Federal Pharmacy Technician Act proposed
February 29, 2008
U.S. Reps. Steven C. LaTourette (R-OH) and Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA) have introduced sweeping federal legislation that will mandate training, education, registration and certification requirements for pharmacy technicians nationwide.
The Pharmacy Technician Training and Registration Act of 2008, or Emily’s Act, is named after 2-year-old Emily Jerry of Concord Township, OH, who died on March 1, 2006, after a pharmacy technician botched her chemotherapy dose. Read more
Training standards on all pharmacy technicians
February 25, 2008
On Tuesday, a House bill that would set mandatory education, training and regulatory standards for all pharmacy technicians, is scheduled to be introduced by Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio. He calls it Emily’s Act.
Named for Emily Jerry, a 2 year old girl who died after a technician prepared her chemotherapy drug with a saline solution 26 times above normal.
His bill would make federal grants available to states that require all technicians Read more
2007’s top drugs by units
February 20, 2008
Drug Topics and Verispan have released a list of the top prescribed brand and generic drugs, by unit.
Topping the generic list: Hydrocodone/APAP, Lisinopril, and Amoxicillin.
The top brand name drugs were Lipitor, Singulair, and Lexapro.
To view the full listing of generics, Click Here. And for Brands, Click Here.
Walgreens CE
February 18, 2008
Pharmacy Tech C.E. offerd through MyWalgreensCE.com titled “Medication-Related Impaired Driving: For Pharmacy Technicians”.
Registration with name and e-mail are required to take this exam.
For more information, view the PDF by clicking here. The test is open only to the first 500 techs that take the exam.
E-Prescribing not 100% accurate
February 18, 2008
The Ohio pharmacy board is investigating errors in medical prescriptions filed electronically by doctors.
Incorrect drug names, doses and directions are appearing in Ohio pharmacists’ computer systems, either because of human error, software glitches or both.
The Ohio State Board of Pharmacy began urging doctors in 2000 to switch from handwriting prescriptions to e-prescribing so pharmacists wouldn’t have to decipher sloppy penmanship. Ohio authorizes the use of 37 electronic prescription software programs. Read more
Fentanyl patches recalled
February 17, 2008
PriCara is recalling certain pain patches with an expiration date on or before December 2009. The recall covers all lots of 25 mcg/hr Duragesic (fentanyl transdermal system) CII patches sold by PriCara and all 25 mcg/hr fentanyl patches sold by Sandoz. PriCara explained that the patches are being recalled as they may have a cut along one side of the drug reservoir within the patch. Exposed fentanyl is dangerous to those who touch it and should be washed off with water, but not soap. Anyone with the Duragesic patches being recalled should call (800) 547-6446; for the Sandoz patches, call (800) 901-7236.
Heat therapy products recalled
February 13, 2008
Some consumers who have used Chattem, Inc.’s Icy Hot Heat Therapy Products have reported first-, second-, or third-degree burns and skin irritation. As a result, the Chattanooga, Tenn., firm is recalling all lots and sizes of the following products:
- Icy Hot Heat Therapy Air Activated Heat-Back
- Icy Hot Heat Therapy Activated Heat-Arm, Neck, and Leg
- Icy Hot Heat Therapy Air Activated Heat-Arm, Neck, and Leg single consumer use “samples” on a limited promotional basis in cartons of 3 oz. Aspercreme Pain Relieving Cream.
Consumers who have these products can either discard them or return them to the manufacturer for a full refund
Via: Drug Topics
Teva’s generic Protonix accounts for 68% of new scripts
February 12, 2008
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries said on Tuesday that its generic version of Wyeth’s Protonix heartburn drug has obtained 68 percent of new prescriptions in the United States.
“In less then five weeks since its launch our share is 68 percent,” President and Chief Executive Shlomo Yanai told a news conference held after publication of its fourth quarter results.
Fourth-quarter profit jumped 24 percent after it flooded the U.S. market with Pantoprazole.
Chasing a Dream
February 11, 2008
“The littlest things you do in people’s lives that, you don’t know, it changes their whole life,” Iman Thomas said.
This spring, Ms. Thomas, 31, will discover if a grant from The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund, coupled with her own determination, can change her life and the lives of her three children.
In March, she will complete a two-semester program at Kingsborough Community College, and after passing an exam, she will become a certified pharmacy technician. She will be qualified to assist a pharmacist in a hospital or pharmacy, measuring and labeling medicines. Annual starting salaries for pharmacy technicians range from the mid to the high $20,000s, although Ms. Thomas still must find a job after she finishes.
For now, she supports her children, Christian Holloman, 14; Elijiah Whittingham, 5; and Nami Whittingham Thomas, 1, on the $490 in public assistance and $397 in food stamps that she receives each month. The family’s $1,097 rent on a two-bedroom apartment in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, is covered by Section 8 and some money from public assistance. The father of her two younger children also helps out.
“School was great! I passed my class! I was so happy,” said Ms. Thomas, who has completed one semester.
But in the midst of her excitement, Ms. Thomas respects the seriousness of the job she is training for.
“It was definitely stressed to us that you are dealing with people’s lives,” she said.
It has been a long journey for Ms. Thomas. “Every time I came to a point where I thought I was going to be good, I was making it, it was something else,” Ms. Thomas said. When her oldest son, Christian, was 1, family conflicts drove the young mother and child into the city shelter system.
Christian was 7 when they finally found an apartment of their own. During that period, Ms. Thomas earned her general equivalency diploma, in 2002, and started college courses, planning to become a physician’s assistant.
She withdrew from school when conflicts with her landlord landed her back in the shelter in mid-2006.
Ms. Thomas has worked at various retail and customer-service jobs, earning mostly minimum wage. Most recently, she cleaned houses for $10 an hour, but she was always interested in the medical field. It comes from a lifetime of caring for children and elderly relatives, she said.
But she knew that four years was too long to wait to start work, and so she found the pharmacy technician program.
“These types of jobs will help you to get on your feet, at least give you a start,” Ms. Thomas said. “I can have the job, a steady, stable job, to finish school and take care of my kids and home and be comfortable and not have the kids suffer.”
But she still had to pay tuition. Certificate program study is not eligible for financial aid, Ms. Thomas said. “That’s where Catholic Charities came in,” she said. “I thank God for them, because if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be in the program right now.”
In August, Ms. Thomas approached Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens, one of the seven agencies supported by the Neediest Cases Fund with an unusual request. Erin Carman, a social worker at the agency, said, “Usually it’s rent assistance, utility assistance.” But Ms. Thomas asked for and received $465 in tuition assistance from the Neediest Cases Fund and will receive $105 to cover the cost of her certification exam.
Juggling family and school is a challenge, but Ms. Thomas has help. “I have three kids, and believe me, it’s hard,” she said. “You have to talk to your kids. You have to talk to your family and you have to let them know that ‘I’m trying to do something to better our lives. In order for this to work, I need you to work with me, if this is going to work for me.’ Everybody has to have your back.”
Article by Alexis Rehrmann, New York Times.
Published 01/12/2008
Injectable colchicine removed from market by FDA
February 10, 2008
In the seventh enforcement action taken by the FDA so far against unapproved drugs since it published its Compliance Policy Guide in 2006, the agency has now taken aim at injectable colchicine. The FDA said there have been 50 adverse event reports related to use of the drug, including 23 deaths. Typically used to treat gout, the drug has a narrow therapeutic margin, with potential fatal effects, including low blood cell counts, cardiac events, and organ failure. Manufacturers will have 30 days to cease production and 180 days to stop shipping the drug. According to the FDA, there are currently no colchicine products on the market that have undergone agency review and approval, including oral versions of the drug. The latest action will not affect colchicine oral tablets however, due to their wider margin of safety, but could be subject to FDA enforcement at any time, the agency said. The crackdown on unapproved drugs began in June 2006 when the FDA published a Compliance Policy Guide in an effort to ensure that all products marketed in the United States have undergone the approval process and meet various safety, efficacy, and manufacturing standards.
Article Via Drug Topics
To read the FDA Compliance policy, Click Here
