Dr. Abimbola Farinde

Dr. Abimbola Farinde is a clinical pharmacist specialist in psychiatry and geriatrics who graduated from Texas Southern University. She has gained a wealth of knowledge and training with the completion of residency training programs and being in practice for more than five years. She is interested in sharing her knowledge with other professionals engaged in clinical practice in a variety of settings.

Articles by Dr. Abimbola Farinde

• New House bill focuses on Medicare drug price reduction

  Thursday, June 07, 2018

  The rising costs of drug prices is an issue that many Americans have had to contend with for some time. The out-of-pocket costs that some Americans have to pay for medications can put them in situations where they have to decide between life's necessities or obtaining medications that have the potential to sustain or improve their health. Currently, there is a proposal in the U.S. House of Representatives that would seek to tackle rising drug prices, especially for those Americans who fall under Medicare Part D, Medicare’s long-existing prescription drug plan.

• FDA tries a new approach with guidance on opioid use disorder medications

  Thursday, May 24, 2018

  In the United States, the opioid epidemic is recognized as a growing public health crisis that has been identified across all levels of socioeconomic status. Within the last 16 years, it is reported that more than 183,000 Americans have died as a result of prescription opioid overdoses. Members of the medical community and government officials have been attempting to develop strategies to curtail the rise of addictions and deaths related to the crisis. Recently, a new approach has been adopted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

• Ketamine could unlock a new frontier for depression treatment

  Friday, May 11, 2018

  Depression is one of the most commonly encountered psychiatric disorders and one of the leading causes of illness in the world. Globally, depression affects more than 350 million people for all ages, which is a reason the announcement of the use of ketamine as potential treatment is providing some promise for individuals who suffer from chronic depression. Ketamine is typically recognized as a surgical anesthetic or party drug.

• Can carrying naloxone help combat opioid overdose deaths?

  Thursday, April 12, 2018

  ​Across the United States, reports of opioid abuse and related deaths have become an all-too-common occurrence for many Americans. With death tolls continuing to rise and such a wide impact on the population, regardless of background, immediate steps must be taken to address the issue.

• Will Trump’s plan slow down the opioid epidemic?

  Wednesday, March 21, 2018

  The opioid epidemic has been a longstanding and increasingly recognizable public health issue in the United States. In an additional effort to combat this escalating issue, President Donald Trump on Tuesday rolled out his plan for tackling what he calls "the crisis next door."

• Opioid epidemic shows no signs of slowing down

  Thursday, March 15, 2018

  ​The opioid epidemic is one that continues to ravage the United States, and with a recent report it is unclear as to when this crisis will be curtailed. It's shaping up to be one of the deadliest drug epidemics in American history, with overdoses now the leading cause of death among Americans under the age of 50. In 2016, opioid overdoses contributed to 64,000 deaths, which was more than firearms or car accidents that year.

• Educating the public about biosimilars

  Friday, March 02, 2018

  In recent years, knowledge of the existence of biosimilars has grown. A ​biosimilar is a biologic medicine that is shown to be similar to an approved innovative biological product or drug. Unlike generic drugs, in which the active ingredients are identical, biosimilars do have key differences from the reference product.

• How will the new HIV drug approval affect patients?

  Thursday, February 15, 2018

  Since the formal recognition of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in 1981 in the United States, there have been ongoing research efforts to both better understand the cause of HIV and to develop effective antiretroviral drugs to target the virus. The introduction of a new antiretroviral agent into the therapeutic landscape of the HIV drug market has brought both optimism toward meeting this goal and conflict among two competing pharmaceutical companies.

• Hope on the horizon for Puerto Rico drug shortages

  Thursday, February 01, 2018

  ​In the wake of the two hurricanes that devastated Puerto Rico's way of life, the United States has experienced shortages of certain drugs. The magnitude of this impact has been felt by many hospitals across the United States that depend on a number of Baxter products, which are made in Puerto Rico.

• FDA steps up its restrictions of opioids

  Friday, January 19, 2018

  As the opioid crisis continues to ravage the United States, government officials at both the state and federal level have been seeking to implement measures that curtail the growth of an epidemic that led to 34,500 overdose deaths in 2016. To date, the opioid epidemic is considered to be one of America's deadliest crises, even when compared to the number of car crash deaths in 1972, gun violence deaths in 1993 and HIV/AIDS deaths in 1995.

• North Carolina joins growing list of states limiting opioid prescriptions

  Friday, January 05, 2018

  The opioid epidemic is one that has ravaged a large portion of the United States because it has impacted individuals from all walks of life. In 2016, drug overdoses were reported as the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, and approximately 34,500 of these overdoses were from opioids.

• Biomarker test approval marks breakthrough in war on cancer

  Thursday, December 07, 2017

  ​The National Cancer Institute estimated 1,685,210 new cases of cancer diagnosed in 2016 in the U.S. and that 595,690 people would die from the disease. These numbers have placed cancer research and drug therapy treatment at the forefront of actions for most healthcare institutions and research facilities.

• Federal government making progress in opioid struggle

  Thursday, November 16, 2017

  For several years, the growing opioid crisis has been at the forefront of discussions among healthcare professionals, government officials and families who have lost loved ones to these addictive drugs. No corner of American society — regardless of age, ethnicity or background — has been spared from this drug epidemic, which led to more than 59,000 deaths in 2016.

• Misbranding practices create dangers for prescribers, patients

  Wednesday, October 18, 2017

  ​In recent years there has been a rise in the occurrence of drug misbranding, which has also coincided with more and more drugs being released into the pharmaceutical market. The act of misbranding a drug can consist of falsely representing a drug or presenting a particular drug in a manner that is significantly different from its originally approved intent. This practice creates the potential for patients to experience adverse outcomes as a result of their prescribers not being appropriately informed if a drug is misbranded.

• FDA turns attention to children’s medicine in battle against opioids

  Thursday, September 07, 2017

  The opioid epidemic in America is one that has clearly demonstrated its far-reaching impact regardless of the background of the individuals who find themselves abusing this class of drugs. Within recent months, the opioid crisis has reached the level of being recognized as "a national emergency" by President Donald Trump.

• DEA steps in to help curb opioid crisis

  Thursday, August 24, 2017

  ​The use of opioids in the United States has reached a point at which it is now considered to be a major public health concern due to the alarming rates of overdose and death. President Donald Trump also recognizes that the opioid crisis is one that requires immediate attention and focus in order to prevent future deaths.

• FDA strikes back against opioid abuse with Opana ER decision

  Thursday, July 13, 2017

  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently added another drug to its growing list of medications that have been removed from the market due to concerns over risk outweighing the clinical benefit of the drug. Typically, drugs are pulled because of harmful side effects, but Opana ER (oxymorphone hydrochloride) is the first drug to be recognized by the FDA as causing harm related to the potential for abuse and addiction. This was largely the result of the increasingly prevalence of the opioid epidemic in America.

• The impact of pharmaceutical reps on physician prescribing

  Thursday, June 29, 2017

  ​The practice of "detailing" is designed to provide physicians with an incentive to prescribe certain drugs or at least give consideration of the latest drugs on the market. For many years, this has been an observed standard of practice across the U.S.

• Biosimilars are on the way in America

  Thursday, June 15, 2017

  ​The general public may not fully understand the importance and potential benefits of biosimilars, but this class of agents are slowly gaining attention as therapeutic options for chronic or life-threatening conditions and disease states.

• How can pharmacists help combat high drug prices?

  Tuesday, May 23, 2017

  The increasing cost of prescriptions in the U.S. is an ongoing source of concern for patients, prescribers, payers and even policymakers. The cost of prescription drugs for millions of Americans went up about $2 billion in 2015, and signs indicate that this will continue to rise.

• New drug for ALS provides hope for patients

  Tuesday, May 09, 2017

  Amyotrophic laterals sclerosis (ALS) is regarded as a progressive neurological condition that has the ability to destroy the nerve cells and lead to complete disability in the affected individual. Given the progressive and debilitating nature of ALS, ​the recent approval of a new drug for treating ALS is considered to be a milestone. Edaravone (Radicava) is only the second drug to ever be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ​for the treatment of ALS — and the first in more than two decades since riluzole gained FDA approval in 1995.

• Gottlieb vows to uphold FDA’s ‘gold standard’

  Thursday, April 06, 2017

  Ever since President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January, he has pledged to cut burdensome regulations on businesses and industry. When it comes to the pharmaceutical industry, ​Trump vowed at his first joint address of Congress to "slash the restraints" on drug development by streamlining the drug approval process of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

• Drug spending may be slowing down in US

  Thursday, March 23, 2017

  The high costs of prescription drugs in the United States has been a prevalent topic of conversation within the last few years, and this largely aligns with the United States being recognized for paying the highest prices for drugs in the world. The U.S. reportedly spends almost $1,000 per person annually on drugs, which is about twice that of countries such as Germany and France.

• The future of expedited drug approvals

  Thursday, March 09, 2017

  The Trump administration is poised to select a head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) who intends change the current process of drug approvals in the U.S. This new process will possibly change the current drug development model that has been used by the FDA for many years. At the prospective forefront of this change are the two candidates vying for the head of the FDA.

• Stiff penalties put pressure on drug distributors

  Thursday, February 23, 2017

  In recent years, the actions of pharmaceutical drug distributors have garnered mainstream attention. Whether it was the significant price hikes that were observed with Daraparim, EpiPen, insulin or specialty drugs, the public has felt the impact of these actions on their healthcare. Opponents of these practices were concerned that they would become the new standard and that not much could be done to properly regulate drug pricing and create meaningful consequences for those who were not compliant.

• Irritable bowel syndrome: The current climate of management

  Thursday, February 09, 2017

  ​Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is considered to be ​one of the most commonly encountered gastrointestinal (GI) disorders around the world. About 20 percent of people in developed countries will have IBS symptoms during some point in their lives.

• Will the new 340B drug rule survive under Trump?

  Wednesday, January 25, 2017

  For many Americans, the issue of rising prescription drug prices has been an ever-present topic of conversation lately. These costs have led to growing concern over the lack of access to some life-saving medication — the most recent being EpiPen.

• The factors behind the decline of drug approvals in 2016

  Friday, January 13, 2017

  Each year, the approval of new prescription drugs offers the medical community and the general population access to a larger pool of therapeutic options to choose from. However, with these drug approvals also comes the potential for significantly higher drug prices — something to which many Americans have become accustomed over the last few years.

• Competition on the way for EpiPen

  Tuesday, December 13, 2016

  Epipen, a life-saving auto-injector used by many Americans to address severe allergies, has suddenly experienced significant price increases in recent years. This has sparked both immense concern and outrage among consumers as well as lawmakers. But help may be on the way from an old friend.

• How can we lower drug costs in 2017?

  Friday, December 02, 2016

  ​For many Americans, news stories about increasing prescription drug prices have become commonplace. The costs of prescription drugs within group health plans have continued to increase at double digit rates in recent years, and experts are forecasting more of the same for 2017.

• Senators call for investigation into insulin price spikes

  Thursday, November 17, 2016

  The United States is known for paying the ​highest costs of prescription drugs in the world, especially when compared to nations such as Japan and Canada. The issue of increasing prescription drug prices has gained much attention over the last few years both from the general public as well as government officials who desire to change this pattern. This topic has been brought to the forefront of conversation thanks to recent examples like Daraparim and EpiPen, which observed dramatic price increases from their respective manufacturers.

• CDC takes aim at diabetes with prevention programs

  Friday, November 04, 2016

  Diabetes is recognized as a chronic, long-term condition that can cause high blood sugar levels. In 2013, it was reported that approximately 382 million people throughout the world were diagnosed with diabetes. The number of individuals diagnosed with diabetes continues to grow, but steps are being taken to identify early risk and proper management of the condition.

• Cancer drugs are the latest to experience price hikes

  Friday, October 21, 2016

  The rising cost of various drug classes is not a new phenomenon for most Americans. In fact, it has become ​an expected occurrence in recent years, particularly for maintenance or life-sustaining medications. One notable drug class that has experienced fluctuations in pricing is cancer or oncologic medication. Older cancer drugs have experienced price hikes between 2010 and 2015, according to a research letter this month in JAMA Oncology. The researchers looked at 86 cancer drugs and found 55 that increased in price during the five-year span — 11 of which experienced price hikes of more than 100 percent.

• Cutting opioid production is the latest effort to curb epidemic

  Tuesday, October 11, 2016

  The use of opioid drugs has become an increasingly recognizable health problem across the United States, leading to abuse, overdoses and at times death. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, opioid pain relievers were involved in more than 16,600 deaths in 2013 — nearly half the total number of overdose deaths.

• It’s business as usual for drug companies, despite opioid epidemic

  Thursday, October 06, 2016

  Opioids are a well known and utilized medication class, and this has ultimately led to the prevalence of opioid abuse and addiction throughout the United States. Of the 21.5 million Americans who are age 12 or older and had a substance abuse disorder in 2014, 1.9 million had a substance abuse disorder related to prescription pain medications, according to the American Society of Addiction Medicine. At least 23 percent of individuals who use heroin ultimately develop an opioid addiction.

• Who’s to blame for rising Medicare Part D costs?

  Thursday, September 15, 2016

  ​Medicare Part D was established as a voluntary outpatient prescription drug benefit from The Medicare Modernization Act. The law was passed in 2003, and Medicare Part D went into effect in 2006. The purpose of this plan was to ensure that individuals who are on Medicare — including those who are 65 years of age and older as well as those under 65 years with permanent disabilities — can have subsidized access to Medicare drug benefits.

• Pharmacies fight back against escalating drug costs

  Thursday, September 01, 2016

  The topic of formulary selection and the impact it can have on consumers has been in the spotlight for some time. One of the more notable reasons for this attention is the pricing of these drugs and the lack of proper control that exists to regulate the escalating prices.

• Building an awareness of Medicare fraud

  Friday, August 19, 2016

  Within recent years, numerous issues involving Medicare have been brought to the forefront of healthcare discussions. And one of the latest is fraud. While there is no precise measure of the magnitude of Medicare fraud, it is known to be a serious problem because it involves individuals who lie to the government and exploit its programs — ultimately taking taxpayers' money. There have been several instances of healthcare professionals being identified and charged with Medicare fraud.

• Olympics cracking down on performance‑enhancing drugs

  Friday, July 22, 2016

  ​The Olympic Games are viewed as a celebration of the athletic prowess of individuals from all walks of life across the globe. The Games are designed to feature the abilities of these individuals, who compete in a variety of events that test their strengths, and ultimately champions and medalists are chosen.

• Prescription drugs and biosimilar pricing: The consumer impact

  Friday, July 08, 2016

  ​The topic of drug prices and how their ever-increasing rates have impacted American consumers has been at the forefront of healthcare discussions for some time. Rising costs of prescriptions have led to calls for price and utilization controls by public and private payers.

• Research: More access to treatment for opioid use is needed

  Friday, June 24, 2016

  ​The prevalence of opioid misuse has increased substantially, which can be largely attributed to the increased prescribing of opioids in the United States. Opioid use disorder is recognized as a chronic and relapsing illness that can be associated with increased morbidity and mortality if not identified and treated.

• Teaching discipline in prescribing habits

  Monday, June 13, 2016

  ​Drug abuse is regarded as a major health problem in the United States. Drug abuse and misuse lead to addiction, which can become a chronic disease if not immediately identified and steps are taken to achieve recovery. Drug abuse is defined as the use of prescription drugs in a manner outside of its intended purpose or the use of illicit drugs with no medical benefit. Drug abuse and addiction have become synonymous with one another, and the problem impacts a wide variety of individuals. Regardless of one's background, the abuse of a prescription or illicit drug can impact any individual who has access to these drugs.

• The increasing price of insulin harms patients

  Thursday, April 14, 2016

  Many Americans depend on life-saving drugs to achieve and maintain some degree of a quality of life. Given that some conditions can be debilitating or life threatening, it is critical that these individuals have access to their medications when needed.

• Brand and specialty drugs causing increased drug spending

  Thursday, March 31, 2016

  ​Most drugmakers have come to realize specialty drugs are where they can achieve the most money, and they have been seeking ways to take advantage of this in recent years. As a result, the associated costs of drugs in the United States have become a major topic of discussion, particularly as they relate to escalating drug prices that can be felt by consumers or payers.

• It’s time for the government to take action on drug pricing

  Friday, March 18, 2016

  In recent months, the healthcare industry has seen more and more issues related to escalating drug prices and problems related to people's access to life-sustaining medications. The prices of prescription drugs continue to increase in contrast to other healthcare costs, and officials hope to address these escalating costs through utilization management, waste and abuse management, and tools to evaluate prescription intentions.

• Hepatitis C drug pricing issues overshadow effectiveness

  Thursday, March 03, 2016

  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that approximately 3.2 million Americans are infected with the hepatitis C virus, and without treatment 15 to 30 percent of these individuals will develop cirrhosis. Many people who are infected with the hepatitis C virus may not display any symptoms until it progresses to liver damage, which can occur over the span of decades. Others present with chronic HCV, a viral liver disease that has the potential to lead to liver cancer and liver failure.

• How pharmacists can help FDA initiative to curb opioid abuse

  Friday, February 19, 2016

  Over the years, the prevalence of prescription drug abuse has become an increasingly apparent issue — one that both the medical and nonmedical community cannot ignore given its visible impact. Opioids are one of the most commonly abused agents because they cause the release of dopamine to achieve a pleasurable effect. As a result, clinicians have a difficult time determining whether patients are seeking out these drugs for valid reasons or are highly addicted to these agents. It is ultimately up to prescribers to make this decision when patients come into their office.

• Working to minimize drug diversion

  Friday, February 05, 2016

  The issue of drug diversion — the illegal theft of controlled drugs — continues to increase at an alarming rate across the U.S. A complex and multifaceted problem, drug diversion must be addressed before it reaches epic proportions. The current dilemma for healthcare officials is how to implement the right practices across a wide variety of locations for many years to come.

• Consumers fight back against rising pharmaceutical prices

  Friday, January 22, 2016

  The topic of escalating drug prices has been an ever-present focus for American consumers and drug companies. Pharmaceutical companies claim high prices are a necessary part of drug development, but consumers view them to be both unjust and unfair. As a result, there has been an ongoing debate between pharmaceutical companies and state legislators when it comes to current drug prices and what the future holds for many Americans who depend on these drugs.

• FDA approval of Empliciti provides another tool in battle against cancer

  Tuesday, December 15, 2015

  ​Multiple myeloma is a type of blood cancer that can appear in infection-fighting cells. Identified in the bone marrow, the cancer is mainly incurable with about only half of diagnosed patients surviving for five years after given the diagnosis.

• FDA approval of Utibron Neohaler is great news for COPD patients

  Friday, November 06, 2015

  ​Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is regarded as a progressive and life-threatening lung disease that can make it a challenging for an individual to breathe. The disease affects approximately 27 million Americans and is recognized as ​the third-leading cause of death in the United States. To date there are a variety of respiratory agents for the management of COPD, and ​the recent FDA approval of Utibron Neohaler (indacaterol and glycopyrronium bromide) offers another options for individuals who are newly diagnosed or have this condition.

• Cariprazine approval provides another option in treating mental illness

  Thursday, October 22, 2015

  The recent FDA approval of the atypical or second-generation antipsychotic cariprazine (Vraylar) gives prescribers another option on the list of atypical antipsychotics that are used to treat acute manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder and schizophrenia in adults.

• Despite Daraprim disaster, generic drug rebranding seems here to stay

  Friday, October 02, 2015

  ​The term "rebranding" is defined as a marketing strategy that is employed when a product is created from an already established or existing product with the intent of developing a new or differentiated identity. At times, this can be associated with a significant change to the original product in an effort to increase awareness or reawaken people to the new indication. Other times, it can be the same product presented in different packaging.

• The importance of evidence-based practice

  Monday, August 31, 2015

  ​Researchers, healthcare providers and health policy advocates still continue to debate what specifically defines evidence-based practice. They argue over the merits of the evidence for various interventions and how the evidence is utilized and integrated.

• Evaluating the use of psychotropic medications for mental illness

  Friday, July 31, 2015

  Before the advent of psychopharmacology, many people suffered from the symptoms of their mental disorders, which significantly impaired their overall functioning. But this branch of pharmacology provides these individuals with hope and the possibility of a semblance of a normal life, despite the presence of their illness.

• Exploring unconventional treatments to mental disorders

  Thursday, July 16, 2015

  Clinicians often turn to the use of pharmacotherapy when it comes to the management of different types of mental disorders. However, ​studies have shown the use of complementary and alternative therapies or interventions tend to be reported more in individuals with psychiatric disorders when compared to the rest of the population. The interest in the use of complementary and alternative interventions has been increasingly growing among healthcare professionals as a means of improving the lives of patients.

• Substance abuse still a massive societal ill

  Friday, June 19, 2015

  ​The issues of substance abuse and substance use disorders continue to be growing problems within our modern-day society, with no apparent decline in sight. According to the World Drug Report, it was estimated that 200 million people, or about 5 percent of the global population, used illicit drugs in 2005, and this number has grown since that time. Substance abuse is defined as a pattern of overuse of alcohol or other drugs that have the ability to produce adverse effects with continued use of the medication.

• Psychopharmacology: When drugs are right for treating mental illness

  Friday, June 05, 2015

  Psychopharmacology in the treatment of mental illnesses is gradually gaining more attention among mental health providers because they are beginning to formulate more balanced therapeutic approaches into their interventions.

• How can we slow the rate of drug overdose?

  Monday, February 24, 2014

  ​In today's society, taking medications for a variety of medical conditions, ailments or diseases is common. While the intent of using most drug therapies is to alleviate a condition or improve an individual's quality of life, drugs can also have deadly effects.

• Identifying symptoms of acute depression

  Thursday, November 07, 2013

  Depression can develop in any individual regardless of age or gender. It is a common mental disorder, and the incidence of depression increases each day. In order to improve the changes of a positive outcome, the symptoms should be identified almost immediately upon onset, but there are cases where it can sometimes take years to identify.