Content about Prescription medication

WASHINGTON — Nearly 98% of primary care physicians, nurse practitioners and pharmacists trust and recommend over-the-counter medicines to their patients, according to a new survey released Wednesday by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association. Nearly three-fourths of primary care physicians recommend OTC medicines to relieve symptoms before recommending a prescription treatment.

It's been long accepted that politics makes strange bedfellows. That's certainly the case with the reauthorization in 2012 of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act.

Leaders in both the branded and generic drug industries praised the reauthorization last June of PDUFA, the 20-year-old system by which research-based pharmaceutical companies help fund the government's expensive review and testing process for new drug applications.

Are doctors needlessly raising the costs of America's healthcare system through their prescribing habits? Absolutely, say researchers. A new report appearing in the Jan. 7 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine highlighted the powerful role played by branded drug advertising on consumer preferences and physicians' prescribing habits, and asserted that many doctors ignore the cost-saving benefits of generic drugs when writing prescriptions by acceding to patients' wishes.

NEW YORK — Anthem Blue Cross will indefinitely suspend a policy that would require many specialty pharmacy patients in California, most of them HIV patients, to receive their drugs via mail order in order to receive coverage for them, drawing criticism from patients and retail pharmacies.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association on Wednesday announced its federal and state legislative priorities with the release of the Independent Community Pharmacy Checklist. The one-page document details the main legislative actions NCPA and its members will advocate for this year at the federal and state levels. 

A new report by Francesco International identified $35.7 billion worth of potential Rx-to-OTC switches in a wide range of indications, from hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder to high cholesterol and erectile dysfunction, and the Food and Drug Administration has been looking at ways technology and pharmacists could be employed to ensure that patients taking drugs new to the consumer health space take them appropriately

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association on Wednesday urged Oregon state lawmakers to pass a series of bills that would "collectively reduce red tape for pharmacists caring for patients, give consumers greater pharmacy choice at no extra cost, and keep more revenue within the state."

NCPA has identified four issues of import:

PLYMOUTH, Minn. — Regional player Thrifty White Pharmacy, which operates 90 pharmacies in the upper Midwest, is working to enroll patients in its Medication Synchronization Program as a recent study conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University found that those patients taking their medications correctly with the program are more likely to stay well, make fewer clinic visits and require fewer hospitalizations, thus reducing overall healthcare spending.

Health care is evolving. As obvious of a statement as that is, it doesn’t change the fact that it is very real. Throughout last year, there was intense discussion on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and what impact the outcome of the presidential election might have on its future. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled and elections are settled, healthcare companies and providers across the country are implementing strategies to meet ACA requirements.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Seniors have serious concerns regarding mandatory mail-order pharmacy requirements in prescription drug plans, according to a new national survey of 669 Medicare Part D beneficiaries released Thursday by the National Community Pharmacists Association.

PHILADELPHIA — Five pharmacies dominated prescription drug dispensing revenues in the United States last year, according to a new study.

The proprietary study, by the Drug Channels Institute, found that pharmacy retailers CVS Caremark, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Walmart and pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts accounted for 63% of all prescription drug revenues in the $276.5 billion U.S. pharmacy industry in 2012.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — H. D. Smith on Tuesday announced plans to secure majority ownership in Triplefin, a privately held reimbursement, patient assistance and pharmaceutical brand support services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. H. D. Smith will immediately obtain majority board vote, and by mid-2013, majority stock ownership.