Jason Poquette

Jason Poquette, BPharm, R.Ph., earned his pharmaceutical degree from the University of Connecticut in 1993. In addition to his 20 years of practice, Jason writes his own blog, The Honest Apothecary, a pharmaceutical news and information site dedicated both to patients and to fellow pharmacists.

Articles by Jason Poquette

• Tighter opioid laws may not work

  More restrictive laws surrounding opioid prescriptions do not always have the results they intended.…

  Tuesday, September 04, 2018

• Blood pressure: Go low to improve memory

  Pharmacists are in a unique position to promote patient adherence to blood pressure medication and to…

  Friday, August 10, 2018

• Massachusetts passes new law to combat opioid abuse

  On July 19, the Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed a new package of legislation aimed to combat…

  Friday, July 27, 2018

• Amazon purchases PillPack. What is that?

  Once again, Amazon has given healthcare a shake-up, this time with a reported $1 billion purchase of…

  Thursday, July 12, 2018

• Is the sky falling for pharmacist salaries?

  They say what goes up must come down. But for a long time, that hasn’t been true when it comes to pharmacist…

  Thursday, June 28, 2018

• Right-to-try: Cause for hope or just hype?

  A 2010 movie entitled "Extraordinary Measures" starred Harrison Ford and was based on the real-life story…

  Thursday, June 14, 2018

• What to make of the drop in pharmacy school enrollments

  In his excellent blog, Kevin Mero, the president of PharmacyWeek, detailed the latest data on pharmacy…

  Friday, June 01, 2018

• What are copay accumulator programs?

  Retail pharmacists and specialty pharmacists working in the trenches may have heard whispers about something…

  Friday, May 18, 2018

• As hospital profits fall, outpatient pharmacies should help

  The Wall Street Journal recently published a somber-sounding article sure to send shivers down the spines…

  Wednesday, May 09, 2018

• Will CVS’s new Rx Savings Finder help reduce costs?

  ​After working nearly 25 years in retail and about seven years doing in-depth formulary analysis, I've…

  Wednesday, April 18, 2018

• Why would health insurers choose brand‑name drugs over generic?

  ​An interesting illustration of retail pharmacy economics is playing out before our eyes. It is not…

  Thursday, April 05, 2018

• How useful is your board of pharmacy website?

  ​Boards of pharmacy in each state exist to regulate and oversee the practice of pharmacy within their…

  Monday, March 26, 2018

• ‘Hide and seek’ health pricing has to stop

  When a patient walks into a pharmacy with a new prescription in hand, something radical happens in the…

  Friday, March 09, 2018

• Why should pharmacies notify physicians about rejections?

  ​Will Rogers apparently once quipped, "I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the…

  Friday, February 23, 2018

• The pharmacist as motivator

  "Imagine your life is perfect in every respect; what would it look like?" This question, posed by motivational…

  Friday, February 09, 2018

• In West Virginia, overdose deaths rise as opioid prescriptions drop

  ​Recently released information from the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy (BOP) about their state opioid…

  Thursday, January 25, 2018

• Points to ponder: Hospital vs. retail career paths in 2018

  ​Today's pharmacists have more career paths to ponder than ever before. No longer are you limited to…

  Friday, January 12, 2018

• What can pharmacists learn from this robbery story?

  It was a chilly 19 degrees outside — normal for late December in Akron, Ohio. Akronites accept this…

  Tuesday, January 02, 2018

• Are we playing medical Monopoly?

  ​Mergers and acquisitions are the name of the game in healthcare these days. It feels like we are watching…

  Monday, December 11, 2017

• Pharmacists should give ‘Vials’ a chance

  "Vials" — the much-anticipated (among some pharmacy folks) new TV series about pharmacists and retail…

  Thursday, November 30, 2017

• Prescriptions are not pizza: CVS delivery plan raises questions

  "Thank you for calling CVS Pharmacy. Will this be for pickup or delivery?" That may be the new greeting…

  Wednesday, November 08, 2017

• Are prescription drug prices really that high?

  ​I was recently asked to participate in a health fair, representing retail pharmacy, to provide information…

  Thursday, November 02, 2017

• Pharmacists — It’s time to get social

  Your patients want you ... online. According to a recent survey conducted by PrescribeWellness, 78 percent…

  Friday, October 13, 2017

• CVS does battle with our opioid problem

  The company that banned cigarette sales from its stores in 2014 is planning to take on the opioid epidemic.…

  Thursday, September 28, 2017

• 5 tips for getting the most from your pharmacy CE conferences

  How valuable have the last few pharmacy continuing education conferences been to your practice? Those…

  Thursday, September 14, 2017

• Pharmacists should take notice of new back pain guidelines

  Pharmacists — particularly those working on the front lines of community pharmacy — may want to think…

  Wednesday, August 30, 2017

• Lessons for pharmacists from a sexual coercion case

  The racy details of a recent accusation against an 81-year-old pharmacist are getting a lot of attention…

  Friday, August 18, 2017

• States starting to respond to gabapentin abuse

  Several states around the country have started to respond to a yet another growing problem: gabapentin…

  Thursday, August 03, 2017

• Pharmacists and the $1.3 billion Medicare fraud case

  On July 13, the federal government announced the largest takedown by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force…

  Friday, July 21, 2017

• Walgreens, Rite Aid plans add to pharmacy career stress

  The pharmacy school curriculum doesn't typically include a course devoted to stress management, but maybe…

  Friday, July 07, 2017

• Disney and your pharmacy’s priorities

  What would happen if Disney ran your pharmacy? No, I’m not talking about dressing up like Goofy, Mickey…

  Friday, June 23, 2017

• Surviving a board of pharmacy inspection

  Community pharmacy is stressful, even on our best days. There is the pressure to fill more prescriptions,…

  Thursday, June 08, 2017

• Dear Amazon, please stay out of pharmacy

  I'm a big fan of Amazon. Their huge selection of new and used books, convenient shopping platform and…

  Friday, May 26, 2017

• Advice for new pharmacy grads: Keep studying!

  ​This year, we'll see roughly 14,000 new pharmacists graduate, most of whom will (they hope) pass their…

  Friday, May 12, 2017

• Will Teva’s bold AirDuo inhaler strategy work?

  ​I can't recall ever seeing a company launch a brand and a generic simultaneously. Maybe it has happened…

  Wednesday, April 26, 2017

• Pharmacists and the prescription prior authorization process

  ​Pharmacists working in the community pharmacy setting know the situation all too well. A patient brings…

  Friday, April 14, 2017

• Watch for these red flags when dispensing opioid prescriptions

  When I graduated from pharmacy school almost 25 years ago, filling prescriptions for opioids in a community…

  Thursday, March 30, 2017

• Should pharmacies use incentives to encourage transfers?

  "Transfer your prescriptions today and get a $25 ABC Pharmacy gift card!" We've all seen this sort of…

  Friday, March 17, 2017

• The newest pharmacist job market data is here

  ​After a long pause of nine months or so, the Pharmacy Workforce Center website with the latest job…

  Thursday, March 02, 2017

• The drug interaction debacle — Was it metrics or margins?

  A Dec. 15, 2016 article in the Chicago Tribune titled "​Pharmacies miss half of dangerous drug combinations"…

  Thursday, February 16, 2017

• The LDL drug wars: A new hope

  ​"It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first…

  Thursday, February 02, 2017

• What will Trump mean for retail pharmacy?

  As Donald Trump assumes the role of president of the United States, there may be no bigger issue on the…

  Tuesday, January 17, 2017

• The job outlook for pharmacists in 2017

  Well, my fellow pharmacists, we have safely landed in a new year. For many newly graduated pharmacists,…

  Thursday, January 05, 2017

• Healthcare price transparency: A tough pill to swallow

  ​In a 2014 Wall Street Journal articleNo matter what side of the political fence you sit on, healthcare…

  Thursday, December 08, 2016

• High drug costs: The other side of the coin

  There are two sides to every coin. And when it comes to the price of prescription drugs, it would appear…

  Monday, November 21, 2016

• The top 5 concerns for pharmacists today

  "This is Dr. Frasier Crane, and I'm listening." So started many of the popular sitcom episodes of Frasier…

  Thursday, November 10, 2016

• 3 key questions about tech-check-tech

  Allow me to begin this article by stating emphatically that I am a committed supporter of the pharmacy…

  Thursday, October 27, 2016

• Why is the pharma profession so prone to scandal?

  Zig Ziglar, the well-known motivational speaker and entrepreneur, once said, "The foundation stones for…

  Monday, October 17, 2016

• Matching your genes to your prescription

  Richard Dawkins, the British biologist, once said "DNA neither cares nor knows. DNA just is. And we dance…

  Wednesday, September 28, 2016

• The biggest challenge of my pharmacy career

  A student on his rotation at our pharmacy recently asked me, "What is the biggest challenge you have…

  Monday, September 12, 2016

• Who is to blame for Mylan’s EpiPen price?

  ​The blame game is nothing new. According to Genesis in the Bible, Adam blamed his wife for making…

  Monday, August 29, 2016

• As Massachusetts unveils new PMP, old questions remain

  ​With high hopes for an easier to use and more efficient website, Massachusetts has announced the launch…

  Monday, August 15, 2016

• Networking for pharmacists 101

  I sometimes ask my pharmacy students what they think will be the most important thing to help them reach…

  Friday, July 29, 2016

• The most popular pharmacy degree add-ons

  When I first started pharmacy school there was, for the most part, one universal bachelor's degree that…

  Friday, July 15, 2016

• Opinions differ on pharmacist surplus

  ​William Shatner, the iconic Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise, once said: "We meet aliens every…

  Friday, July 01, 2016

• iPharmacist: Will robots take over the profession?

  The year is 2116 and Mr. Smith approaches the counter of his local ABC Pharmacy. There are no lines as…

  Monday, June 20, 2016

• 3 keys to planning your pharmacy career

  Pharmacists today have more career paths to choose from than ever before. Once upon a time, pharmacists…

  Monday, June 06, 2016

• Pharmacy pro-choice bill fails in Colorado

  The pharmacy "pro-choice" movement — specifically the bill to allow consumers in Colorado to use the…

  Monday, May 23, 2016

• Do we really need another pharmacy school?

  ​In spite of growing concerns among pharmacists that the job market has already become saturated, there…

  Friday, May 06, 2016

• Pharmacists on the front line of polypharmacy

  More patients are on multiple-drug regimens than ever before, and the numbers are climbing. In a study…

  Monday, April 25, 2016

• Pharmacists: Don’t be afraid to spread the news of what you do

  I recently had the privilege of speaking to a local group of physicians about the services we are implementing…

  Monday, April 11, 2016

• Optimism abounds with new Massachusetts opioid laws

  ​If optimism alone was enough to solve the opioid epidemic in Massachusetts, it would appear the battle…

  Monday, March 28, 2016

• Pharmacy managers: One of the highest‑paying jobs in America

  ​The pharmacy job market has been taking a hit lately, with recent articles about the steep drop in…

  Friday, March 11, 2016

• 5 tips for handling personnel issues in the pharmacy

  "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." Those opening lines of Charles Dickens' classic…

  Monday, February 29, 2016

• Dispensing Zika virus information to patients in the pharmacy

  ​Today's pharmacists dispense a lot more than medication. And with growing concern regarding the spread…

  Friday, February 12, 2016

• The privileges and challenges of being a pharmacy preceptor

  ​It doesn't seem that long ago that I was a pharmacy student. But actually it was a long time ago,…

  Thursday, February 04, 2016

• 3 pharma advertising issues that must be addressed

  David Ogilvy, often hailed as the "Father of Advertising," once said, "Never write an advertisement which…

  Friday, January 15, 2016

• My 5 pharmacist goals for 2016

  ​As a practicing pharmacist in an outpatient setting, I always try to allow my real-life experience…

  Monday, January 04, 2016

• My PBM Christmas wish list

  A recent report published by Applied Policy is urging for more regulation of the PBM industry, which…

  Friday, December 11, 2015

• Should pharmacists prescribe contraceptives?

  If you had to guess the number of unintended pregnancies each year, what would you say? Ten thousand?…

  Monday, November 30, 2015

• Should pharmacy managers be tested?

  Should a pharmacist who becomes the manager — also known as the pharmacist-in-charge (PIC) — be required…

  Monday, November 16, 2015

• Walgreens: Happy, healthy — and huge

  Walgreens has been on something of a growth spurt lately, and the latest proposed acquisition of the…

  Monday, November 02, 2015

• Will Massachusetts’ proposed 3‑day opioid limit work?

  In a culture that is facing unprecedented numbers of opioid overdoses and death, new ideas to stem the…

  Monday, October 19, 2015

• Should a pharmacist be responsible for employee theft?

  Yes. At least that is the opinion of the California court system and their State Board of Pharmacy. The…

  Friday, October 09, 2015

• Daraprim: The $750 generic tablet?

  ​Imagine driving to the gas station, filling your tank and being told the total is $200,000. That is…

  Tuesday, September 22, 2015

• The butterfly effect of Target pharmacy staff unionization

  While speaking in a somewhat different context, Abraham Lincoln once said, "I am glad to see that a system…

  Monday, September 21, 2015

• Does the new ‘pink Viagra’ really work?

  It has been popularly called the "pink Viagra." Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers…

  Friday, September 04, 2015

• What’s behind Wal-Mart Pharmacy’s dreary quarter?

  Ominous is a word that comes to mind. Forlorn seems to fit, too. It is like a black raven is perched…

  Monday, August 24, 2015

• Amarin, free speech and off-label drug promotion

  Should representatives of FDA-approved drugs be able to talk to physicians or pharmacists about off-label…

  Monday, August 10, 2015

• Are sodas the new cigarettes?

  According to a recent analysis published in the British Medical Journal, sugar-sweetened soda drinks…

  Monday, July 27, 2015

• Reflections of a pharmacist: The new FDA NSAID warning

  On July 9, the FDA published a new drug safety warning indicating there is a greater risk of heart attack…

  Monday, July 13, 2015

• CVS buys Target’s pharmacy business: So what?

  In a move that caught nearly everyone by surprise, CVS Health announced June 15 that it would purchase…

  Monday, June 29, 2015

• Are more good days ahead for the pharmacy job market?

  American entertainer Lawrence Welk once famously quipped, "There are good days and there are bad days,…

  Monday, June 15, 2015

• In wake of meningitis scandal, Massachusetts changes CE requirements

  When a tragedy on the scale of what happened in 2012 regarding the Massachusetts-based New England Compounding…

  Monday, June 01, 2015

• Pharmacists can help patients swallow pills

  It may be a tough pill to swallow, but the medical community is becoming more aware of the number of…

  Friday, May 08, 2015

• Prior authorizations: Pharmacy’s own little horror show

  ​Of all the scary terms in the retail pharmacy world (not to mention among doctors and their staff),…

  Friday, April 17, 2015

• Should we get rid of paper package inserts?

  Back in December, the FDA issued a proposal that would theoretically eliminate the little folded paper…

  Friday, April 03, 2015

• Are metrics to blame for pharmacy errors?

  I typically don't fill out online surveys. But this one came from a pharmacy association that I respect…

  Thursday, March 19, 2015

• Are there too many pharmacy schools?

  In a recent Drug Topics article, the founding dean of the new Chapman University School of Pharmacy answered…

  Monday, March 02, 2015

• Diversion problems: Acknowledging the issue

  Virtually every pharmacist understands the magnitude of the drug diversion problem in the U.S. We see…

  Monday, February 16, 2015

• Thoughts on ordering, stocking, dispensing thousand-dollar pills

  A lot of talk has been going around about how health plans are figuring out which HCV treatment they…

  Monday, February 02, 2015

• Treating Hepatitis C: The big question no one is asking

  If 2014 will be remembered for anything, pharmaceutically speaking, it will probably be for the impact…

  Friday, January 16, 2015

• Are independent pharmacies really that profitable?

  Every year I look forward to reading Dr. Adam Fein's analysis of the profitability of independent pharmacies…

  Friday, January 09, 2015

• Should health insurance pay for compounded medications?

  ​Former President Ronald Reagan once quipped that the nine most terrifying words in the English language…

  Tuesday, November 25, 2014

• In the face of hospital closures, pharmacies can play a crucial role

  Hospital-based pharmacists interested in the advancement of the profession need to think about the role…

  Monday, November 17, 2014

• CVS’s sneaky move to recoup loss of tobacco sales

  When drugstore giant CVS Health decided to discontinue the sale of cigarettes in their CVS pharmacies,…

  Tuesday, October 28, 2014

• Do pharmacist-patient interactions matter?

  Interactions matter. In the pharmacy world, that phrase typically refers to drug-drug interactions, which…

  Monday, October 13, 2014

• Will your pharmacy start taking back unused drugs?

  Sometimes our solutions are more complex than the problems they are trying to solve. That fact came to…

  Monday, September 29, 2014

• Making the most of the HCP rescheduling

  Like me, you have probably heard enough of the moaning and groaning related to the upcoming Oct. 6 DEA…

  Friday, September 12, 2014

• The sky is falling: 5 challenges of hydrocodone rescheduling

  ​It has been talked about for years. Some thought the topic was like Chicken Little crying that the…

  Monday, August 25, 2014

• Retail pharmacy and 5 profitability problems

  ​The news hit me like a ton of bricks: "All EasyCare pharmacies will be closing beginning Aug. 20.…

  Monday, August 18, 2014

• Stop whining: Insurers and the high price hype of Hepatitis C

  ​There has been a lot of fuss in the media over the price of the newest treatment options for Hepatitis…

  Thursday, July 31, 2014

• Hobby Lobby: Progestins and the politics of prevention

  I would rather talk about progestins than politics almost any day of the week — they are far more predictable…

  Friday, July 18, 2014

• Pharmaceutical reps and the Twilight Zone

  I had lunch today with a pharmaceutical representative, or "sales specialist." We talked about what was…

  Thursday, July 03, 2014

• Can pharmacists help patients afford their drugs?

  Ever since the release of the latest Hepatitis C drug, which sells for $1,000 per pill, it seems there…

  Friday, June 20, 2014

• Are prescription monitoring programs merely a placebo?

  The network of states connecting their prescription monitoring programs (PMPs) is growing. But while…

  Friday, June 06, 2014

• Your pharmacist may know less than you think

  Less about you, that is. What I'm talking about is what I like to refer to as the "pharmacy information…

  Friday, May 23, 2014

• Students and stimulants: Risky business on college campuses

  It's finals time, and college kids (among others) are looking for any approach that will give them the…

  Monday, May 12, 2014

• Is hospital outpatient pharmacy the new frontier?

  There's a new trend sweeping the nation. Well, it's not brand new. But it is hard to miss the growing…

  Friday, April 25, 2014

• Is pharmacy a smart career choice?

  Ever since U.S. News and World Report listed pharmacy as the No. 5 best job for 2014, the profession…

  Monday, March 31, 2014

• Zohydro ER: Who are we really here for?

  ​Healthcare is supposed to be about helping sick people, but sometimes I think we have forgotten who…

  Friday, March 14, 2014

• Prescription drug overdose – Can we be honest?

  Some topics tend to generate more heat than light, and prescription drug overdose is one of them. Type…

  Monday, March 03, 2014

• Is CVS blowing smoke about cigarettes?

  CVS Pharmacy has been on the front page of the health section of every major newspaper since the company…

  Friday, February 14, 2014

• Cannabis craze: A pharmacist’s take on medical marijuana

  ​It is no exaggeration to say our nation is presently obsessed with the issues surrounding availability…

  Friday, January 31, 2014

• Have a heart: A pharmacist’s reflection on medicine adherence

  We know that compliance with prescribed medication therapies is embarrassingly low. So have a heart and…

  Monday, January 20, 2014

• Pharmacists ranked No. 2 in honesty/ethics, but ...

  Much talk has been generated recently among the members of the pharmacist profession about the No. 2…

  Monday, January 06, 2014

• Acid suppression, B-12 and the supplement dilemma

  Kaiser Permanente researchers recently published the results of a study in JAMA that points strongly…

  Monday, December 16, 2013

• Clock is ticking: New acetaminophen combo limitations coming soon

  Beginning next month, manufacturers of combination prescription products containing acetaminophen are…

  Friday, December 06, 2013

• Will we all be on statins soon?

  ​The sky is falling. The statins are coming. At least that's what some folks are saying. According…

  Thursday, November 21, 2013

• Denying the shot: Preventing prescription abuse at the pharmacy

  As pharmacists we sometimes have to take a hockey goalie's approach to prescriptions we are asked to…

  Monday, November 11, 2013