Category Archives: Pharmacy

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) will honor Mary Lynn McPherson, Pharm.D., BCPS, CPE, professor and vice-chair for academic affairs in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, for her excellence as a teacher, her outstanding achievements as a researcher and scholar, and her overall impact on pharmacy education and the profession. She will receive the Robert K. Chalmers Distinguished Pharmacy Educator Award on July 14 during the Opening General Session at the AACP Annual Meeting, Pharmacy Education 2013, in Chicago, Illinois. With so many exceptional pharmacy educators in the United States, I am especially honored and humbled to have been chosen for this prestigious award, said McPherson. I am passionate about working with my colleagues to prepare student pharmacists not only for graduation but for the impact they surely will make in whatever paths they choose for their pharmacy careers. Over the course of her 26-year career, McPherson has amassed an accomplished teaching portfolio and a highly-regarded reputation among Marylands students and faculty. She has led the development and/or redesign of many courses in the schools curriculum, using cutting-edge instructional methods to effectively teach courses such … Continue reading →

FRISCO, Texas, April 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Assured Pharmacy (APHY:OTC Markets), a leading specialty pharmacy group providing prescription medications to sufferers of chronic pain, released its 2013 shareholder letter. Dear Shareholders, Every day, prescription pain medications play a role in improving quality of life for the 75 million people who suffer from chronic pain in the US. With the population aging, cancer incidence increasing and the number of surgeries performed growing, that number is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. The growth of the pain-management market has created opportunities for patients, physicians and the healthcare industry alike, but it has also created challenges: according to the Centers for Disease Control, the illegal use and abuse of controlled medications is an epidemic in the United States. With the global pain management market expected to reach $60 billion in 2015, the safe and efficient distribution of controlled substances will be crucial to maximizing benefits to patients and physicians, while minimizing the challenges and risks. A pharmacy that specializes in the safe distribution of controlled medications with more than eight years of service to patients, physicians and major drug distributors, Assured Pharmacy is more committed than ever to being the leader … Continue reading →

PLAINSBORO, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pharmacy Times has launched a new series, Directions in Pharmacy, that focuses on navigating health care reform as provisions of the Affordable Care Act are integrated into health plans nationwide. The first of this four-part series debuts this month and provides a road map for pharmacists to follow as the industry rapidly and drastically evolves. The series will reach approximately 25,000 pharmacy owners and managers, chain headquarters personnel, health-system pharmacy directors, managed-care directors, and formulary managers. This series was designed to help everyone who works in pharmacy to better understand the nature and magnitude of the changes underway in the health care system, said Troy Trygstad, PharmD, Ph.D., MBA, co-editor of the series. We hope that our in-depth coverage helps the industry prepare to adapt. The April 2013 issue of Directions in Pharmacy features an in-depth look at the tenets of health care reform that will affect every pharmacist, including increased accountability, a growing focus on prevention, and reduced cost shifting. Future editions will focus on other areas, such as the coordination of care, health care costs, and how technology is changing the way patients interact with their health care teams. The group of experts who provide … Continue reading →

The Ontario College of Pharmacists is taking action to try to prevent future problems in preparing chemotherapy. The move comes after patients in the Ontario communities of Oshawa, Peterborough, London and Windsor, as well as in Saint John, N.B., were given lower than intended doses of the chemotherapy drugs cyclophosphamide and gemcitabine. Too much saline was in the IV chemotherapy bags, overdiluting them by between three and 20 per cent, according to Cancer Care Ontario. The college, Health Canada, Ontario and New Brunswick's health ministries, and an independent investigator are all checking into how patients received overdiluted chemotherapy. The Hamilton, Ont.-based owner of Marchese Hospital Solutions, which provided the drugs, has said the problem occurred in how the intravenous bags of chemotherapy were administered at the five hospitals, not in how they were prepared at the company's Mississauga facility. So far, health officials have found an oversight gap when chemotherapy is prepared outside of a hospital or an accredited pharmacy. On Monday, Ontario College of Pharmacists spokeswoman Lori DeCou said the college is drafting regulations to help close that gap in regulatory oversight. "We are in the final stages of developing a draft regulation for provincial government consideration," DeCou said. … Continue reading →

Greensboro, N.C. -- A place many people have relied on for decades is closing Monday. It's a place where the employees know your name. It's a place where they help you with your problems. No, it's not a local restaurant. It's a pharmacy. Burton's Pharmacy in downtown Greensboro is closing after being in business for more than thirty years. Although customers are saying good-bye, the owner and many of the workers will still be able to serve the same customers, just in a different way. Burton not only put his name on his pharmacy, he put his heart into it. "It's been a wonderful ride. I have enjoyed every minute of it. Being downtown and being part of the downtown scene," Burton said. Customer Rochelle Baxter said, "It feels like you're losing a friend. You might not seem 'em again." Another long-time customer, Bud Lauder, added, "I walk in the door and they say, 'Hey, Bud. How's everything going?' That's something you don't get in other stores." Burton decided to sell the business for one key reason. "The paperwork. The administrative end of it. The Medicare regulations and everything else are just so over burdensome, I'm ready to just go … Continue reading →

By Sakini Mohd Said KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 (Bernama) -- An increasing number of young people are choosing to further their studies in the line of pharmacy these days. This probably stems from the level of confidence they have towards career prospects in the field, which has also indirectly increased the number of places offered by both private and public universities for pharmacy studies. On one hand, this could be viewed as positive news because it will produce more pharmacists who would beef up the profession. On the other hand, however, this development, which is something to be proud of, could, without any warning, bring about the problem of a glut of pharmacy graduates in the perceived popular sectors. Among the reasons for such a possible scenario is the very attitude of a majority of the pharmacy graduates themselves, said an industry player. For them, the sectors to focus on to get employment are the hospital pharmacies, government clinics, academia and the National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau. Due to negative assumptions within the community, the picture drawn is that there is a limited scope of career fields for people in the profession. However, the career possibilities in the world of pharmacy, … Continue reading →

Tuesday April 23, 2013 BRATTLEBORO -- A former Hotel Pharmacy employee will serve time in federal prison for stealing tens of thousands of prescription-painkiller tablets and then shipping the pills across the country for resale. Moments before he was sentenced to spend a year and a day behind bars and to pay $8,500 in restitution, Joshua Bozetarnik apologized for what the Elliot Street pharmacys owner had described as "devastating" thefts. "Im truly sorry for what I did to all of you," Bozetarnik said. "I broke your trust. I wish I could take it back." Bozetarnik, 29, last year pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Brattleboro to conspiracy to distribute hydrocodone. The crimes happened in 2006 and 2007 while Bozetarnik had been working as a pharmacy technician at Hotel Pharmacy. Prosecutors said Bozetarnik stole the painkillers from his employer and sent them to a woman in Arizona. Both then profited from the pills illegal resale. The extent of Bozetarniks thefts remains unclear, with previous estimates having ranged from 10,000 to 80,000 pills. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Drescher said Mondays court sentencing was based on a quantity of 20,000 to 40,000 pills. "This man had easy access to controlled substances that … Continue reading →

A Florida-based compounding pharmacy is voluntarily recalling all lots of its sterile non-expired drug products sold nationwide over concerns that the products may contain bacteria, federal regulators said Sunday. The Food and Drug Administration asked hospitals and other health-care providers who received sterile products, including all injectables, from Balanced Solutions Compounding Pharmacy, a division of Axium Healthcare Pharmacy of Lake Mary, Fla., to immediately check their medical supplies, quarantine the products and follow the companys recall instructions. Patients who were administered any sterile drug products made and distributed by Balanced Solutions should contact their health-care providers. Officials are not aware of any illnesses, an agency spokesman said. The company, which says it is licensed to operate in all 50 states, posted the recall on its Web site but did not say how many products are affected. The pharmacy is one of 30 compounding pharmacies those that custom mix medication for individual patients that the FDA inspected between February and April, part of a targeted action after inspectors found filthy conditions at the New England Compounding Center, the Massachusetts pharmacy in the middle of last falls fungal meningitis outbreak. Tainted steroid shots made by NECC have killed 53 people. Federal inspectors … Continue reading →

TAMPA, Fla., April 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Comprehensive Care Corporation ("CompCare" or the "Company") (OTC BB; CHCR), a leading behavioral health, substance abuse and pharmacy management provider for employers, Taft-Hartley health and welfare Funds, and managed care companies announced today that it has entered into a formal consulting agreement with HMC HealthWorks (HMC). Under the terms of the agreement, HMC will provide strategic consulting support for CompCare's "at-risk" Pharmacy Savings Program, focusing on its integration with care management and wellness programs. CompCare guarantees that its 'at-risk' Pharmacy Savings Program will reduce its clients pharmacy costs by 10% or more. This guarantee is backed by a surety-issued Performance Bond for the full amount of the targeted savings. These savings result from a newly designed pharmacy cost containment delivery program that immediately lowers the overall pharmacy costs. However, the program will not restrict access to needed medications and, in fact, is expected to promote greater medication adherence. The goal is to improve the overall health of CompCare's client's members. "Contracting with HMC led by its founder, Dr. Janis DiMonaco, is a significant step for the Company in furthering, for CompCare's clients, a wellness program. Dr. DiMonaco is one of this nation's leading … Continue reading →

HILO The University of Hawaiis Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy came up short this week when the schools lack of permanent facilities cost it points in an accreditation evaluation. Visiting the Hilo campus on Monday and Tuesday, the evaluation team sent by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education found the college to be lacking when it came to providing physical facilities. Currently, pharmacy students are spread out at various locations around Hilo, including in temporary trailer classrooms off Komohana Street. Of the 30 standards that comprise ACPE Standards 2007, the evaluation team found that the College was in compliance with all but one, wrote evaluation consultant Max D. Ray in a preliminary summary of findings following the visit. With respect to Standard 27 (physical facilities), the team found the college to be noncompliant. The University is currently working with the Legislature to procure the $38 million in funding it needs for a permanent building. The state Senate has funded the project in its version of the state budget, but the state House of Representatives dropped a line item for the college from its version about halfway through the current session. The currently Legislative session will come to a close … Continue reading →