Pharmacist who forged Rx faces loss of license for three years
March 31, 2008
Pascal Osei, a pharmacist who was working temporarily at a CVS pharmacy in Randolph, N.J., has admitted that he turned in a forged prescription for oxycodone under a fake name back in 2006. The ruse was discovered through an internal probe. State authorities are recommending that he be sentenced to three years? probation and that he surrender his license for three years. Osei has pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in May. Read more
FDA studying link between Singulair and suicides
March 31, 2008
The Food & Drug Administration has sent an early communication to healthcare professionals and patients that it is investigating a link between Merck?s Singulair (montelukast) and suicidality. The leukotriene receptor antagonist is used to treat asthma, the symptoms of allergic rhinitis, and to prevent exercise-induced asthma. FDA said it may take up to nine months before it completes its investigation. The agency added that it is also reviewing postmarketing reports of mood changes associated with other leukotriene receptors, such as zafirlukast (Accolate, AstraZeneca) and zileuton (Zyflo and Zyflo CR, Critical Therapeutics).
Article: Judy Chi, DrugTopics
Free samples cost patients in the long run
March 27, 2008
Those “free” drug samples docs give out can turn out to be costly in the long run.
A new study published this week in the journal Medical Care shows that patients who get the samples wind up having significantly higher out-of-pocket prescription costs than those who don’t get the samples from their doctor.
Samples are a major part of the $30 billion to $60 billion a year researchers say is spent on promoting drugs in the United States. Physicians vary in how they choose patients to receive the samples, but many believe they’re giving those chosen to receive the packets an economic benefit.
Dr. Caleb Alexander of the University of Chicago Medical Center and colleagues took data from a national survey of medical spending that included 5,709 patients and followed their experience for up to two years.
Patients who never got a sample had out-of-pocket drug costs of $178 over six months. But among those who got free samples, personal drug spending for the six months closest to when they got the samples averaged $244.
“Our findings suggest that physicians should use caution in assuming that the use of free samples ultimately reduces patients’ out-of-pocket prescription costs,” Alexander said.
While samples may be valuable to patients when the drugs are only needed for a short time, he said, “All too often, physicians and patients end up continuing the medicine initially begun as samples, even though older, less expensive alternatives may exist.”
Previous studies have shown that free samples can lead to overuse of newer drugs instead of older, cheaper alternatives, but these have typically only looked at one clinical setting and not attempted to measure out-of-pocket costs.
Alexander said it’s possible that patients who got the free samples were more seriously ill than those who did not, and thus had higher costs across the board. But such differences probably only account for a fraction of the extra costs, he added, and stressed that medicines given as free samples are usually the newest and most expensive drugs.
By LEE BOWMAN, Scripps Howard News Service
Pfizer Riser
March 27, 2008
10 years ago today, Sildenafil citrate (otherwise known as Viagra) was apporved by the FDA, becoming the first oral pill approved to treat erectile dysfunction in the United States.
It changed the way the nation looked at sexual health and paved the way for other oral ED drugs to make it to the market.
It’s name is synonymous to virility, strength, power, and sexual pleasure. Read more
Penalty for Pharmacist’s Refusal Upheld
March 26, 2008
WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) — A state appeals court upheld sanctions Tuesday against a pharmacist who refused to dispense birth control pills to a woman and wouldn’t transfer her prescription elsewhere.
The 3rd District Court of Appeals ruled that the punishment the state Pharmacy Examining Board handed down against pharmacist Neil Noesen did not violate his state constitutional rights, specifically his “right of conscience” to religiously oppose birth control.
“Noesen abandoned even the steps necessary to perform in a minimally competent manner under any standard of care,” the three-judge panel said. Read more
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center fined for heparin overdose
March 25, 2008
Cedars-Sinai Hospital has been slapped with a $25,000 fine by the California Department of Public Health for accidentally overdosing three infants with heparin. Among the infants were actor Dennis Quaid’s newborn twins. The Los Angeles hospital has undertaken a number of measures to prevent this tragedy from recurring and has apologized to the families involved.
Article by Judy Chi, Drug Topics
Early warning of Spiriva’s potential stroke risk
March 24, 2008
The long-term maintenance treatment of COPD with Spiriva HandiHaler, containing tiotropium bromide, may be associated with an increased risk of stroke. An Early Communication has been issued by the Food & Drug Administration that warns of a potential increased risk of stroke in patients using the inhaler. The manufacturer reported to the agency a preliminary estimate that the risk of stroke during clinical trials is eight patients per 1,000 patients treated for one year with tiotropium and six patients per 1,000 patients treated with placebo for the same amount of time. The resulting risk of any type of stroke due to the inhaler appears to be two patients for every 1,000 using the inhaler for a year. The FDA cautioned practitioners that the findings are only preliminary and no regulatory action is being taken at this time. The agency will further evaluate postmarketing adverse event reports and will review data from the company’s UPLIFT study, a large four-year study that will provide additional long-term safety data. The results are due out in June. At that time the FDA will analyze the new information and communicate its conclusions.Article Via: Drug Topics, by By: Heidi Belden, Pharm.D.
Church stops pharmacy selling condoms
March 24, 2008
The Catholic Church has come under fire in a German town for preventing the sale of condoms in a drugstore whose premises are leased from the Church. Pharmacy Schlecker has thousands of branches across Germany but a report this week that one shop in Fulda could not sell condoms has led to protests in the western town and sparked accusations the Church has failed to move with the times. The Church has said it could not preach against using contraceptives and then allow their sale on its property. Read more
Winona Ryder accused of shoplifting from CVS Pharmacy
March 22, 2008
Actress Winona Ryder has been accused of shoplifting for the second time.Ryder, 36, set off theft alarms when she tried to leave the CVS Pharmacy on Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood with make-up that she hadn’t paid for, according to an employee at the Hollywood drugstore.
“Winona had a bag full of stuff, but she set off the theft alarm when she left the store,” the store worker told the National Enquirer.
“When a security guard stopped her, he found makeup she had not paid for.”
When she was asked about the make-up, a wide-eyed Winona said: “I don’t know how that happened.” Read more
Illinois to require certification
March 21, 2008
Beginning on January 1, 2010, within 2 years after being employed as a registered technician, a pharmacy technician must become certified by successfully passing the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) examination or another Board‑approved pharmacy technician examination in order to continue to perform pharmacy technician’s duties. This requirement does not apply to pharmacy technicians hired prior to January 1, 2008.
For more information, see the State’s Board of Pharmacy “Pharmacy Practice Act“
