NCPA reaches Fight4Rx goal

(Drug Topics) The member pharmacies of the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) have reached their goal of recruiting more than 12,000 patients for Fight4Rx.org, an online effort aimed at turning pharmacy patients into activists for community pharmacies. Read more

Judge: Morning-after pill should be available to 17 year olds

(Drug Topics) A federal judge has ruled that 17 year olds should be able to get the morning-after pill without a prescription, and ordered the Food and Drug Administration to consider expanding access all women.

Before Monday's decision, the FDA had agreed to make the emergency contraceptive known as Plan B available without a prescription only to women 18 and older and only from a pharmacy counter. The Center for Reproductive Rights sued the government in Brooklyn Federal Court, charging the FDA put politics before science in drafting the rules.

In his written decision, Judge Edward Korman noted there appeared to be “political considerations, delays and implausible justifications” in the decision-making process. “The record shows that FDA officials and staff both agreed that 17-year-olds can use Plan B safely without a prescription,” Korman wrote.

Korman said the FDA's justification for this age restriction, that pharmacists would be unable to enforce the prescription requirement if the cutoff were age 17 rather than 18, lacks credibility.

“While the FDA is free, on remand, to exercise its expertise and discretion regarding the proper disposition of the citizen’s petition, no useful purpose would be served by continuing to deprive 17 year olds access to Plan B without a prescription,” Korman said.

A spokesman for the Brooklyn U.S. attorney's office, which represented the FDA, told various media outlets the ruling is being reviewed.

Another Example of TelePharmacy in Action

(By Jo Dee Black – Great Falls Tribune. Chester, Montana) — Keri and Justin VanCampen grew up in small Montana communities and wanted to raise their family in the same type of environment.

Thanks to programs designed to promote business in rural communities, the couple are doing just that in the Hi-Line community of Chester, population 871 according to the last Census. They’ve not only created jobs for themselves, but for five other small town Montana residents. Read more

NPTA Membership Winner!

Congratulations to Jackie Vance, a Certified Tech from Ohio.  She has won a 1 Year membership in The National Pharmacy Technician Association.

Thank you to everyone who entered and taking the time to check out what this site is all about. I hope everyone enjoys it!

Stay Tuned to CPhTLink.com for future Giveaways!

NPTA Membership Winner To Be Announced Today

CPhTLink.com will be announcing the winner of the 1 Year NPTA Membership this evening at 6:00 PM EST. There is still time left to enter. The contest will be open until 4PM EST.

Click Here to enter!

Pharmacy tech compromise to be sought in S.C. bill

(Gina Smith – TheState.com, South Carolina)  A House bill to require two-thirds of the state’s pharmacy technicians to meet new education and training requirements has stalled.

Bill proponents say more training and education are needed to prevent prescription and medicine errors.

“In two weeks time, I went from working, folding linens in a linen store to making IVs at a pharmacy,” said Natasha Nicols, who has since become a pharmacist. She’s now president-elect of the S.C. Society of Health-System Pharmacists, which backed the bill. Read more

Obama expected to reverse Bush “right of conscience” expansion

(ModrenMedicine) As one of his last acts prior to leaving Washington, former President Bush signed an executive order allowing healthcare workers to refuse to provide birth control on moral grounds. Now the Obama administration plans to reverse that rule, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Read more

CPhTLink.com GIVEAWAY: 1 Year Membership in The NPTA FREE!

Thanks to Mike Johnston and The National Pharmacy Technician Association, CPhTLink.com will be giving away a prize! 1 Membership in the NPTA for a year absolutely free.   If you are a Technician, and not aware of this organization, please take a look at their website.  Member Benefits include subscription to Today Technician Magazine, Tech Trends e-newsletter, Free C.E.s, and many member-only discounts, including RxPo.  Read more

Oxycodone shortage widespread

Pharmacies across the country encounter difficulty trying to obtain the painkiller Oxycodone.

The problem is two fold. A recent recall has cut supply, and has been complicated by production quotas established by the Drug Enforcement Agency. While the feds try to keep the potentially addictive painkiller off the street, the manufacturing disruption brings unintended consequences. Read more

AZ Medicaid discontinues Part D Copayments

Due to a state budget deficit, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System’s (AHCCCS, Medicaid) Part D Co-Payment program has been discontinued, effective March 1st 2009.

The program was establish to help “Dual Eligible” members pay their out-of-pocket costs for medications.

Under Arizona law, funding can not be provided for a program other than what is allowed in the state budget.

Most co-payments for those affected range from $1.10 to $6.00 depending wether the medicine is a brand or generic.

Click here for the Pharmacy Notice and Click Here for the Member Notice.

(Thanks to @MrAnathema for the news.)

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