Category Archives: Pharmacy

PORTLAND, Ore. & ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regence Rx, Inc. and Catalyst Health Solutions, Inc., (NASDAQ: CHSI - News) today announced an agreement that establishes Catalyst Rx as the exclusive provider of pharmacy benefit management (PBM) services for Regence Rx. The agreement is expected to be effective May 1, 2012 and the initial term runs through December 31, 2017 with a four-year optional extension. Through this agreement, Regence Rx will carve out its operational functions, and transfer related people, technology, and internal client service assets to Catalyst for them to manage and operate. Regence Rx will continue to provide clinical and contracting support to its customers. Catalyst Rx is a full-service PBM that serves more than 18 million lives in the United States and Puerto Rico. This agreement will allow Regence Rx to leverage the scale and expertise of Catalyst Rx, one of the countrys fastest growing PBMs, and its national provider network as the two organizations partner to deliver more efficient pharmacy benefit programs and better clinical outcomes for clients and individuals throughout the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain State Regions. Regence Rx currently provides PBM services for more than 1.2 million members of Regence Health Plans and provides related services … Continue reading →

ALBURY man Joel Allan James Baskett was adamant during a bail application last year that police had the wrong man for breaking into a pharmacy to steal drugs. It was suggested by his solicitor that police should overlook the same modus operandi for three such offences along with closed circuit footage showing a distinctive crucifix tattoo on the back of his neck. That was combined with officers finding a large cache of prescription drugs at his East Albury residence when they went to arrest him. Baskett served 14 months in jail for the first two offences and committed the third just four days after his release. Solicitor Chris Murnane told Albury Local Court yesterday that Baskett was pleading guilty to the latest offence committed in September last year. Magistrate Tony Murray committed Baskett, 26, for sentence in the District Court sittings starting on April 30 and ordered a pre-sentence report with no application made for bail. Baskett was captured on closed circuit footage inside Fifields Pharmacy in Dean Street, Albury, about 2.17pm on September 14. He left after a short time and returned when it was closed about 9.27pm wearing a grey hooded top. Baskett used a metal rod to … Continue reading →

Q: I am a type 1 diabetic. Last year, I went to the hospital because I had ruptured a spinal disk. My wife and I gave my history and my current drug usage (which was in the hospital electronic medical record). During the week before and after back surgery, my blood sugars climbed as high as 700 mg/dl. Even through a Vicodin haze, I knew I wasn't getting enough insulin. I was finally admitted to the ICU for intensive insulin therapy. I later learned that on at least three days, my Levemir insulin injection was not given, and on the day of the surgery, no insulin at all was administered. My own physician found this care appalling. Another doctor said blood sugars that high could trigger stroke. I was astounded that the hospital said no mistakes were made. A: Errors in care during hospitalization are not rare. A study in 2010 showed that one in five hospital patients suffered harm, and 40 percent of the problems could have been avoided (New England Journal of Medicine, Nov. 25, 2010). A government study found 180,000 Medicare patients die each year because of health care gone awry (Health and Human Services, November 2010). … Continue reading →

LONGMONT -- In just a few days, Longmont and Boulder County will be losing the only 24-hour pharmacy in this area. Starting Wednesday, the Walgreens at 11th Avenue and Main Street will cut its pharmacy hours back to match the other four Walgreens in the city. The closest Walgreens that will offer a 24-hour pharmacy are in Thornton, at 4001 E. 120th Ave., and in Fort Collins, at 2190 W. Drake Road. The Walgreens in Loveland at 205 E. Eisenhower Blvd. also is ending its 24-hour pharmacy operations next week. "(The decision) was based on seasonal business changes, implementation of a new staffing model and also (Walgreens) no longer being part of the Express Scripts pharmacy network," spokeswoman Vivika Panagiotakakos said by phone this week from Walgreens' corporate headquarters in Deerfield, Ill., just outside Chicago. She said discussions of limiting pharmacy hours at certain stores began months ago, but the company had taken steps in the interim to reduce expenses without cutting pharmacy hours. Those steps included implementing a hiring freeze at the company's headquarters, instituting new hiring guidelines for its stores nationwide and finding other ways to cut costs. "We tried to take these proactive measures first to help … Continue reading →

The only nonhospital pharmacy that offers 24-hour service in Loveland will cut back its hours next week. The Walgreens at 205 E. Eisenhower Blvd. had operated a 24-hour pharmacy since it opened in 2001, according to store manager Amy Cornell, but it will reduce those hours next Wednesday. The new pharmacy hours will be 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. The rest of the store will remain open 24 hours a day. After the change, the closest 24-hour pharmacies will be in Fort Collins, at 2190 W. Drake Road, and Greeley, at 3700 W. 10th St., Cornell said. The only 24-hour pharmacy in Boulder County, the Longmont Walgreens at 11th Avenue and Main Street, also will cut its pharmacy hours. "(The decision) was based on seasonal business changes, implementation of a new staffing model and also (Walgreens) no longer being part of the Express Scripts pharmacy network," spokeswoman Vivika Panagiotakakos said by phone this week from Walgreens' corporate headquarters in Deerfield, Ill., just outside Chicago. She said discussions of limiting pharmacy hours at certain stores began months ago, but the company had taken steps in … Continue reading →

irishtimes.com - Last Updated: Thursday, March 15, 2012, 16:12 CIARA O'BRIEN Pharmacy group McSweeney is to come out of examinership at the end of the month. The High Court approved the scheme of arrangement proposed by the examiner to McSweeney Retail Pharmacy Group. The group employs 95 staff across eight retail pharmacies, six in the west and south and two in Dublin. It will remain under court protection until noon on March 28th, when it officially emerges from examinership. An examiner was appointed to the group late last year after the chain sought court protection from its creditors. The group had debts of about 17 million, owing about 13 million to AIB. The bank had opposed the examinership, seeking instead to have a receiver appointed to the group. Its Northern Ireland pharmacies, which were trading profitably, were unaffected by the move. The group said it will plans to develop and expand its services, adding a number of medical centres in the future. Read more here: McSweeny pharmacy group to exit examinership … Continue reading →

Pharmacy manager Corinne Nightingale, Ryan Wilcox, Tom Hammill, Practice manager Annette Johnson By Simon Wesson, Reporter Wednesday, March 14, 2012 4:07 PM A PHARMACY that offers a smoking cessation service has put its weight behind No Smoking Day. To send a link to this page to a friend, simply enter their email address below. The message will include the name and email address you gave us when you signed up. Send link To send a link to this page to a friend, you must be logged in. The Bridge Cottage Pharmacy, which was set up next to the Bridge Cottage Surgery in Welwyn last year, sent a man dressed up as cigarette on High Street to promote the event earlier today (Wednesday). A spokeswoman said: The pharmacy now offers a smoking cessation service to the general public, together with many other beneficial services. We have fully qualified staff with all the latest treatments on offer. We are open from 7am until 10pm every weekday for appointments. The pharmacy is open to all members of the general public. You do not have to be a patient at Bridge Cottage to take advantage of our 100hr pharmacy either. Read the original: Welwyn … Continue reading →

13-03-2012 09:12 The Oklahoma County district attorney is getting involved with an investigation into Reliable Pharmacy. KOCO Eyewitness News 5's Michael Seiden has the story. See the original post here: Federal Authorities Investigating OKC Pharmacy - Video … Continue reading →

Wilmette, Ill. - A man who dressed up as an elderly woman robbed a north suburban pharmacy at gunpoint Monday afternoon, getting away with nearly $2,000 in narcotics. The man entered Parkway Drugs/Walgreens at 333 Ridge Rd. in Wilmette about 2 p.m., wearing a gray wig, white painters cap, a black shin-length skirt, and a black bandanna over his face, according to a release from Wilmette police. A pharmacy employee told police the man displayed what appeared to be a black pistol and demanded a narcotic drug, the release said. He then went behind the counter, took about $1,860 worth of hydrocodone pills and ran out of the store. Police said the man was last seen walking south from the pharmacy. He is believed to be in his late 30s to early 40s, 6 feet to 6-foot-2 with a medium build. He also wore a cream colored jacket, large black slip-on shoes or sandals, black gloves and sunglasses. Anyone with information should call police at (847) 256-1200. More here: Man Dressed as Old Woman Robbed Pharmacy … Continue reading →

Newswise UCSFs School of Pharmacy ranked first in its field this year, while its School of Medicine tied for third place nationwide, according to a new survey conducted by U.S. News & World Report. Results are published in the magazines 2013 issue of Americas Best Graduate Schools, which appeared online today at http://www.usnews.com and will be available on newsstands on April 3. The survey ranks medical schools according to the quality of training in both research and primary care. The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has the only school of medicine in the nation that ranks in the top five in both categories a tie for third place in primary care, alongside Oregon Health and Science University, and fifth place for research. The new report also includes last years rankings for schools of nursing, in which UCSF ranked fourth overall and first in training family nurse practitioners and clinical nurses in medical/surgical and psychiatric specialties. U.S. News does not rank dentistry schools. Students in the health science professions are entering a world of tremendous change and opportunity, ranging from our growing understanding of the molecular basis of disease to team-based health clinics, said UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH. … Continue reading →