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Community pharmacy, also known as retail pharmacy, is the most common type of pharmacy that allows the public access to their medications and advice about their health. Traditionally known as a chemist, it is the healthcare facility that is responsible for the provision of pharmaceutical service to a specific community group or region.

Xerox to manage all document and business process needs within healthcare organization

The recent acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. makes Xerox Corporation the largest provider to manage all document and business process needs within a healthcare organization – from clinical and operational to financial and administrative.

1 Mar 2010

Pharmacist workforce: Work characteristics and contributions

Results released today from the Pharmacy Manpower Project’s 2009 National Pharmacist Workforce Survey indicate shifts in the pharmacy profession toward more patient care. This 2009 report also provides insight into how the nation’s current economic situation has influenced the dynamics of the U.S. pharmacy workforce as nearly a quarter of pharmacists are practicing part-time and more are working past retirement age. This study is the third in a series of surveys commissioned by the Pharmacy Manpower Project, Inc. (PMP) since 2000 and has been highly anticipated throughout the industry.

1 Mar 2010

Two Atlanta-based nursing homes and their principals to pay the U.S. and several states $14M

Atlanta-based Mariner Health Care Inc. and SavaSeniorCare Administrative Services LLC, as well as their principals, Leonard Grunstein, Murray Forman and Rubin Schron, have agreed to pay the United States and several states $14 million, the Justice Department announced today.

27 Feb 2010

Magellan Health Services reports net revenue of $2.64 billion for year ended December 31, 2009

Magellan Health Services, Inc. today reported net revenue of $2.64 billion, net income of $106.7 million, or $3.01 per diluted common share, and segment profit of $227.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2009.

26 Feb 2010

BioScrip announces revenues of $341.6M for fourth-quarter

BioScrip, Inc. today announced fourth quarter revenues of $341.6 million and net income of $40.7 million, or $0.99 per diluted share, which includes the reversal of the Company’s deferred tax valuation allowance of $41.1 million, expenses of $1.8 million associated with BioScrip’s pending acquisition of Critical Homecare Solutions, Inc. and $4.3 million of incentive compensation expense relating to the Company’s employee compensation program.

26 Feb 2010

Nanotechnology to tackle side effects and drug resistance in treatment of cancer

Huixin He, associate professor, nanoscale chemistry at Rutgers University, Newark, and Tamara Minko, professor at the Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, have developed a nanotechnology approach that potentially could eliminate the problems of side effects and drug resistance in the treatment of cancer. Under traditional chemotherapy, cancer cells, like bacteria, can develop resistance to drug therapy, leading to a relapse of the disease.

26 Feb 2010

WellPoint executive defends premium increases at congressional hearing

In a congressional hearing Wednesday, an insurance company executive justified proposed premium increases and warned "that pending legislation" could make the problem of high medical costs worse. "The executive, Angela F. Braly, president of WellPoint, made the comments in testimony prepared for a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee," The New York Times reports.

25 Feb 2010

FEHBP's H.R. 4489 overhaul will undermine cost-saving tools and disrupt prescription drug benefits

“Regrettably, the FEHBP Prescription Drug Integrity, Transparency, and Cost Savings Act (H.R. 4489) would undermine many of the cost-saving tools used in FEHBP and disrupt prescription drug benefits for 8 million federal employees, retirees, and their families.”

25 Feb 2010

AMA awards HMS contract for third party recovery activities

HMS today announced that it had been awarded a contract by the State of Alabama Medicaid Agency (AMA) to provide various third party recovery activities, including data matches with commercial and government insurors, commercial and Medicare recoveries, real-time pharmacy cost avoidance, subrogation, and credit balance audit services. This contract is for a two-year term, with three additional one-year renewal options.

25 Feb 2010

FEHBP PBM contracts: HR 4489 to reduce fraud and grant OPM greater power to audit

The House Subcommittee for the Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia heard testimony today on HR 4489, the “FEHBP Prescription Drug Integrity, Transparency, and Cost Savings Act.” The proposed bill would reform many aspects of how the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) contracts with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to provide prescription drug benefits to federal workers.

24 Feb 2010

Findings suggest bitter melon extract may help in preventing breast cancer

Bitter melon extract, a common dietary supplement, exerts a significant effect against breast cancer cell growth and may eventually become a chemopreventive agent against this form of cancer, according to results of a recent study.

23 Feb 2010

Medco Health Solutions announces record 16.7% increase in total net revenues for 2009

Medco Health Solutions, Inc. today reported record fourth-quarter 2009 GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.70, up 29.6 percent compared to $0.54 in fourth-quarter 2008. Excluding the amortization of intangible assets that existed when Medco became a publicly traded company in 2003, fourth-quarter 2009 diluted earnings per share increased 28.8 percent to a record $0.76. Medco also reported record full-year 2009 GAAP diluted earnings per share of $2.61, up 22.5 percent -- exceeding the high-end of the company's guidance.

23 Feb 2010

FDA issues approval for Gileads's Cayston for respiratory symptoms in cystic fibrosis

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted marketing approval for Cayston® (aztreonam for inhalation solution) as a treatment to improve respiratory symptoms in cystic fibrosis patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Cayston’s safety and efficacy have not been established in pediatric patients below the age of 7, patients with forced expiratory volume in one second of less than 25 percent or greater than 75 percent predicted, or patients colonized with Burkholderia cepacia.

23 Feb 2010

Somerset Hospital collaborates with Mckesson to automate pharmacy with PROmanager-Rx system

Somerset Hospital in Pennsylvania has joined with McKesson to automate its pharmacy using the new PROmanager-Rx™ system. The system will enable the 150-bed hospital to fully automate dispensing of tablets, capsules, and other oral solid medications that come directly from drug manufacturers in unit-dose, bar-coded form. Somerset, already a user of McKesson’s Paragon® community hospital information system, expects PROmanager-Rx to automate dispensing for approximately 80 percent of its daily scheduled patient doses.

23 Feb 2010

Study shows CEL-2000 vaccine blocks RA progression in mice

CEL-SCI Corporation and their scientific collaborators announced today that the Company's CEL-2000 vaccine demonstrated that it is able to block the progression of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a mouse model.

23 Feb 2010

PharMEDium Services participates in APSF Summit held in Phoenix, AZ

PharMEDium Services, LLC, announced their participation in the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) Summit held January 26th in Phoenix, AZ.

22 Feb 2010

Missing prescription drugs: Cardinal Health Pharmacy Services to pay $1M penalty

U.S. Attorney Thomas Scott Woodward announced today that Cardinal Health Pharmacy Services, LLC, a company engaged in providing hospital pharmacy management services, has agreed to pay a civil penalty in the amount of $1 million for failing to account for large amounts of missing prescription drugs.

20 Feb 2010

Express Scripts turning prescription discount business into nonprofit

Anticipating "more people will need access to discount prescriptions no matter what ultimately happens in Washington" with health reform, Express Scripts' Rx Outreach program will become a nonprofit, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

19 Feb 2010

SSHS selects Eclipsys’ Sunrise Enterprise suite of solutions for integrating EHR across multiple care venues

Eclipsys Corporation®, The Outcomes Company®, today announced that Sound Shore Health System (SSHS) will undergo an accelerated activation of Eclipsys’ Sunrise Enterprise™ integrated suite of solutions at both its Sound Shore Medical Center of Westchester (New Rochelle, NY) and Mount Vernon Hospital (Mount Vernon, NY) facilities.

19 Feb 2010

State policy developments: Wisconsin's new 'public option,' Iowa's medical marijuana vote, and more

New Hampshire Public Radio: A bill in the state legislature would create an annual public report that details the causes of rising health spending by analyzing now-private information that doctors, hospitals and other health organizations would have to provide to the state's Department of Insurance. The move is partly in response to conflicting narratives: The state's health spending continues to rise, yet hospitals and doctors say they are struggling (Grant, 2/17).

19 Feb 2010

Pharmacy News and Research

Further Reading

Xerox to manage all document and business process needs within healthcare organization

Pharmacist workforce: Work characteristics and contributions

Two Atlanta-based nursing homes and their principals to pay the U.S. and several states $14M

Magellan Health Services reports net revenue of $2.64 billion for year ended December 31, 2009

BioScrip announces revenues of $341.6M for fourth-quarter

Nanotechnology to tackle side effects and drug resistance in treatment of cancer

WellPoint executive defends premium increases at congressional hearing

FEHBP's H.R. 4489 overhaul will undermine cost-saving tools and disrupt prescription drug benefits

AMA awards HMS contract for third party recovery activities

FEHBP PBM contracts: HR 4489 to reduce fraud and grant OPM greater power to audit

Findings suggest bitter melon extract may help in preventing breast cancer

Medco Health Solutions announces record 16.7% increase in total net revenues for 2009

FDA issues approval for Gileads's Cayston for respiratory symptoms in cystic fibrosis

Somerset Hospital collaborates with Mckesson to automate pharmacy with PROmanager-Rx system

Study shows CEL-2000 vaccine blocks RA progression in mice

PharMEDium Services participates in APSF Summit held in Phoenix, AZ

Missing prescription drugs: Cardinal Health Pharmacy Services to pay $1M penalty

Express Scripts turning prescription discount business into nonprofit

SSHS selects Eclipsys’ Sunrise Enterprise suite of solutions for integrating EHR across multiple care venues

State policy developments: Wisconsin's new 'public option,' Iowa's medical marijuana vote, and more

Drug Discovery - Second Edition eBook

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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