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ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The National Institute for Standards in Pharmacist Credentialing has pushed the number of pharmacists it has certified in disease management to record levels following a successful alliance [...]

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Pharmacists have a clearly defined role to play in the distribution of prescription medications. But the profession's real opportunity may lie instead with over-the-counter drugs. 'In [...]

MINNETONKA, Minn. -- Snyders Drug Stores/Drug Emporium has launched a program for its pharmacists that executives say will increase the level of service patients receive from the pharmacy. Called the [...]

A nurse/pharmacist team manages an anemia anagement protocol, in an outpatient hemodialysis clinic using a research-based algorithm developed to determine changes to individual patient's Epoetin Alfa dose as well as IV iron dosage. At our clinic we determined that to best take care of our patients we would utilize a Nurse and Pharmacist team to implement and monitor our Anemia Management Protocol. Further, by incorporating computer-generated graphs for each patient the team is able to visually monitor patient's progress into the optimal K-DOQI range, as well as track fast responders and slow responders to EPO therapy and adjust the dosage of EPOGEN accordingly. Iron repletion as well as iron maintenance is incorporated into this approach of Anemia Management. Due to the many patient variables involved in anemia management, clinical judgment is allowed to override the protocol when it is necessary to optimize outcomes. Baseline data was obtained in January 2000 and 24% of patients bad hgb less than 10 g/dl. In August of 2002, 5% of patients had hgb less than 10 g/dl. In the same time period the percentage of patients with hgb 11 g/dl or greater increased from 57% to 81%. I feel that by utilizing a nurse-pharmacist team approach to the management of anemia in ESRD patients that we have attained dramatic improvement in the patient's goal of being within the K-DOQI targeted range for hgb.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A new Internet-based networking and communications program is available now to pharmacists who provide disease management and other specialized patient care services, according to the National Institute [...]

Sorry to call in the middle of the day' said Paula, 'but my pharmacist said that the antibiotic you gave me would interfere with the pill. I told her' you [...]

Between the minefield of modern drug retailing and the promise of a more profitable future lies the shadow--or in this case, five big shadows. Those murky areas represent five of [...]

LANGLEY, British Columbia -- Pharmasave Drugs National chief executive officer Brad Bond indicates that the company is encouraging its owner pharmacists to change the way they allocate their time. 'We [...]

DURHAM, N.C.-Having recognized early on that growth in prescription sales would not be proceeding at predicted rates, Kerr Drug has been redirecting its energies and efforts into pharmacy, which represents [...]

At first glance, it might appear that independent drug stores share some of the same challenges as the larger chain drug retailers, but not the same efficiencies or economies of [...]

Are you providing disease management services and filing third-party claims for payment but receiving rejection letters instead of checks from insurance companies? It doesn't have to be that way, says [...]

Executive Director Washington State Board of Pharmacy For years now, pharmacies have been evaluated based on process, or whether they are following the rules, rather than outcome. In other words, [...]

Does pharmacy have a future?" Harold Cohen, R.Ph., publisher, customized medical education solutions, Medical Economics Co., posed this question to the nearly 400 pharmacists attending the annual Reed Conference (named [...]

The slogan "Collaborative practice: Do it!" didn't quite replace "Remember the Alamo!" but it was an oft-heard theme at last month's American Pharmaceutical Association annual meeting in San Antonio. Leading [...]

Surveys describe the problem but there is no consensus on solutions Too many prescriptions fill in too little time, is the lament of many pharmacists these days. Adding to the [...]

The Canada Health Act requires provinces to provide total medical and hospital services to every Canadian resident. Canada has a national health system which results in accessible services throughout the provinces and paid for by federal/provincial tax dollars. Prescriptions are not covered by the act., Many of the challenges facing pharmacists in Canada are common to both our countries. This is particularly true with issues of remuneration and recognition of pharmaceutical services at a time [...]

Bob Johnson was never one to mince words. Given his strong executive background with McKesson, PCS, and the California Pharmacists Association, I also knew that he would have a lot [...]

Kenneth R. Baker, B.S. Pharm., J.D., is vice president and general counsel at Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Co. The patient brought in a new prescription for erythromycin. As the pharmacist filled [...]

Kenneth R. Baker, B.S. Pharm, J.D., is vice president and general counsel for the Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Co. in Algona, Iowa, and past president of the American Society for Pharmacy [...]

It's probably safe to say that fast, efficient customer service is the goal of every community pharmacist; it is certainly the goal of every drugstore chain. Most companies in every [...]

What pharmacists really need is a continuing education course in 'customerese' The other day a customer asked Jake, our second-year pharmacy intern, where the Listerine suppositories were. 'Listerine?' Jake asked. [...]

Religious extremists wreak havoc with a nerve gas attack in the Tokyo subway. Members of a cult in Oregon pour vials of salmonella on restaurant salad bars. A biochemist--kicked out [...]

Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, Philadelphia, is offering pharmacies a crack at lower drug prices through a market share-driven discount program. The Shared Success plan covers 17 products in nine therapeutic categories, featuring [...]

Beginning in July, Minnesota pharmacies may sell 10 or fewer hypodermic needles or syringes without prescriptions to known IV drug users. The project, patterned after a similar one in Connecticut, [...]

Pharmacists are a bundle of contradictions, if Drug Topics' exclusive nationwide survey of R.Ph.s in community and hospital practice settings is any guide. They really like helping patients, but fewer [...]

Pharmacists who supply durable medical equipment to Medicare patients are hoping they won't be required to obtain surety bonds under a new rule proposed by the Health Care Financing Administration. [...]

The more things change ... well, you know the rest. In 1992, the last time Drug Topics paid a visit Inside Today's Pharmacist, drug testing was the topic of conversation [...]

Implementing a plan that's been on the drawing board for years, a Texas pharmacist is building a network of fellow R.Ph.s to man the telephone and counsel the consumer willing [...]

There would be big changes in working conditions," he said. "No pharmacist would ever work more than an eight-hour shift. There would be two 15-minute breaks and a half-hour lunch. [...]