Category Archives: Pharmacy

NASHVILLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- HealthLeaders-InterStudy, the leading provider of managed care market intelligence, has enhanced its Pharmacy Benefit Evaluator, a Web-based product that analyzes health plan pharmacy benefit structure and spending. Now available with a 10-report Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) series, the Pharmacy Benefit Evaluator platform is a vital tool for managed care sales teams as it provides clarity into the pharmacy benefit manager book of business. Pharmacy Benefit Evaluator delivers comprehensive data on managed care pharmacy purchasing including: Previously, HLI only offered intelligence of PBMs through a database platform. The PBM profiles will be updated throughout the year, capturing the latest developments among the profiled pharmacy benefit managers. In addition to key market events, the reports will also include competitive analysis, markets covered, and products and services offered by each company. The PBM industry represents a large and growing segment of healthcare. Because of the move by many employers to self-insurance, the PBM space will be even more influential, said Carolyn McMeekin, principal director of managed markets analysis for HealthLeaders-InterStudy. The enhancements to the Pharmacy Benefit Evaluator provide users a one-stop source for data and analysis of this important industry. The Pharmacy Benefit Manager reports will include the following companies: About … Continue reading →

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -03/04/12)- With Pharmacy Awareness Week(1) kicking off, a new Nielsen survey commissioned by the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores (CACDS) highlights that patients from coast to coast are tapping into the health-care knowledge, expertise and services available at their local pharmacy. In fact, 72% of almost 6,000 respondents indicated that they have talked to their pharmacist about health issues, beyond their prescribed medication.(2) "Pharmacists are highly trained health-care professionals whose expertise is still under-utilized by our health-care system in Canada, and indeed around the world. That's all starting to change," explains Nadine Saby, CACDS President and Chief Executive Officer. "Governments recognize the valuable role pharmacy plays in ensuring patients get the right medication and are able to take it correctly. Now, by enabling and providing funding for new services like medication reviews, injections and immunizations, and prescription renewals without a doctor's visit, patients are reaping the benefits in more convenient and timely access to professional health advice and guidance," says Saby. It's no longer enough for a pharmacy to be a place where medication and advice are dispensed - 96% of respondents surveyed believe that it's important for their pharmacist to play an increased role and work … Continue reading →

EDWARDS, Colorado Opening a small shop takes a lot of work if you're in the pharmacy business the paperwork alone could fill a phone booth. For the past nine months or so, Larry Nisonoff and Kent and Courtney Lambrecht have spent most of their waking hours working to open the new Vail Valley Pharmacy. Besides finding financing and working through the piles of paperwork required to sell controlled substances, the partners also have been on a mission to put as many local residents to work as possible. That mission was a success. Nisonoff, the managing partner in the business, said more than 95 percent of the work done on the new pharmacy space near the Gore Range Brewery was performed by local companies and their employees. A lot of those people are former pharmacy clients of Nisonoff and the Lambrechts. Nisonoff and Courtney Lambrecht are veterans of the City Market pharmacy in Vail, while Kent Lambrecht worked at the City Market pharmacy in Eagle. Thanks to those connections, the three knew just about everybody who walked through the doors. With the pharmacy just about ready to open, the result of all that work is a combination of warm, dark wood … Continue reading →

Published: March. 4, 2012 at 7:49 PM CHATHAM, N.J., March 4 (UPI) -- Some Chatham, N.J., parents say when they picked up a prescription from a CVS pharmacy for fluoride pills, they were accidentally given a powerful cancer drug. The fluoride pills, meant for children's teeth, were switched for tamoxifen, a medication used to treat breast cancer. The mix-up went unnoticed for at least two months. ABC News reported area parents are outraged and concerned, though no illnesses have been reported as a result of the swapped pills. The number of families affected wasn't reported. CVS issued a statement saying it is investigating the mistake. "Beginning last week, we have contacted or have left messages for every family whose child was dispensed a 0.5 mg fluoride prescription from our Chatham location within the past 60 days," the company's statement said. "Fortunately, most of the families we have spoken to did not indicate that their children received any incorrect pills. We will continue to follow up with families who believe that their children may have ingested incorrect medication." See original here: Pharmacy mix-up gave kids cancer meds … Continue reading →

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Children who may have taken breast cancer treatment medication mistakenly distributed by a New Jersey pharmacy instead of prescribed fluoride pills likely won't suffer any health problems, a pharmaceutical expert said Saturday. CVS Caremark officials say only a few children ingested pills for breast cancer treatment that they mistakenly received, and company investigators are still working to determine how and why the errors occurred at the pharmacy in Chatham. The pharmacy has acknowledged improperly dispensing Tamoxifen instead of chewable fluoride tablets to children in as many as 50 families between Dec. 1 and Feb. 20. "Fortunately, it's very unlikely that this specific drug would cause any serious or adverse effects when used for only a short periods of time," said Daniel Hussar, a professor with the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy at the University of the Sciences. CVS said it had spoken with or left messages for every family whose child was dispensed a 0.5 mg fluoride prescription from its Chatham location within the past 60 days. The company issued a statement Friday that said it was "deeply sorry for the mistake that occurred," although it did not explain how the mistake happened. Mike DeAngelis, CVS Caremark's … Continue reading →

Inaugural ETSU pharmacy school class dons white coats Published January 8th, 2007 10:57 pm The ETSU College of Pharmacy's inaugural class of 72 put on white coats for Monday's ceremony. Photo by Tony Duncan. JOHNSON CITY - Being the first East Tennessee State University pharmacy student to don a white coat may have been the luck of the alphabet, but Sarah Adams was proud to be first in line Monday. "It's just a very big honor," Adams said after the ceremony recognizing the new ETSU College of Pharmacy's official opening at the D.P. Culp University Center. "Words can't describe it. They really can't. It's just unbelievable." The former high school biology teacher was one of 72 students to put on the coats symbolizing their status as members of the school's inaugural class. A Kingsport native, Adams set out to make the career change after Gov. Phil Bredesen pledged his support for ETSU's pharmacy school proposal on March 17, 2005. "When the governor came to make the announcement a couple of years ago, that's when I saw it on the news, and I was really excited about it," Adams said. "I think it's a wonderful opportunity for everybody in this area … Continue reading →

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- A CVS pharmacy in northeastern New Jersey mistakenly distributed pills for the treatment of breast cancer to children instead of the fluoride pills that were prescribed, company and state officials said Friday. CVS Caremark said in a statement that it is "deeply sorry for the mistake that occurred" at its Chatham, N.J. pharmacy. The company did not explain how the mistake happened. There has been no report of injury. New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa said in an administrative order Friday that the pharmacy acknowledged that it improperly dispensed the breast cancer fighting drug Tamoxifen instead chewable fluoride tablets to children in as many as 50 families between Dec. 1, 2011 and Feb. 20. Fluoride helps prevent tooth decay and is usually prescribed by dentists for children. Tamoxifen is used to treat breast cancer in men and women and blocks the female hormone estrogen. Mike DeAngelis, CVS's director of public relations, said in a statement that the company had contacted or left messages for every family whose child was dispensed a 0.5 mg fluoride prescription in the previous 60 days. He says that "most of the families we have spoken to did not indicate that … Continue reading →

Stolen medicine valued at $670 PORTSMOUTH A local pharmacy student used his position as a drug store employee to steal prescription drugs, police allege. Facing two criminal charges, one of them a felony, is James Henschke, 23, of 851 Ocean Blvd., Rye. Henschke allegedly was in possession of a bottle of alprazolam (Xanax) without a prescription and he's also charged with a misdemeanor alleging he stole the pills from a Lafayette Road drug store. According to an affidavit by detective Robert Munson, Henschke was working at the drug store when a co-worker reportedly saw him steal a bottle containing 100 2mg tablets of the prescription drug. When confronted, Henschke put a confession in writing and also admitted to stealing Suboxone and clonazepam during a two-year period, the detective's affidavit states. The pharmacy estimated the value of the stolen drugs at $670.96, according to police. In his report to the Portsmouth court, Munson said he gave Henschke a ride to a Portsmouth home at which he was staying at the time of the alleged Jan. 14 theft, and Henschke led him to a duffle bag containing a stolen bottle of alprazolam with half the pills missing. Henschke admitted he'd taken four … Continue reading →

The former owners of three pharmacies in San Diego have agreed to pay $1.25 millionfor having allowed their employees to illegally sell tens of thousands of tablets of the highly addictive prescription painkillers OxyContin and Vicodin, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Brothers Fadi and Ramsey Atiyaand their uncle Akram "Max" Atiya also were required to sell the pharmacies -- Galloway Pharmacy, Park Boulevard Pharmacy and White Cross Pharmacy -- as part of the settlement with the U.S. attorney's office in San Diego. The Atiyas alsorelinquished their Drug Enforcement Administrationregistration to sell controlled substances. The government alleged that the Atiyas kept such sloppy records that employees were able to order massive amounts of the painkillers and them sell them on the black market. Several employees have been convicted of drug charges. U.S. Atty. Laura Duffy said that "abuse of powerful and highly addictive controlled substances is a growing problem in our community. This office will not tolerate cavalier treatment of painkiller inventories." ALSO: SWAT team shoots gunman in bank, rescues hostage Student protests remain calm, focused on budget cuts Andrew Breitbart rebelled against Westside liberals, Limbaugh says -- Tony Perry in San Diego View original post here: Ex-pharmacy owners to pay $1.25 … Continue reading →

PORTSMOUTH A local pharmacy student used his position as a drug store employee to steal prescription drugs, police allege. Now facing two criminal charges, one of them a felony, is James Henschke, 23, of 851 Ocean Blvd., Rye. The felony alleges Henschke was in possession of a bottle of Alprzolam (Xanax) without a prescription and he's also charged with a misdemeanor alleging he stole the pills from a Lafayette Road drug store. According to an affidavit by detective Robert Munson, Henschke was working at the drug store when a coworker saw him steal a bottle containing 100 2mg tablets of the prescription drug. When confronted, Henschke put a confession in writing and also admitted to stealing the Suboxone and Clonazepam during a two-year period, the detective's affidavit states. The pharmacy estimated the value of the stolen drugs at $670.96, according to police. In his report to the Portsmouth court, Munson said he gave Henschke a ride to a Portsmouth home where he was staying at the time of the alleged Jan. 14 theft and Henschke led him to a duffle bag containing a stolen bottle of Alprzolam with half the pills missing. Henschke admitted he'd taken four of the pills, … Continue reading →