Content about Washington

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.

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. 

WASHINGTON — The National Community Pharmacists Association on Wednesday urged Congress, such as through mail order, as lawmakers held a House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing entitled, “Examining Options to Combat Health Care Waste, Fraud and Abuse.”

According to the House committee’s web site, its lawmakers are concerned about Medicare spending in particular and the hearing is intended to “explore potential new approaches to address these substantial and ongoing threats.”

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration will review the safety of energy drinks containing such stimulants as caffeine in response to a letter from two senators.

WASHINGTON — Many health insurance plans are failing to provide coverage mandated by the healthcare reform law for treatments to help smokers and other tobacco users quit, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids reported Monday, citing a study of insurance contracts by Georgetown University researchers that the group commissioned. 

WASHINGTON and WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Residents in counties across the country that participate in the National Association of Counties' Prescription Discount Card Program have saved more than $500 million on their prescription medications since the launch of the program in 2004, according to data released by NACo and CVS Caremark.

REDMOND, Wash. — Crossmark has launched a self-service data portal that it said would deliver business insights in real time to manufacturer and retail clients in the consumer goods industry.

The portal, which uses the Microsoft SQL Server Parallel Data Workhouse, provides sales and marketing channels with access to real-time market data, allowing them to analyze and take advantage of market trends faster than before, the company said.

WASHINGTON — The Natural Products Association last week launched an industry effort to help those directly affected by Hurricane Sandy through the creation of the NPA Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund. All donations to the fund can be made to the Natural Products Foundation at NaturalProductsFoundation.org/Sandy. 

PRINCETON, N.J. — Church & Dwight will be initiating trial of its Trojan Vibrations personal massagers with a multi-city giveaway, the company announced Wednesday. Beginning in Washington on Nov. 13, Church & Dwight will feature its latest product innovations via a specially-designed Trojan Vibrations Pleasure Carts that are modeled after traditional hot dog carts.

FDA approves cardiovascular drug

MORRISTOWN, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a generic drug for treating blood pressure and chest pain. Actavis announced the approval of diltiazem hydrochloride extended-release capsules.
The drug is a generic version of Valeant’s Tiazac. The branded drug and its generic equivalents had sales of about $76.3 million in 2011, according to IMS Health.



WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation and more than a dozen retailers on Thusday asked a judge to reject a proposed class-action settlement of a federal antitrust lawsuit filed against Visa and MasterCard because of credit card swipe fees. The NRF suggested the settlement would not bring credit card swipe fees under control and does not give retailers who oppose it an adequate mechanism to opt out.

BELLEVUE, Wash. — A division of Wolters Kluwer Health has released a new version of a Web-based quality-assurance software for pharmacy compounding.

Pharmacy OneSource announced the release of a new version of Simplifi 797, used for ensuring compliance with USP chapter 797 regulations, which call for proper training of staff who prepare sterile compounded products.