Content about Pharmacist

A new survey by Wolters Kluwer Health indicated that a large majority of consumers think it's a good thing that more individuals are taking a larger and more active role in their own health care.

This should come as no surprise, as recent years have seen tremendous growth in things like electronic personal health records, mobile apps and use of social media. It also ties in with trends in the devolution of health care to the consumer level, such as retail clinics.

E-prescribing offers many well-known benefits to physicians, pharmacists and patients alike. Beyond the well-known patient benefits, real-time transactions with automated requests and responses promise to create efficiencies by speeding the medication ordering process, reducing or eliminating the back-and-forth communications between pharmacists and clinicians commonly associated with handwritten prescriptions.

NEW YORK — A Congressional committee is looking into allegations that a compounding pharmacy industry association may have taught pharmacists how to sidestep requests for samples from the Food and Drug Administration, according to published reports.

Reuters reported that the House Energy and Commerce Committee had requested internal documents from the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists, citing a news report about the organization.

LISLE, Ill. — Pharmacy benefit manager Catamaran Corp. has opened a new "Center of Excellence" in downtown Indianapolis, the company said Thursday.

Catamaran announced the opening of the 13,000-square-foot center, which it said will support the services it will provide under the $60 million, six-year Medicaid contract with the Indiana state government, signed in October.

PITTSBURGH — McKesson High Volume Solutions on Tuesday unveiled an all new ExpressRx Track pharmacy automation solution featuring state-of-the-art robotics, upgraded imaging and expanded vial capabilities. The company suggested the solution was ideal for pharmacies dispensing 1,000 to 3,000 prescriptions per shift looking to drive efficiency, reduce cost-to-fill and redeploy labor into revenue-generating front-of-store programs.  

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Pharmacy technology provider QS/1 has entered a contract with CoverMyMeds to automate a process often required by insurers to dispense specialty drugs.

QS/1 said it entered a partnership with CoverMyMeds to automate the prior-authorization process, required for 90% of specialty drugs on the market.

"A pharmacist can spend a lot of time cutting through the red tape to get these prescriptions filled," QS/1 pharmacy market analyst John Frady said. "CoverMyMeds helps cut down on that work load by automating the process."

WASHINGTON — Increasing the prescriptions filled by Medicare beneficiaries by 1% would reduce the program's spending on medical services by about 0.2% by reducing costs in such areas as hospitalizations, according to a new report by the Congressional Budget Office.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association on Wednesday released Moving Forward on a Solid Foundation: Year One Progress Report, which examines the success of the association's strategic initiative Pharmacists Advancing Medication Adherence. 

Ultimately, there’s no “retail pharmacy” without the “pharmacy,” and that’s true of any store that dispenses prescription drugs — whether it’s a small independent drug store, a nationwide chain, a supermarket or a mass merchandiser. But in many respects, Rite Aid is trying to make the “pharmacy” component of that phrase just a little bit bigger.


For decades, community pharmacy has waged a tireless campaign to gain recognition as an equal partner on the nation’s healthcare delivery team, and support for the role pharmacists can play as front-line patient care advocates. That campaign has become increasingly urgent as hospital and primary care costs go through the roof, payers seek lower-cost healthcare solutions and health reform shifts the focus from traditional modes of fee-for-service payment to a reimbursement system that rewards successful patient outcomes.


WASHINGTON — The Council for Responsible Nutrition on Wednesday announced it is partnering with the National Osteoporosis Foundation in hosting a free webinar for pharmacists and nurse practitioners around updated recommendations and research of calcium and vitamin D. 

DEERFIELD, Ill. — On World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, Walgreens will encourage communities to focus on the importance of HIV testing and early treatment, both services addressed through its more than 700 HIV-specialized pharmacies coast to coast, the company announced Wednesday.