stated Phil Hagerman, CEO of Diplomat, referring to the facts that Diplomat: "To be honored this year is a particularly notable achievement," said Ed Schurenberg, Editor in Chief of Inc. magazine. "To rank among the 2012 Inc. 5000, [Diplomat] had to thrive through three of the toughest years this economy has seen in living memory. [Diplomat's] success in such times is eloquent testimony to their team's creativity, resilience and tenacity. Now, more than ever, we depend on Inc. 500/5000 companies to spur innovation, provide jobs, and drive the economy forward. Growth companies, not large corporations, are where the action is." "Despite our unprecedented growth over the years, we've continued to stay dedicated to our patient focused model and achieved a 98% customer satisfaction response from our 2012 patient satisfaction survey. We could … Continue reading →

DENVER-A well established neighborhood pharmacy has been slapped with an $87,500 fine for not keeping good records of highly addictive prescription drugs, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Colorado. Cornell Pharmacy was the focus of a Drug Enforcement Agency investigation. According to U.S. Attorney John Walsh, the pharmacy failed to maintain complete and accurate records and failed to report suspicious orders. The investigation found over 200 violations of the law, according to Walsh's office. Not only will Cornell have to pay the $87,500 civil penalty as part of a settlement agreement with the government, it also has agreed to hire a compliance officer, to participate in stricter records keeping and reporting to the DEA. In a statement to 9Wants to Know Cornell Pharmacy did not admit liability: Cornell Pharmacy today reached final agreement ending a DEA investigation of Cornell resulting from a review of pharmacy records. The DEA alleged only violations of rules regarding the location of a locked cabinet containing controlled substances in the pharmacy and various rules regarding record keeping. Cornell Pharmacy believes that no controlled substances fell into improper hands although some controlled substances were sent to a doctor who had retired and had not submitted … Continue reading →

DEARBORN HEIGHTS Three men broke into Family Center Pharmacy and stole Vicodin, Xanax and cough syrup with codeine Friday morning. Police responded to a burglar alarm at the pharmacy, 4245 S. Beech Daly Road between Colgate and Stanford, at about 6:30 a.m. and found that the front outer glass door was pried open and that the inner door was smashed. The wooden door leading to the pharmacy was kicked in. A witness told police that he saw a black man pacing in front of the building and two black men leaving the building. The three ran north to Stanford and east on the neighborhood street, where they got into an dark Lincoln Mark VIII and drove west. Surveillance video showed two of the men pry open the outer door and try to pry open the inner door, but the glass shattered. The third man appeared on the video between the outer and inner doors. Both of the men who entered the pharmacy looked right at a surveillance camera. The pharmacys owner said she would give the security tape to police. Contact Staff Writer Joe Slezak at 1-734-246-0835 or jslezak@heritage.com. Follow him on Twitter @ JoeSlezak1. Police responded to a burglar … Continue reading →

DURHAM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Parata Systems and Pharmacy Times are pleased to announce the finalists for the 2012 Next-Generation Pharmacist awards, a national program honoring pharmacists who define the future of the industry. Now in its third year, the Next-Generation Pharmacist awards recognize pharmacy leaders across a wide range of practice settings; this year the program attracted more than 375 entries from 41 states. Nominations are received across 10 award categories, and all entries are reviewed by an independent panel of esteemed judges, chaired by Pharmacy Times editor-in-chief Fred M. Eckel, RPh, MS. Three finalists are selected in each category, and this year 30 pharmacists, technicians and student pharmacists will be recognized at the 2012 awards event. These honorees represent a true cross-section of the industryfrom large chain retailers and independent pharmacies, to military bases in the U.S. and overseas, as well as health clinics and educational institutions. This years finalists come from 16 states in addition to the U.S. Navy base in Guam. The winner for each category will be announced at the 2012 Next-Generation Pharmacist awards event, which will be held at the San Diego Zoo on Monday, Oct. 15, concurrent with the National Community Pharmacists Association annual convention. … Continue reading →

RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- DARA BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: DARA), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of oncology treatment and supportive care products, announced today the appointment ofTimothy J. Heady to the DARA board of directors. The appointment is the second new board member DARA has announced over the past two months and brings the total number of directors to six. Mr. Heady retired in 2011 as CEO of UnitedHealthcare Pharmacy, a unit of UnitedHealthcare (UNH) representing more than $11 Billion in annual prescription drug spending. In that role, he was responsible for all aspects of the business, including pharmaceutical rebate contracting, retail pharmacy network development, customer and member services, operations, and financial performance. UnitedHealthcare Pharmacy provides pharmacy benefits and management for employers, both commercial and government, representing more than 14 million individuals. Prior to joining UnitedHealthcare in 2001, Mr. Heady was a senior executive with Searle/Pharmacia where he managed the Customer Operations unit, including national customer sales and marketing. Mr. Heady served on the board of directors for the Center for Diagnostic Imaging, Inc., a privately held radiology business based in Minnesota. He has also served on the board for Age Wave Impact, Inc., a full-service marketing … Continue reading →