Thursday, April 20, 2006

Local pharmacist awarded millions in case against CVS

Here's an interesting article where an independent pharmacist wins a lawsuit against pharmacy giant CVS.

Jackson pharmacist Randy Guy was awarded $5.5 million in a suit against Rhode Island based drugstore chain, CVS for breach of contract and fraud. ...more

Memories fill pharmacist

From the Regina Leader Post:
After 37 years in business, Bob Moffitt has done more than dispense pills and sell household items to customers at his north-central Regina pharmacy.

He's shared valuable advice, watched children grow up, swapped family stories, built friendships, provided a helping hand and -- in one of the unpleasant moments -- faced a man with a sawed-off shotgun during a robbery. ...more

Monday, April 17, 2006

Back from extended break

I apologize for the lengthy delay in posting articles. My schedule should permit regular updates once again. -- J

Antibiotic may help ease asthma attack due to anti-inflammatory effect: study

From the Canadian Press:
Patients given a certain antibiotic for acute asthma attacks had reduced symptoms and a hastened recovery, providing a potential new avenue of treatment for the increasingly common affliction, researchers say.

In an intriguing study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers report that patients treated with the antibiotic telithromycin not only had twice the improvement in symptoms than asthmatics given a placebo, but they also recovered much sooner. ...more

The pharmacist has your ecstasy ready

From the Toronto Star:
A Toronto weekend reveller pops into a local drugstore to pick up some ecstasy. He's followed by an addict who's there to buy a single-dose, non-reusable syringe for her fix.

Both transactions are administered by a pharmacist trained to offer advice on the safest way to use the substances.

Nearby, at a "natural herbal products" outlet, pot smokers are lined up for some grown-in-Ontario weed.

The sales are all legal, controlled, regulated and taxed — with profits divided among suppliers, distributors and sellers once a sizeable chunk of cash has been diverted to government coffers for enforcement, management and treatment of drug dependency, and for other social programs.

A far-fetched scenario? ...more

U.S. Medicare plan a blow to Cdn online pharmacies

From the National Post:
With just one month left for American patients to enrol in a new federal drug plan, Canada's online pharmacy industry is trying to assess just how big a hit they've taken -- and how soon they might recover.

While there have been some layoffs and losses since the U.S. program, called Medicare Part D, was rolled out in January, industry insiders say they hope to weather the storm because of the many gaps in the U.S. plan. ...more

Ontario drug-system overhaul targets cost

From the Globe and Mail:
A sweeping overhaul of Ontario's drug system would see pharmaceutical companies banned from paying secret rebates to pharmacists, patients getting faster access to breakthrough drugs and more brand-name products being replaced with cheaper generic versions.

The provincial government introduced legislation yesterday aimed at ensuring consumers have access to drugs at reasonable prices while curbing rising costs that it says threaten the province's entire public health-care system. ...more

Drug equals tamoxifen in preventing breast cancer, fewer side-effects: study

From the Canadian Press:
An osteoporosis drug has been found to reduce the incidence of invasive breast cancer in high-risk, post-menopausal women as effectively as the current gold-standard drug tamoxifen - but with far fewer serious side-effects, researchers say.

In a head-to-head study sponsored by the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), both raloxifene and tamoxifen were found to reduce the risk of invasive breast cancer by almost 50 per cent compared with a placebo. ...more