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Should pharmacists prescribe contraceptives?
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalIf you had to guess the number of unintended pregnancies each year, what would you say? Ten thousand? One hundred thousand? Five hundred thousand? The number is actually more like 3 million unintended pregnancies per year in our country. That’s a staggering number, and amounts to about 50 percent of all pregnancies in the U.S. Wasn’t the discovery and development of "the pill" supposed to change all this?
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Walgreens expands telehealth services to 25 states
Scott E. Rupp PharmaceuticalAfter a successful launch in five states, Walgreens recently announced it is collaborating with MDLIVE to expand its mobile app to offer MDLIVE's telehealth services to users in 20 additional states. According to a statement issued by the company, the expansion means an updated telehealth experience within the Walgreens app and better functionality and integration with MDLIVE.
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Leadership in healthcare: Not so different from splitting wood
Christina Thielst Healthcare AdministrationAs winter approaches, this is an excellent time to reflect on trends in healthcare and self-assess one's leadership style. A few weeks ago, as I was preparing for the winter and splitting wood, I thought about the similarities of this activity with my experience leading people in healthcare environments.
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Study: Rural hospitals lag in EHR progression
Scott E. Rupp Healthcare AdministrationThe federal EHR incentive plan has paid dividends in getting health systems to adopt electronic health records, but small hospitals still lag behind, even after nearly five years. These are the findings from a new study featuring nationwide data collected from 2008-2014.
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Should pharmacy managers be tested?
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalShould a pharmacist who becomes the manager — also known as the pharmacist-in-charge (PIC) — be required to pass a separate exam to prove he/she understands what is expected in this new position? According to the New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy (BOP), the answer is yes.
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Home infusion therapy market to expand exponentially by 2020
Scott E. Rupp Medical & Allied HealthcareSeems everything related to the home healthcare market currently is hugely popular, and the trend continues. A perfect example is the home infusion market, of all things. What exactly is the home infusion market? The simple answer is that home infusion therapy refers to intravenous at-home administration of medicines into the patient's body through a needle and catheter.
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Anti-heartburn medications may increase risk of death for hospital patients
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareAntacids are used commonly for symptoms such as heartburn, abdominal pain and nausea resulting from a number of conditions, such as inflammation or acid-peptic ulcers of the esophagus (esophagitis), stomach (gastritis) and duodenum (duodenitis). In almost any hospital in the United States, about half of the patients have a prescription for an acid-reducing drug to reduce heartburn or prevent bleeding in their stomach and gut.
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FDA approval of Utibron Neohaler is great news for COPD patients
Dr. Abimbola Farinde PharmaceuticalChronic 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.
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Walgreens: Happy, healthy — and huge
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalWalgreens has been on something of a growth spurt lately, and the latest proposed acquisition of the nearly 4,600 Rite Aid stores suggests their appetite for enlargement isn't slowing down. If the deal goes through, the result will be a more than 50 percent increase in the number of Walgreens stores (to about 12,700). This will put them well ahead of CVS (roughly 9,500 after the Target deal), their next closest competitor.
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Cariprazine approval provides another option in treating mental illness
Dr. Abimbola Farinde PharmaceuticalThe 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.
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