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3 key questions about tech-check-tech
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalAllow me to begin this article by stating emphatically that I am a committed supporter of the pharmacy technician profession. I applauded the progression toward technician certification and the expanded roles that this included. Well-trained pharmacy technicians make any pharmacy workflow far more effective, safe and efficient.
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Cancer drugs are the latest to experience price hikes
Dr. Abimbola Farinde PharmaceuticalThe 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.
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Why is the pharma profession so prone to scandal?
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalZig Ziglar, the well-known motivational speaker and entrepreneur, once said, "The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty." I'm not sure if anyone else has been watching the news lately, but with respect to the profession of pharmacy, it seems like someone has stolen our stones.
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Cutting opioid production is the latest effort to curb epidemic
Dr. Abimbola Farinde PharmaceuticalThe 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.
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It’s business as usual for drug companies, despite opioid epidemic
Dr. Abimbola Farinde PharmaceuticalOpioids 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.
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Career change in healthcare: Transitioning to your true calling
Brian Bauer Healthcare AdministrationIt's no secret the healthcare industry is experiencing explosive job growth with the increasing demand for health services. Technology seems to bring us into the future faster with each passing year, and with these advances come new methods of performing old tasks and new opportunities to fill roles that were inconceivable not so long ago.
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Big changes may be coming to how pharmaceuticals are made
Alan Kelsky PharmaceuticalBefore there were drug companies, there were medicine men, shamans and doctors with limited training. Nevertheless, the manufacturing of drugs has remained virtually unchanged for centuries. Back in the days when drugs were first made from plant extracts, they were processed in a batch — albeit with limited ingredients. Today, we still make drugs in batches, but the batches are many times larger and have lots more ingredients.
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CMS aims to bolster emergency preparedness
Christina Thielst Healthcare AdministrationHealthcare is increasingly being delivered outside of hospitals in widely diverse settings. However, the level of preparedness for disasters and emergencies varies — even though disasters stress the entire system. The latest Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) final rule establishes consistency with requirements for all who participate in Medicare and Medicaid. The regulations will lead to increased patient safety during emergencies and more coordinated responses to natural and man-made disasters.
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Nanoengineered proteins may be the key to fighting superbugs
Joan Spitrey Medical & Allied HealthcareAs many in healthcare are well aware, the rise of drug-resistant organisms is becoming a growing public health concern. Just last week, the United Nations met to discuss this "fundamental threat" to global health, demonstrating the urgency.
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Matching your genes to your prescription
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalRichard Dawkins, the British biologist, once said "DNA neither cares nor knows. DNA just is. And we dance to its music." If, by dancing, he includes the way in which individual people metabolize drugs, then clearly as pharmacists we need to be thinking about the music going on inside our patients' cells.
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