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Affordable Care Act faces more hurdles in coming months
Rosemary Sparacio Medical & Allied HealthcareThe Affordable Care Act has survived one repeal attempt in the Supreme Court, as well as more than 50 repeal attempts by the House of Representatives and the Senate. However, President Barack Obama's signature legislation faces yet another significant challenge to its existence.
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New research shows progress in the fight against lupus
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease in which the immune system produces antibodies to cells within the body, leads to widespread inflammation and tissue damage. Although the causes of SLE remain unknown, the disease is believed to be linked to genetic, environmental and hormonal factors, and is marked by periods of illness and remission.
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Are metrics to blame for pharmacy errors?
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalI typically don't fill out online surveys. But this one came from a pharmacy association that I respect in the state I graduated. It also happened to be on a topic I'm pretty passionate about. The title of the study for which the survey provided data was "Evaluation of pharmacy metric and workload factors impact on patient safety."
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Smoking impairs drug response in axial spondyloarthritis
Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied HealthcareAxial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA) is a potentially disabling chronic inflammatory condition, principally involving the hips and axial skeleton. Recent population estimates indicate that the prevalence of AxSpA in the United States is approximately 0.2-0.5 percent.
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History proves community pharmacy is far from extinction
Greg L. Alston PharmaceuticalI read with great interest a Drug Topics blog post by Truman Lastinger, RPh, titled "Is community pharmacy a dying profession?" While his article laments the loss of control of our profession to third-party actors, the storm of responses is even more telling.
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What does the future hold for Nina Pham?
Joan Spitrey Medical & Allied HealthcareOn March 2, nurse Nina Pham filed a lawsuit against her employer, Texas Health Resources, for negligent training and a violation of privacy in the wake of the Ebola incident in Dallas. Pham helped take care of Thomas Eric Duncan, who walked into a Dallas community hospital infected with the Ebola virus he contracted in Liberia, and she became the first person to contract Ebola in the United States.
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Novel anticoagulants target cancer patients with CVC
Dr. Afsaneh Motamed-Khorasani PharmaceuticalAnticoagulants have been traditionally used to treat venous thromboembolism (VTE), which is a major healthcare problem. For 25 percent of patients with pulmonary embolism, sudden death has been reported to be the initial clinical presentation. If death doesn't happen originally, the patients are treated with different anticoagulants in the emergency department.
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Are you getting all you can out of medical tax breaks?
Monica Gomez Medical & Allied HealthcareAs tax season is upon us, it's time to get your financial documents in order, and that includes everything related to last year's medical expenses. With the continually rising costs of medical expenses for the American family, it makes sense to take advantage of as many medical tax breaks as possible, which oftentimes are overlooked.
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Are there too many pharmacy schools?
Jason Poquette PharmaceuticalIn a recent Drug Topics article, the founding dean of the new Chapman University School of Pharmacy answered that question with a resounding "no." Ronald P. Jordan defended his Orange County school's existence — and that of many other newly opening schools — by arguing that many career opportunities exist for pharmacists focused on creating better, healthier lives for patients.
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‘Superbug’ surfaces at UCLA — What you need to know
Joan Spitrey Medical & Allied HealthcareAccording to reports this week, UCLA's Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Los Angeles has potentially infected nearly 180 patients with the "superbug" known as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE. UCLA has traced the source of the spread to duodenoscopes that are used for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).
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