Content about Medical prescription

RICHMOND, Texas Drug maker OcuSoft has launched a prescription supplement designed to enhance botulinum toxin injections, the company said.

OcuSoft announced the availability of Zytaze in several chain drug stores around the country.

The drug is designed to extend the duration of botulinum toxin treatments, such as Allergan’s Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA), and reports have indicated that it extends them by almost 25%.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — There is a direct correlation between the amount of a patient's out-of-pocket co-pay and prescription abandonment, according to the findings of a CVS Caremark-sponsored study published this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The study also found that e-prescriptions are more likely to be abandoned at retail compared with handwritten prescriptions.

WASHINGTON — A panel of healthcare thought leaders has concluded that a recent IRS rule change going into effect Jan. 14, 2011, will demand retail system challenges that are operationally impossible to overcome in the limited time frame required.

And the National Association of Chain Drug Stores couldn’t agree more.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. Budget cuts in Washington state to its Medicaid programs have created a “perilous situation” for retail pharmacies and their patients, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores warned on Wednesday, and could “pose danger as a precedent for other states across the nation as well,” according to the group.

NEW YORK Loss of patent protection for branded drugs and subsequent competition from generics could save the U.S. healthcare system $70 billion or more over the next four years, according to published reports.

Reuters reported IMS Health SVP Murray Aitken as saying at the Reuters Health Summit that generics also would increase their dominance in terms of prescriptions dispensed, increasing from 77% during the first half of this year to perhaps 85% by 2014.

FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J. Pharmacy benefit manager Medco Health Solutions had sales of $16.3 billion, including $2.9 billion from specialty pharmacy operations, the company said Tuesday.

FORT WORTH, Texas Retail pharmacy technology provider PDX has partnered with Healthcare Data Solutions to provide users of the PDX Pharmacy System with access to a real-time prescriber verification process.

The companies said the integration of the PDX Pharmacy System and the HDS ProscriberPRO database would allow immediate verification of prescribers and associated profiles when a prescriber is added or before a prescription is filled, with access provided over a secure, Web-based service.

With strong support from pharmacy leaders, Congress is moving to shut down prescription medication abuse and diversion with a multipronged legislative cudgel.

Prior to its October recess, the U.S. House of Representatives passed three industry-backed bills in September to help seal up the nation’s leaky prescription drug pipeline. The bills are expected to pass under “suspension of the rules,” which allows for expedited consideration of legislation.