House arrest for pharmacist

From the Winnipeg Sun:
A Winnipeg pharmacist who stole $28,000 in "customer refunds" that didn't exist has been sentenced to 18 months house arrest.

Lorraine Anne Hilderman, 53, was also ordered to pay back the stolen money within the next 45 days or face serving her sentence in a real jail. ...more

Medical record system cited for needless deaths

The lack of easily accessible electronic medical records should be a bigger issue than it currently is. The focus by patients and the media are ER lineups and surgical waiting lists more than anything else, and this is somewhat reasonable as they are big issues. Even though the lack of e-records is not that sexy a topic, it should still be addressed. Some provinces have made steps in the right direction, but our health remains one of the least "connected" part of our lives.

I'd prefer that control of a personal health record is given to a patient themselves. Why can't a patient carry their medical records on a flash drive that gets inserted into a computer at each health care provider? This would require an easy to use program that could be used as an industry standard and this currently doesn't exist.

From the Globe and Mail:
After more than 20 years as a family physician, Michelle Greiver questions why Canadians can access bank accounts 24/7 but when they go to the hospital after hours, their medical records are unavailable.

She's among a minority of Canada's doctors trying to update the health care system's archaic processes, which by one estimate costs up to 24,000 lives each year. ...more

Pfizer to Appeal Canadian Decision

It will be interesting to see where this legal battle goes. I think we'll be hearing about this for most of 2007.

From Forbes:
Drug developer Pfizer Inc. said Friday it will appeal a Canadian federal court decision denying its application to block approval of a generic version of the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor.

Indian generic drug maker Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc. is asking for approval of its version of Lipitor. The ruling deals with a patent that Pfizer (nyse: PFE - news - people ) said holds market exclusivity until July 2010. ...more

Justice dispensed to pharmacist fraudster

From the Winnipeg Free Press:
A well-respected Winnipeg pharmacist has flushed her 33-year career down the drain after being caught stealing more than $28,000 from her employer, a Winnipeg court heard Friday.

Lorraine Hilderman, 52, broke down in tears as she apologized for a crime that shocked her friends, family and co-workers.

"I am so sorry for the embarrassment, pain and shame they have endured," said Hilderman. ...more

Antidepressants may raise fracture risk for those over 50

From CNN.com:
The most popular pills for depression might substantially raise the risk for bone breaks in older people, a drawback that should be considered when the drugs are prescribed, Canadian researchers say.

People aged 50 and older who took antidepressants, including Zoloft, Prozac and other top-sellers, faced double the risk of broken bones during five years of follow-up, compared with those who didn't use the drugs, the study found. ...more

Folic acid pills 'can slow mental decline'

From the Times Online (UK):
Taking folic acid supplements can slow the mental decline in older people, a study suggests.

A Dutch team studied 400 people aged between 50 and 70 who were split into two groups. Those in one group were given 800 micrograms of folic acid a day; the others were given a placebo. ...more

Top Ont. pharmacist warns of national security threat posed by U.S. drug bill

I don't agree with Marc Kealey's assertions in his latest speech.

"Who can say with absolute certainty that the next $19 million worth of phoney drugs could be sent to America not by criminals in Belize, but by terrorists determined to kill American citizens? That the fake pills from a purported Canadian Internet pharmacy will contain not talcum powder or baking soda, but cyanide or anthrax?"

Kealey suggests that terrorists purporting to be Canadian pharmacies could attack the United States. This is of course possible, just as some shadowy organizations in obscure countries are selling Viagra through websites with maple leaves on them. But is this reason enough to ban legitimate Canadian online pharmacies? If all cross-border pharmacy was closed tomorrow, the criminal organizations claiming to be Canadian would still exist.

"Picture an open floodgate. Picture a medicine cabinet with the door ripped off the hinges. Picture a made-in-America problem being solved on the backs of Canadians."

Kealey isn't afraid to try to make Canadians afraid. I can't see his gloomy scenario ever happening. I don't agree with bulk exports and I'd be okay with laws to that effect. However, even if no laws are changed, I would think that the Canadian pharmaceutical companies wouldn't allow sales to American bulk buyers just as they choose to not sell to known Canadian internet pharmacies. Even a change in American law will not be able to compel the Canadian branch of Pfizer or Merck for example to sell millions of Canadian Lipitor or Fosamax tablets to the American branch of Safeway or Wal-Mart Pharmacy (all examples).

As for individual purchases, the current market conditions simply don't allow for the grim predictions. Has the sky fallen in the last several months now that U.S. Customs isn't seizing packages from Canadian pharmacies? I am not aware of any substantial changes to the available medication supply in Canada since then, and my understanding is that Canadian internet pharmacies have not seen any signficant surge in business as a result either. As long as the dollar stays above 80 cents U.S. (which is somewhat likely) and the drug companies maintain their existing controls on supply (which will absolutely continue), cross border pharmacy will be a niche market only.

From the Canadian Press:
A U.S. bill that would legalize bulk imports of Canadian prescription drugs should be nixed because it poses a health threat to Canadians and a security risk to Americans, Ontario's top pharmacist said Wednesday.

The legislation, introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives earlier this month, will encourage the proliferation of mail-order and Internet drug sales, which could open the door to drug counterfeiting and drug terrorism, said Ontario Pharmacists' Association CEO Marc Kealey. ...more

Forces' drug needs different, MD says

From the Globe and Mail:
The Canadian Forces say their members don't need access to the full range of medication offered through the drug plans provided to politicians and bureaucrats.

Physician Ken Scott, the colonel who is director of medical policy for the military's health services, said yesterday that members of the Forces have different physical characteristics than the average Canadian and don't suffer from the same types of disease. ...more

'Credibility' at issue

Final arguments were made today at the Norvascgate trial. Look for a verdict by the end of February. Personally, I can't see how pharmacist Abadir Nasr can be found anything but guilty. Even if you buy his defense that he was ignorant and didn't intentionally do anything wrong, what he did was criminally reckless. And this is the most positive scenario for Nasr. The other possibilities are much worse.

From the Hamilton Spectator:
The lawyer representing accused Hamilton pharmacist Abadir Nasr argues the Crown's attack on his client's credibility has become a futile exercise in pill counting.

Dean Paquette told Ontario Court Justice Richard Jennis no one will ever know precisely how many counterfeit and grey market cardiac pills were dispensed at the King West Pharmacy in spring 2005. That's because much of the Norvasc dispensed there, including vials with authentic pills mixed in with fake and foreign-market tablets, had been consumed by Nasr's customers in the months before the RCMP raided his drugstore June 15. ...more

Johnson & Johnson Customers in Canada Can Sue Over Prepulsid

From Bloomberg:
Johnson & Johnson customers in every Canadian province except Quebec can sue the drug company as a group over injuries linked to the drug Prepulsid, an Ontario judge ruled.

Justice Ellen Macdonald of the Ontario Superior Court certified a class-action lawsuit Jan. 18 against Johnson & Johnson, Toronto-based law firm Rochon Genova LLP said today in a Canada NewsWire release. Rochon Genova represents one of the plaintiffs in the case. ...more

Cholesterol drugs don't help 'bulk' of takers

From the National Post:
Healthy women should not be put on a cholesterol-lowering drug to prevent heart disease, suggests a new analysis that raises questions about widespread over-prescription of the fastest growing drug class in Canada.

Millions of Canadians take cholesterol reducers, called statins, to lower their risk of heart attacks and cardiovascular disease. For people who already have artery disease, statins save lives. ...more

Red flags raised over anti-smoking guide

Over the last while, we've seen the mainstream press corps write stories about topics that are mostly common knowledge in the pharmacy/medical community but unknown to the public at large. Here is another one that questions the relationships between charities and their donors.

From the Ottawa Citizen:
The Canadian Cancer Society is about to publish an update to its guide that helps smokers who want to quit.

It cost $75,000 to redevelop the popular book, One Step at a Time, but the national charity didn't have to worry about the price. That's because it asked Pfizer Canada, the country's largest maker of nicotine replacement therapy products, to pay the cost.

Pharmaceutical giants are some of the top financial contributors to groups such as the Canadian Lung Association, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Toronto-based Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and others. ...more

Islanders going on their own with Gardasil

Look for the Gardasil debate to heat up this year. While the medical benefits of this product seem very clear, the questions of who is going to cover it and if it should be a required vaccination remain largely unanswered.

From CBC News:
Many Prince Edward Islanders aren't waiting for the provincial government to start paying for Gardasil, a vaccine approved by Health Canada last year to help in the fight against cervical cancer.

The Department of Health would like Gardasil added to the vaccines covered by the province, but it has been waiting for recommendations from two national committees on who should get it and at what age, and whether governments should cover the cost. ...more

Edmonton aims to screen all for diabetes

I don't know if making diabetes a reportable disease is of any real benefit. It's not like it's a communicable disease and others are at risk. The whole concept seems like to evoke shades of Big Brother. Why stop at diabetes? Maybe the next step is to start a database on every disease group. If you see your doctor and have a high blood pressure reading, are they going to have to report you? What about starting a list of obese people? They are at future health risk just like diabetics. I think that one would be challenged in court about five minutes after it was instituted.

From CBC News:
A new diabetes screening program in Edmonton goes further than any other in North America, effectively making diabetes a reportable disease.

Under the program, whenever someone in the city visits a doctor, hospital or walk-in clinic, their blood-sugar information is recorded in a central database. Edmonton's Capital Health Region plans to use the information to identify and treat anyone with diabetes or at risk for the disease. ...more

Be cautious when taking St. John's wort with other drugs

This is more of a patient-specific article, but it's a good reminder that St. John's Wort interacts with many different drugs.

From the Fort Wayne (Ind.) News Sentinel:
Q: Can St. John's wort cause the birth control pill to fail, as I've heard?

A: St. John's wort, an over-the-counter herbal supplement, can be effective for milder forms of depression. Case reports do suggest that St. John's wort could lead to unwanted pregnancies in women using oral contraceptives. ...more

Shoppers Drug Mart's new CEO will help push cosmetics

Typically I avoid the business part of pharmacy in this blog. If you want to read about Jean Coutu's earnings this quarter or projections for Shoppers Drug Mart stock, there are probably some great business blogs out there that will provide more info and better analysis.

I'm making an exception this time. The article below talks about Shoppers Durg Mart hiring a new CEO with a background in cosmetics. The report mostly talks about the plans to focus primarily on cosmetics as well as food items. There is not one word about pharmaceuticals, pharmacists, or anything relating to medicine. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this from a business standpoint. Anyone who holds stock in Shoppers Drug Mart would probably agree with their plans. However, as a pharmacist I find it disappointing that the biggest "pharmacy" chain in Canada these days really doesn't seem to be even thinking about pharmacy.

From the Calgary Sun:
Jurgen Schreiber's international experience and his work at the helm of a beauty company make him the perfect choice to lead Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. (TSX:SC) as the retailer seeks more global suppliers and higher profits from cosmetics, the company said Thursday.

The firm was looking to focus more on its cosmetics section and "you will find that already in Q1, where we bring in new brands, we enhance around 700 stores," the new CEO said during a call with analysts. ...more

Testing Of Bioidentical Hormones Urged, North American Menopause Society Says They Might Not Be Safe

I have never heard of the North American Menopause Society before, but their comments against bioidentical hormones (and natural remedies like soy and black cohosh) would likely be rejected by some of the compounding pharmacists that make these products.

From CBS News:
The North American Menopause Society says bioidentical hormone treatments might not be the best way to combat the symptoms of menopause.

In an editorial in the journal Menopause Management, the society's executive director says the recent hype surrounding bioidenticals masks the fact that the ingredients are basically no different from those in FDA approved hormone treatments whose use has fallen since a study in 2002 found women using hormones faced a higher risk of breast cancer. ...more

Canada's pharmacists seek ban on exports to U.S.

There's nothing much new here. A few of the tradtional enemies of internet pharmacy are calling for the federal government to put in new rules regarding drug importation. The new push is based on concerns regarding new legislation in the States.

From Reuters:
Canada's pharmacists said on Monday they are banding together to fight a U.S. bill that could see a flood of brand-name prescription drugs diverted south of the border.

The group, which includes the Canadian Pharmacists Association, the Ontario Pharmacists Association, the Best Medicines Coalition and the Canadian Association for Pharmacy Distribution, warns the bill could deplete the supply of prescription drugs in Canada. ...more

Pharmacists help provide patient care

From the Halifax Chronicle Herald:
Truro pharmacist Wanda Woolaver says her work is very satisfying as rarely a week goes by without a patient coming by and thanking her for her help. She said the profession has moved away from simply dispensing drugs to patient care.

When Ms. Woolaver first went to work in a pharmacy, she spent a lot of time with a mortar and pestle mixing and mashing various ingredients together to make medications prescribed by doctors. ...more

Halting heart drugs a big risk, study finds

From the Globe and Mail:
About a third of heart attack survivors stop taking prescribed medications within a couple of years and, as a result, their risk of dying shoots up, new Canadian research shows.

Those who take drugs such as statins and beta blockers routinely, on the other hand, see their risk of dying fall by about 25 per cent, according to the study. ...more