Managing hypertension at home improves results

From the Chicago Daily Herald:
Patients with high blood pressure controlled the condition better using in-home testing and Internet consultations with a pharmacist than by working with their doctors alone, researchers found.

Almost twice as many patients who relied on testing and the pharmacist to help guide their therapy, in addition to their usual care managed their blood pressure compared with those who only worked with their doctors, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

About one in three U.S. adults have been diagnosed with high blood pressure and less than half have the condition under control, according to the researchers. Doctors are searching for new ways for patients to control their hypertension, which can lead to stroke, heart attacks, heart failure and kidney disease if untreated. ...more

Pharmacist helps colleagues expand their patient care; Works wins Tom Smiley national recognition

From the Brantford (Ont.) Expositor:
Tom Smiley has spent 10 years helping pharmacists do more for their patients than count out pills and warn them about side-effects. That work has won Smiley the Pharmacist of the Year award from the Canadian Pharmacists Association.

Smiley has worked for Dell Pharmacy in Brantford since 1982. Ten years ago, he formed his own company, Pharmavision Health Consulting, to write continuing education programs for pharmacists. Smiley has also been involved with integrating pharmacists into family health care in Ontario.

"I'm helping to set the road for pharmacists to assist in patient care," he said. ...more

Smaller sized pharmacies making comeback in industry

From the Shelby (NC) Star:
For some, the hours of waiting and impersonal service often associated with big name pharmacies leads straight to the door of "mom-and-pop" pharmacies.

The small-operation pharmacies that have been making a comeback offer many of the benefits of larger pharmacy with a lot less of the hassle, said Gary Harden.

Harden has spent years behind the counter and behind the scenes at a number of pharmacies. And now, he's back in Shelby - where he started - and his new pharmacy is ready to serve the community he loves.

Shelby Drug Inc., just across from Shelby staple Alston Bridges Barbecue, has been open for little more than a week.

"We started out one or two prescriptions a day," Harden said. "We're up to about 10 now." ...more

Canadian company pushing pill dispensing kiosk

From IT Business:
A Canadian firm says it can help the healthcare industry cut down prescription errors and improve patient-pharmacist contact by installing automated pill dispensing kiosks at doctors' offices, clinics, drugs stores and hospitals.

PharmaTrust, a sleek green and white box similar to an automated teller machine (ATM), can read doctor's prescription scripts, dispense 150 commonly prescribed drugs, collect and manage patient records and set up a remote live video conference with a pharmacist.

The machine, developed by PCA Services Inc., of Oakville, Ont., will soon be tested by the Sunnybrook Health Services Centre in its hospital pharmacy in Toronto. ...more

Pharmacy open new compound centre

From the Belleville (Ont.) Intelligencer:
A Belleville pharmacy is "stepping back to the future" by opening a compound centre to produce its own medications that better suit their customers' individualized prescription needs.

Kelly's Guardian Pharmacy is the only pharmacy between Port Hope and Kingston to operate its own compound centre and pharmacy manager Tom Bond said there's been a need for it.

"It's an important addition to our pharmacy because pharmaceutical companies are not always catering to the individual needs of patients," he said. "They mass produce medication in certain dosage forms and strengths, but we're now able to produce our own medication in all different forms from raw materials."

Compounding, he explained, allows doctors to prescribe and the pharmacist to prepare a customized medication that is not available commercially, or to replace an available medication in a different dosage to meet specific patient needs.

For example, a compounding pharmacist can prepare liquid medication for patients who have difficulty swallowing a tablet. He can flavour medication for children or prepare a dye-free or preservative-free dosage form. The pharmacist can adjust the strength of a medication and formulate it in a form that is easier for the patient to take. ...more

Rexall embraces mosaic with Chinese signage

From the Calgary Herald:
Rexall has opened its first bilingual drug store in Alberta in Calgary's Harvest Hills neighbourhood, its second location in Canada with Chinese signage throughout the store.

Also, the company is catering to the large Chinese community in the area by making available prescription drug labels and instructions for those prescriptions in Chinese.

"What we're trying to do here is be part of the community," said Scott Morrow, vice-president operations for Rexall's western division, of the new 10,870-square-foot store on Harvest Hills Boulevard. ...more

Take a clean pill

From the Halifax Chronicle Herald:
BRENT FAY has helped make chocolate trays and winter tires, and all that experience came in to play developing a brand new product that prevents potentially deadly reactions in people who are taking medicine.

Mr. Fay and his partner Michael Jarvis are making the world’s first self-cleaning pill dispensing system, and they’re doing it out of their machine shop in Chester.

It’s been tested by the National Research Council, where scientists have proven it is a drastic improvement over the traditional plastic trays pharmacists use to dispense pills.

The two men recently incorporated their business under the name Clean Count Inc. and are awaiting the patent for their system. ...more

Langley pharmacist offers special care to diabetic patients

From the Vancouver Sun:
Newly diagnosed diabetic patients can find themselves adrift in a sea of information, and overwhelmed with the new regimen they have to follow in order to enjoy a good quality of life.

They're faced with critical health issues. They must learn how to control and monitor their blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. They also have to deal with a number of secondary health priorities, like eye, kidney and foot disease. It can be a struggle, and because diabetes is a complicated and progressive disease, many patients need expert help to reach their target health goals.

Constant mentorship is what some pharmacists can offer. "It's like having a diabetes coach," says Shakeel Bhatti, a pharmacist who specializes in diabetic care. ...more

Succession Remedy

From Time:
Patrick Rurka's business should be struggling. He owns and manages an independent Value Drug Mart store in rural Rimbey, Alta. (pop. 2,100). He competes with a big regional chain store that offers conveniences like Sunday hours. Rurka stays closed on Sundays--unless a customer calls him with a medication emergency and meets him at the back door for a prescription refill.

But Rurka, a 32-year-old pharmacist, is thriving. Sales have grown 10% each year since he bought the store in 2004. He draws a comfortable salary to support his wife and children. And he's on track to pay off his debt on the business, including a comprehensive renovation, by 2014. "I'm getting exactly what I want out of life," Rurka says. He hopes to buy another Value Drug Mart store in a few years.

Rurka is not alone. Four other rural Value Drug Mart stores have been sold to young Albertan entrepreneurs since 2004. In each case, despite minuscule collateral and a cautious lending environment, pharmacists with big dreams have secured financing in excess of $1 million. In the process, they're building what could be a promising model for helping Canada sustain legions of potentially vulnerable mom-and-pop businesses. ...more

Prescription for growth in an evolving market

From the Hamilton Spectator:
In the grand scheme of things, Marchese Health Care and its staff of 80 is relatively small. The trick to survival in this business though, is thinking like a big multinational.

That philosophy is the driving force behind the James Street North company's recent expansion to build a cutting-edge sterile compounding facility, the first of its kind in southern Ontario and only the third like it in Canada.

The facility, built by Burlington-based Viro-Mart, is used to assemble custom prescriptions, intravenous medications or nutrition.

Fred Bruns, director of operations, pharmacy and client services at Marchese, said many pharmacies in the United States have already built similar facilities.

"It was driven by our desire to be at the cutting edge of what we do," he said. "In the U.S., these standards are not even mandatory, they're guidelines. Inevitably those standards will come to Canada." ...more

BioVenture winner lands cash

From the Saskatoon Star Phoenix:
Steve Mamchur knows he has a great idea. But instead of developing it in one of Canada's big cities, he's determined to make his business plan come to life to build the bio-economy in Saskatchewan.

The pharmacist and current law student at the University of Saskatchewan has created a technique that uses hormone concentrates from natural plant sources in bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, a natural alternative to pharmaceutical-based hormone replacement.

Mamchur has also developed a less expensive and safer way of mixing the hormone concentrate with a topical cream in pharmacies, an invention that will allow the number of Canadian pharmacies able to mix these creams to grow from 400 to 7,500. He wants to base his company in his home province. ...more