Internet Drug Rx Abuse

NCASA Study
Staff Reporters
A large majority of 365 Internet sites that advertise or sell controlled medications by mail are offering to supply the drugs without a proper prescription, while the online trade is stoking the rising abuse of addictive and dangerous prescription drugs, according to a National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse [NCASA] at Columbia [...]

Prescription Quantity Survey

The IMS Health Data Study
Staff Reporters
Did you know that the number of prescriptions dispensed by pharmacies in the U.S. is growing at its worst rate in at least a decade, as consumers are squeezed by both a troubled economy and the growing burden of out-of-pocket health-care costs?
The IMS Report
Data from market researcher IMS Health and [...]

Medication Errors Persist

Bar Coding Not a Proven Technology
Staff Reporters
Bar coding has not yet been proven to reduce medication errors, and often the shortcuts that caregivers develop undermine its effectiveness, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association [JAMIA].
Hospital Settings
In hospitals that use bar codes, each patient gets a unique [...]

Continuing Medical Education Controversy

Big-Pharma Reacts to Criticism
Staff Reporters
Pfizer Inc., hoping to temper criticism that it is improperly influencing doctors, is eliminating direct financial support for continuing medical education [CME] courses that are offered by third-party companies.
The Reaction
Pfizer will continue to fund CME courses at academic institutions, teaching hospitals and those supported by medical societies, but will no [...]

Top Ten Brand-Name Elder Drugs

The 2007 Pace Report
Staff Reporters
Top 10 Brand-Name Drugs Ranked by Prescriptions Filled in PACE*

Rank

Drug Name

Type of Drug

Median Negotiated Monthly Price

1

Lipitor

Cholesterol

$79.12

2

Plavix

Cardiovascular

$125.91

3

Protonix

PPI

$117.67

4

Nexium

PPI

$145.09

5

Fosamax

Osteoporosis

$79.15

6

Diovan

Cardiovascular

$57.54

7

Aricept

Dementia

$158.49

8

Zetia

Cholesterol

$87.06

9

Actonel

Osteoporosis

$83.60

10

Prevacid

PPI

$146.41

 
*PACE = Pennsylvania’s Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly (PACE) program
Data Source: PACE utilization data and Hargrave et al. analysis of data on pricing from the CMS Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder on Medicare.gov, for [...]

Big Pharma’s Dilemma

Making it … Without Big Pharma
By Patrick C. Cox; Jr.
Pharma Section Editor
How are we going to make it without Big Pharma?
An alarming question but a very real one we nonetheless might have to face over the next few years. Look, we’ve become accustomed to Big Pharma delivering that blockbuster drug just when we [...]

Federal Drug Detailing Program

New Proposal for “Academic” Detailing
Staff Writers 
 
A bill will soon be introduced in the United States Senate that would offer physicians an alternative source for the latest information about new drugs, instead of relying on pharmaceutical manufacturers and retail drug representatives.  
The Proposal 
The legislation, sponsored by Senators Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) would create a [...]

Controlled Substance Risks in Medical Practice

Understanding DEA Perils
By Dr. Charles F. Fenton III; Esq 
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) controls the issuance of DEA numbers that permit the physician to prescribe controlled substances to their patients.
The use of controlled substances is important to almost all medical specialties. 
Family practitioners use codeine to treat coughs and surgeons use narcotics to manage pain. [...]

Tamper Resistant Prescription Drug Pads

prescription-pad-law-guidance.pdf
Understanding the Law of May 25th 2007

Staff Writers 
“The DHH and CMS State Medicaid Guidance Report” 
Feel free to comment and opine on the above report?
Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

FDA Liability Immunity Ruling

The US Supreme Court Rules
Staff Reporters

Did you know that the US Supreme Court just ruled that makers of medical devices - like implantable defibrillators or breast implants - are immune from liability for personal injuries as long as the Food and Drug Administration [FDA] approved the device before it was marketed and it meets the agency’s [...]

The Jarvik Affair

“What’s up with That?”
By Patrick C. Cox, Jr  
How many times have you viewed the Lipitor® “educational” commercial featuring Dr. Robert Jarvik?  
If you are like me, probably often since Pfizer appears set on getting their money’s worth from the production. The spot pops up everywhere it seems. Pretty impressive with the rowing, the lake, and natural [...]

The 2008 MEDMARX Report

United States Pharmacopeia [USP]
Staff Reporters 
 
After examining records submitted by 870 hospitals to MEDMARX, a database run by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), a new report finds that 1.4 percent of mistakes resulted in patient harm, including seven errors that may have caused or contributed to death.  The study implicated 1,470 different drugs in errors associated [...]

Health Plans Draws Fire for Physician Incentives

Doctors May Profit from Generic Drug Switch
Staff Writers 

Several of the nation’s health plans are drawing scrutiny for offering financial incentives to entice doctors to prescribe cheaper generic medicines; according to a recent report from the Wall Street Journal.
This practice includes paying them up to $100 each time they switch a patient from a brand-name [...]

Does Merck & Company Give Refunds?

“I Want My [Prescription-Drug] Money Back!”
By Patrick C. Cox; Jr. 
 
Merck & Company may have to as a result of a recently filed lawsuit in the state of Florida.
Coming on the heels of the disappointing Vytorin™ Enhance Trial results, patient Marion J. Greene, 72, is suing to get her money back.  She had been taking [...]

CD-HCPs and Pharmacy Benefits

Safety and Compliance Needed
Staff Writers

A new report suggests that Consumer Directed-Health Care Plans and Pharmacy Benefits Plans [PBPs] must focus on safety and compliance.
The survey, done by the Employee Benefit Research Institute [EBRI], found that nearly 70% of those enrolled in consumer-directed health care plans (CD-HCPs) said that they considered costs when deciding to see [...]

Economics of Statins [Trials]

The Competition Heats-Up
Patrick C. Cox; Jr.
 
The chances are pretty good that you are taking a proven compound - called a statin - on a daily basis along with millions of other patients. The drugs are relatively safe, easy to take, widely available, and covered on most healthcare insurance plans … And, they do work. 
While not [...]

Free Drugs for the Affluent

Pharmaceutical Samples to Wrong Patients [PRMA]
Staff Writers
 
Most free drug samples that physicians reserve for poor or uninsured patients actually go to wealthier patients who have insurance, reports a new study by the American Journal of Public Health [AJPH].
Patients with the highest incomes were the most likely to get free samples, according to the survey of nearly 33,000 [...]

Pharma Ties Common in Medical Schools

Study Economically Links Medical Leaders to Industry
Staff Reporters
A new study suggests that nearly two-thirds of academic leaders surveyed at U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals have financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry; illustrating how pervasive these relationships have become, researchers say.

This link to a related report was sent in by a reader-advocate, with our thanks: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21333262 
Conclusion: [...]

Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Outcomes

Annals of Internal Medicine [AIM] Study on Part D
Staff Writers
The AIM recently reported from its online survey that Medicare Part D induced a 13.1 % decrease in out-of-pocket expenses for patients and a 5.9 % increase in prescription drug use.
The study compared out-of-pocket costs and the number of pills purchased by those who were eligible [...]

Honoraria Controversy – Ties that Bind

Pharmaceutical / Medical Device Industry Bedfellows
Staff Writers   
 
The Journal of the American Medical Association recently reported that nearly two-thirds of academic leaders surveyed at 125 US medical schools and the nation’s 15 largest teaching hospitals have financial ties to the medical industry. 
Serving as paid consultants or thought leaders - accepting industry money for free meals, honoraria and [...]

2008 Medicare Part D Rates

Premium Increases for Seniors
Staff Writers 
 
Medicare Past D, the prescription drug benefit set forth under the MMA is variable by the plan vendor, with premium rates set on an annual basis. 
Cost sharing is subsidized for qualified Medicaid/Medicare crossovers and specified low-income beneficiaries. The MMA allows for the deductible and variable coinsurance coverage levels to increase on [...]

Fewer Drugs for the Old Folks

Medicare Part D
Staff Writers 

The CMS reported in USA Today that Medicare beneficiaries are likely to see a smaller number of drugs covered under Part D plans next year, as insurers revise offerings and the government reduces hundreds of products from a list of approved drugs.  
On average, the number of drugs offered by the 10 insurers with [...]

The Pharmaceutical Industry

Prognosis for Big Pharma
Staff Writers

According to the Wall Street Journal, generic drug competition is expected to wipe $67 billion from top pharmaceutical companies’ annual U.S. sales between 2007 and 2012.
Why? More than three dozen drugs lose patent protection; roughly half of the companies’ combined 2007 U.S. sales.  
Moreover, during the five years from 2002 through [...]