From the Moncton (NB) Times and Transcript:
A Moncton company has come up with a service it believes will greatly assist Canadian health care professionals and ultimately the people they serve with its 24-hour access to product information from Canadian pharmaceutical companies.
The free, web-enabled mobile and personal computer service being developed by PPS Pharma will mean quick access at any time to reliable, up-to-date information on drugs and services offered by pharmaceutical companies that join the service.
The service will help physicians, pharmacists, nurses and industry stakeholders use their cell phones and personal computers to stay up to date on "Canadian" drugs and medical devices, explained company president Tony Hebert. The same system will allow the pharmaceutical companies to update their information, announce new products or send out alerts.
The service will also contain contact numbers and sales policies for the more than 50 companies that are customers of the printed PPS Buyers Guide and Pharmacy Lighthouse Newsletter.
PPS Mobile will be made available to industry stakeholders in early June and the site publicly launched by the fall. ...more
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Pandemic in the making
From the Globe and Mail:
Canada's chief public health officer expressed deep concern about a swine influenza outbreak gripping Mexico and the southwestern United States as health officials around the world went on high alert for a potential global flu pandemic.
"This is very concerning, clearly. That's why we're all paying attention," David Butler-Jones said yesterday. "What it will lead to is impossible to predict."
Mexico shut down schools, museums and libraries in its capital yesterday in the hope of containing a never-before-seen virus that authorities say has killed 20 people - and perhaps dozens more. Hundreds in the country are suffering from a severe respiratory illness.
The virus has not landed in Canada yet, but health officials are awaiting lab results from a Crown attorney in Cornwall, Ont., who returned from Mexico last month with a mysterious illness. ...more
Canada's chief public health officer expressed deep concern about a swine influenza outbreak gripping Mexico and the southwestern United States as health officials around the world went on high alert for a potential global flu pandemic.
"This is very concerning, clearly. That's why we're all paying attention," David Butler-Jones said yesterday. "What it will lead to is impossible to predict."
Mexico shut down schools, museums and libraries in its capital yesterday in the hope of containing a never-before-seen virus that authorities say has killed 20 people - and perhaps dozens more. Hundreds in the country are suffering from a severe respiratory illness.
The virus has not landed in Canada yet, but health officials are awaiting lab results from a Crown attorney in Cornwall, Ont., who returned from Mexico last month with a mysterious illness. ...more
Depression drug doubles in price for P.E.I. man
From CBC News:
A P.E.I. man has raised the alarm about the rising cost of prescription drugs after the drug he uses to treat depression more than doubled in price this month.
Tom Clark of Murray Harbour, in eastern P.E.I., has been taking trimipramine for 19 years, but he got a shock Thursday when he tried to refill the prescription.
"It went from $45 to $105 in less than a month," said Clark.
Trimipramine is made by Canadian drug maker Apotex. The company notified retailers April 1 that it was raising the price of the drug and several others. Pharmacists on the Island say the increase in the price of trimipramine is just one of several hefty increases this month from drug companies. They advise people with concerns to contact their local pharmacist.
"Will their drug prices go up because of this? That would be the question I'd ask," said Paul Jenkins, a pharmacist with the Friendly Pharmacy in Charlottetown. ...more
A P.E.I. man has raised the alarm about the rising cost of prescription drugs after the drug he uses to treat depression more than doubled in price this month.
Tom Clark of Murray Harbour, in eastern P.E.I., has been taking trimipramine for 19 years, but he got a shock Thursday when he tried to refill the prescription.
"It went from $45 to $105 in less than a month," said Clark.
Trimipramine is made by Canadian drug maker Apotex. The company notified retailers April 1 that it was raising the price of the drug and several others. Pharmacists on the Island say the increase in the price of trimipramine is just one of several hefty increases this month from drug companies. They advise people with concerns to contact their local pharmacist.
"Will their drug prices go up because of this? That would be the question I'd ask," said Paul Jenkins, a pharmacist with the Friendly Pharmacy in Charlottetown. ...more
Second-class citizens
From the Fredericton (NB) Telegraph Journal:
David Lyon is painfully aware of one of the cruelest facts of life in New Brunswick - you do not want to be seriously ill in this place.
It's a wry twist on New Brunswick's much-ballyhooed tourism slogan, "Be ... in this place."
Lyon is dying of incurable brain cancer and like many other seriously ill people in New Brunswick, he feels trapped in a province bewilderingly out of step with the rest of the country.
Just out of reach in other parts of Canada are life-lengthening drugs people can afford and compassionate services designed to ease the economic and emotional burden of catastrophic illness.
But not here. In this place, the road to better health, to the sweet promise of longer life, is paved with catch-22s. ...more
David Lyon is painfully aware of one of the cruelest facts of life in New Brunswick - you do not want to be seriously ill in this place.
It's a wry twist on New Brunswick's much-ballyhooed tourism slogan, "Be ... in this place."
Lyon is dying of incurable brain cancer and like many other seriously ill people in New Brunswick, he feels trapped in a province bewilderingly out of step with the rest of the country.
Just out of reach in other parts of Canada are life-lengthening drugs people can afford and compassionate services designed to ease the economic and emotional burden of catastrophic illness.
But not here. In this place, the road to better health, to the sweet promise of longer life, is paved with catch-22s. ...more
Abuse of prescribed opiate painkillers on rise, research shows
From CBC News:
A growing number of Canadians are becoming addicted to prescription painkillers such as Tylenol 3 and OxyContin, say researchers who fear the problem could lead to more deaths.
In many Canadian cities, more people are addicted to prescription opiates than street drugs such as heroin or cocaine, according to study published in the April issue of the Canadian Journal of Public Health.
In 2005, the majority of street drug users in main Canadian cities were non-medical users of prescription opioids, with the exception of Vancouver and Montreal, researchers found.
The study's authors estimated that there are between 321,000 and 914,000 people in Canada who are abusing prescription opioids — between one per cent and three per cent of the country's population. ...more
A growing number of Canadians are becoming addicted to prescription painkillers such as Tylenol 3 and OxyContin, say researchers who fear the problem could lead to more deaths.
In many Canadian cities, more people are addicted to prescription opiates than street drugs such as heroin or cocaine, according to study published in the April issue of the Canadian Journal of Public Health.
In 2005, the majority of street drug users in main Canadian cities were non-medical users of prescription opioids, with the exception of Vancouver and Montreal, researchers found.
The study's authors estimated that there are between 321,000 and 914,000 people in Canada who are abusing prescription opioids — between one per cent and three per cent of the country's population. ...more
Condom controversy hits NT teens
From the Australian Broadcasting Corporation:
Pharmacists in the Northern Territory would have to report any 15-year-old buying condoms under new underage sex laws, the Territory's Minister for Child Protection has confirmed.
The Australian Medical Association has described the legislation as unworkable because it makes it illegal not to report teenagers under 16 years of age who are sexually active.
The AMA warns the laws could increase teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections because young people would be afraid of seeking sexual health advice and contraception.
Malarndirri McCarthy has told Triple J's Hack program that under the new laws, pharmacists would be obliged to inform authorities about teenagers under 16 years of age buying condoms. ...more
Pharmacists in the Northern Territory would have to report any 15-year-old buying condoms under new underage sex laws, the Territory's Minister for Child Protection has confirmed.
The Australian Medical Association has described the legislation as unworkable because it makes it illegal not to report teenagers under 16 years of age who are sexually active.
The AMA warns the laws could increase teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections because young people would be afraid of seeking sexual health advice and contraception.
Malarndirri McCarthy has told Triple J's Hack program that under the new laws, pharmacists would be obliged to inform authorities about teenagers under 16 years of age buying condoms. ...more
Drug Sales To Shrink
From Forbes:
The global pharmaceutical market, measured in dollars, will shrink in 2009 for the first time in 25 years, according to a new report.
Sales of medicines will generate between $750 billion and $760 billion this year, according to a revised forecast from research firm IMS Health ( RX - news - people ), down from $773 billion in 2008. A big part of that decrease is the relative strength in the dollar. But even when exchange rates are held constant, IMS now forecasts sales growth of only 3%, 40% less than IMS was predicting as recently as October.
"We were already predicting the lowest growth rate ever, and we decided to take that down further," says Murray Aitken, a senior vice president at IMS. He said that the overall economic climate was the main reason for the new cut in expectations. ...more
The global pharmaceutical market, measured in dollars, will shrink in 2009 for the first time in 25 years, according to a new report.
Sales of medicines will generate between $750 billion and $760 billion this year, according to a revised forecast from research firm IMS Health ( RX - news - people ), down from $773 billion in 2008. A big part of that decrease is the relative strength in the dollar. But even when exchange rates are held constant, IMS now forecasts sales growth of only 3%, 40% less than IMS was predicting as recently as October.
"We were already predicting the lowest growth rate ever, and we decided to take that down further," says Murray Aitken, a senior vice president at IMS. He said that the overall economic climate was the main reason for the new cut in expectations. ...more
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Study links morning sickness to brighter kids
From CTV News:
Moms who spend part of their pregnancies vomiting and nauseated can take heart: Canadian research suggests they might actually have a smarter baby.
Researchers at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children's Motherisk Program have discovered that morning sickness appears to be linked to enhanced neurodevelopment of the fetus.
Morning sickness, which affects as many as 80 per cent of pregnancies, is often one of the first signs of pregnancy, typically beginning around the second week of pregnancy. The name is a bit of a misnomer, since the nausea and vomiting that result can come on at any time of the day.
Morning sickness is little understood, but many doctors speculate it is the result of altered levels of hormones, such as estrogen, HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), and thyroxine. ...more
Moms who spend part of their pregnancies vomiting and nauseated can take heart: Canadian research suggests they might actually have a smarter baby.
Researchers at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children's Motherisk Program have discovered that morning sickness appears to be linked to enhanced neurodevelopment of the fetus.
Morning sickness, which affects as many as 80 per cent of pregnancies, is often one of the first signs of pregnancy, typically beginning around the second week of pregnancy. The name is a bit of a misnomer, since the nausea and vomiting that result can come on at any time of the day.
Morning sickness is little understood, but many doctors speculate it is the result of altered levels of hormones, such as estrogen, HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), and thyroxine. ...more
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Canada planning to change breakdown of flu drugs in pandemic stockpile
From the Canadian Press:
Canada will adjust the mix of antiviral drugs in an emergency pandemic stockpile this year, a response to concerns over the vulnerability of the main drug in the arsenal, Tamiflu, to the development of viral resistance.
Supplies of the drug zanamivir - sold as Relenza by GlaxoSmithKline - will be beefed up in the national emergency stockpile, says Dr. Arlene King, the senior official responsible for pandemic influenza planning at the Public Health Agency of Canada.
As well, some stocks of an older flu drug, amantadine, will be added to the mix as an inexpensive extra. Scientists are studying whether using Tamiflu in combination with amantadine or a sister drug, rimantadine, will lower the likelihood flu strains will develop resistance to the few drugs currently marketed to treat influenza.
"I think the general view is that from a scientific perspective, greater diversification (of stockpiles) would be desirable," says King, director general of the public health agency's centre for immunization and respiratory infectious diseases. ...more
Canada will adjust the mix of antiviral drugs in an emergency pandemic stockpile this year, a response to concerns over the vulnerability of the main drug in the arsenal, Tamiflu, to the development of viral resistance.
Supplies of the drug zanamivir - sold as Relenza by GlaxoSmithKline - will be beefed up in the national emergency stockpile, says Dr. Arlene King, the senior official responsible for pandemic influenza planning at the Public Health Agency of Canada.
As well, some stocks of an older flu drug, amantadine, will be added to the mix as an inexpensive extra. Scientists are studying whether using Tamiflu in combination with amantadine or a sister drug, rimantadine, will lower the likelihood flu strains will develop resistance to the few drugs currently marketed to treat influenza.
"I think the general view is that from a scientific perspective, greater diversification (of stockpiles) would be desirable," says King, director general of the public health agency's centre for immunization and respiratory infectious diseases. ...more
Hormone therapy still viable treatment: Report
From Canada.com:
With unprecedented numbers of Canadian women about to enter menopause, Canadian doctors are telling women it's safe to go back on hormones.
An expert panel convened by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada has concluded that no treatment is as effective as hormone therapy for hot flushes and other symptoms of menopause.
The group says an "extensive" review of new data — along with a re-analysis of a massive study that led women to abandon their hormones in droves seven years ago — shows hormones are a safe option for moderate to severe symptoms, if started early and used over the short term.
The group is recommending using the lowest effective dose. And while there is no fixed timeline, "we suggest that taking it for four to five years is a good starting point," says Dr. Robert Reid, lead author of the updated guidelines and chair of the division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Queen's University in Kingston. ...more
With unprecedented numbers of Canadian women about to enter menopause, Canadian doctors are telling women it's safe to go back on hormones.
An expert panel convened by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada has concluded that no treatment is as effective as hormone therapy for hot flushes and other symptoms of menopause.
The group says an "extensive" review of new data — along with a re-analysis of a massive study that led women to abandon their hormones in droves seven years ago — shows hormones are a safe option for moderate to severe symptoms, if started early and used over the short term.
The group is recommending using the lowest effective dose. And while there is no fixed timeline, "we suggest that taking it for four to five years is a good starting point," says Dr. Robert Reid, lead author of the updated guidelines and chair of the division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Queen's University in Kingston. ...more
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Pharmacy school opens its doors
From the Waterloo (Ont.) Record:
Celebration was in the air as University of Waterloo officially opened its new school of pharmacy, the first to open in Canada in 20 years.
Hundreds of students, professors, politicians and donors crowded the bright, airy building, widely noted as an architectural gem, to mark what university president David Johnston called a "barn-raising at its best."
"Ontario has a shortage of pharmacists, and this school is going to go a long way in ensuring we meet that need," said John Milloy, Ontario's minister of colleges and universities as well as MPP for Kitchener Centre.
He was joined by Health Minister David Caplan, plus a Who's Who of politicians from Kitchener and Waterloo, including mayors, MPs, MPPs and municipal councillors. ...more
Celebration was in the air as University of Waterloo officially opened its new school of pharmacy, the first to open in Canada in 20 years.
Hundreds of students, professors, politicians and donors crowded the bright, airy building, widely noted as an architectural gem, to mark what university president David Johnston called a "barn-raising at its best."
"Ontario has a shortage of pharmacists, and this school is going to go a long way in ensuring we meet that need," said John Milloy, Ontario's minister of colleges and universities as well as MPP for Kitchener Centre.
He was joined by Health Minister David Caplan, plus a Who's Who of politicians from Kitchener and Waterloo, including mayors, MPs, MPPs and municipal councillors. ...more
Low-cost medicine for developing world lost in red tape
From the Ottawa Citizen:
This week, Senator Yoine Goldstein will rise in the upper chamber and ask his fellow senators to fix Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime.
Passed in 2004, CAMR was hailed as a world-leading initiative that would help millions in developing countries get life-saving medicine to treat HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases. CAMR was supposed to make it easier for Canadian companies to produce cheap, generic medicine for export.
But five years after CAMR became law, just one shipment of medication has been exported.
The Harper government and brand-name pharmaceutical companies say the law is fine just the way it is, but legal experts and access-to-medicine campaigners say CAMR created a process so laden with red tape and time-wasting regulatory steps that it was doomed from the start. ...more
This week, Senator Yoine Goldstein will rise in the upper chamber and ask his fellow senators to fix Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime.
Passed in 2004, CAMR was hailed as a world-leading initiative that would help millions in developing countries get life-saving medicine to treat HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases. CAMR was supposed to make it easier for Canadian companies to produce cheap, generic medicine for export.
But five years after CAMR became law, just one shipment of medication has been exported.
The Harper government and brand-name pharmaceutical companies say the law is fine just the way it is, but legal experts and access-to-medicine campaigners say CAMR created a process so laden with red tape and time-wasting regulatory steps that it was doomed from the start. ...more
Study shows seniors not always aware of drug risks
From the Naniamo (BC) Daily News:
Although past studies have shown drug side-effects to be the No. 1 reason seniors are hospitalized, most don't understand the risks associated with adverse drug reactions or how to avoid them, according to research by the University of Victoria's Centre on Aging.
Anthropology professor Peter Stephenson and a team of researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 20 seniors in Parksville and Qualicum Beach in the fall to gauge their attitudes toward medication. Preliminary results show elderly people also often don't have someone they can rely on who could look at all of their health products and possible interactions.
Earlier this week, a Statistics Canada report showed that Canadians 80 and older fill five times as many drug prescriptions a year as the average person, while a study published last year by the Canadian Medical Association Journal said that adverse drug reactions accounted for 12% of all emergency-room visits.
Stephenson said more education is needed on the issue, not only for seniors but also medical professionals who are tasked with writing and handling prescriptions.
"The pharmacist usually gives them a fairly minimal accounting of things. They're often rushed (because) they have many people coming in," he said. ...more
Although past studies have shown drug side-effects to be the No. 1 reason seniors are hospitalized, most don't understand the risks associated with adverse drug reactions or how to avoid them, according to research by the University of Victoria's Centre on Aging.
Anthropology professor Peter Stephenson and a team of researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 20 seniors in Parksville and Qualicum Beach in the fall to gauge their attitudes toward medication. Preliminary results show elderly people also often don't have someone they can rely on who could look at all of their health products and possible interactions.
Earlier this week, a Statistics Canada report showed that Canadians 80 and older fill five times as many drug prescriptions a year as the average person, while a study published last year by the Canadian Medical Association Journal said that adverse drug reactions accounted for 12% of all emergency-room visits.
Stephenson said more education is needed on the issue, not only for seniors but also medical professionals who are tasked with writing and handling prescriptions.
"The pharmacist usually gives them a fairly minimal accounting of things. They're often rushed (because) they have many people coming in," he said. ...more
High-tech pharmacist of the future based in Lindley
I thought this was an interesting approach to pharmaceutical manufacturing that isn't occurring in Canada, at least not yet.
From the Huddersfield (UK) Examiner:
Medicines used in Huddersfield Royal Infirmary now come from ... Lindley!
The new £8m pharmacy at Acre Mill is now producing almost half a million tablets each year.
And it is capable of manufacturing medicines for individual patients or in large-scale batches.
The pharmacy is now making all the medicines needed in both Calderdale Royal Hospital and HRI.
They are also supplying medicines to hospitals, pharmacists and chemists throughout Yorkshire.
...more
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Ill Patients Forced to Pay for Cancer Pills
I think this story perhaps explains in part why drug costs are outpacing other aspects of medical care.
From the New York Times:
Chuck Stauffer’s insurance covered the surgery to remove his brain tumor. It covered his brain scans. And it would have paid fully for tens of thousands of dollars of intravenous chemotherapy at a doctor’s office or hospital.
But his insurance covered hardly any of the cost of the cancer pills the doctor prescribed for him to take at home. Mr. Stauffer, a 62-year-old Oregon farmer, had to pay $5,500 for the first 42-day supply of the drug, Temodar, and $1,700 a month after that.
“Because it was a pill,” he said, “I had to pay — not the insurance.”
Pills and capsules are the new wave in cancer treatment, expected to account for 25 percent of all cancer medicines in a few years, up from less than 10 percent now.
The oral drugs can free patients from frequent trips to a clinic to be hooked to an intravenous line for hours. Fewer visits might save the health system money as well as time. And the pills are a step toward making cancer a manageable chronic condition, like diabetes.
But for many patients, exchanging an I.V. bag for a pill is a lopsided trade because the economics and practice of cancer medicine have not caught up with the convenience of oral drugs. ...more
HIV deal shows need for new pharmaceutical models
From Reuters:
The pharmaceutical industry is going back to the lab for its business models as it faces historic challenges.
Large drugmakers are experimenting with various collaborations as their major products face revenue declines, research productivity stalls, and governments and health insurers crack down on drug prices and healthcare costs.
The new ventures -- from deals on products to mega mergers -- seek to meet these challenges by cutting costs and mitigating the risks of research into new treatments.
Look no further than Thursday's deal between GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Pfizer Inc. The world's two biggest drug companies announced plans to merge their HIV operations into a new company.
"Pharma is feeling its way," said Erik Gordon, a professor at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. "They know that the present business model isn't going to work in the future ... What they're not sure of is what will work." ...more
The pharmaceutical industry is going back to the lab for its business models as it faces historic challenges.
Large drugmakers are experimenting with various collaborations as their major products face revenue declines, research productivity stalls, and governments and health insurers crack down on drug prices and healthcare costs.
The new ventures -- from deals on products to mega mergers -- seek to meet these challenges by cutting costs and mitigating the risks of research into new treatments.
Look no further than Thursday's deal between GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Pfizer Inc. The world's two biggest drug companies announced plans to merge their HIV operations into a new company.
"Pharma is feeling its way," said Erik Gordon, a professor at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. "They know that the present business model isn't going to work in the future ... What they're not sure of is what will work." ...more
Drug costs smother health care in Quebec
From the Montreal Gazette:
Quebec spends far more on prescription drugs than any other province or territory in Canada – a factor that’s to blame for spiralling health-care costs, a new study reveals.
More disturbing, Quebec has gone from spending the least of any province on medications in 1985 – as a percentage of its total health-care expenditures – to the most last year, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
“This surprises me a lot, because Quebec had stayed within the Canadian average until 2005-2006,” said André Côté, a drug-policy expert at Université Laval.
“The spending is very high and hasn’t stopped going up.”
The study found that Quebec spent almost $963 per capita on medications last year, an increase of 8.1 per cent since 2007. By comparison, Ontario spent $924 per capita last year, up by 5.9 per cent.
The Canadian average was $897 per person. ...more
Quebec spends far more on prescription drugs than any other province or territory in Canada – a factor that’s to blame for spiralling health-care costs, a new study reveals.
More disturbing, Quebec has gone from spending the least of any province on medications in 1985 – as a percentage of its total health-care expenditures – to the most last year, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
“This surprises me a lot, because Quebec had stayed within the Canadian average until 2005-2006,” said André Côté, a drug-policy expert at Université Laval.
“The spending is very high and hasn’t stopped going up.”
The study found that Quebec spent almost $963 per capita on medications last year, an increase of 8.1 per cent since 2007. By comparison, Ontario spent $924 per capita last year, up by 5.9 per cent.
The Canadian average was $897 per person. ...more
Canadians spend almost $30 billion a year on medications, study finds
From the Canadian Press:
Canadians are forking out close to $30 billion a year to stock their medicine cabinets with prescription and over-the-counter medications, says an annual report on drug spending released Thursday.
That works out to an average of almost $900 per person across the country, concluded the Canadian Institute for Health Information report on estimated 2008 drug costs outside hospitals.
The report shows last year's drug expenditures accounted for 17.4 per cent of total health costs - nearly double the proportion that drug spending claimed in 1985 when the institute began compiling and publishing such data.
"Typically, and this has been a pattern really for the last 10 years, drugs are certainly the fastest-growing component of health expenditure," said Michael Hunt, CIHI manager of pharmaceutical programs.
Drug spending grew by an estimated eight per cent in 2008 over the previous year, outstripping the six per cent rate of growth in what is paid out for hospitals and doctors.
"So it's really not in line with what we see for physician spending, hospital spending and actually the overall increase in health expenditure," Hunt said from Ottawa. ...more
Canadians are forking out close to $30 billion a year to stock their medicine cabinets with prescription and over-the-counter medications, says an annual report on drug spending released Thursday.
That works out to an average of almost $900 per person across the country, concluded the Canadian Institute for Health Information report on estimated 2008 drug costs outside hospitals.
The report shows last year's drug expenditures accounted for 17.4 per cent of total health costs - nearly double the proportion that drug spending claimed in 1985 when the institute began compiling and publishing such data.
"Typically, and this has been a pattern really for the last 10 years, drugs are certainly the fastest-growing component of health expenditure," said Michael Hunt, CIHI manager of pharmaceutical programs.
Drug spending grew by an estimated eight per cent in 2008 over the previous year, outstripping the six per cent rate of growth in what is paid out for hospitals and doctors.
"So it's really not in line with what we see for physician spending, hospital spending and actually the overall increase in health expenditure," Hunt said from Ottawa. ...more
Vitamin therapy is healthy alternative
From Canada.com
Mike Eams didn't eat very well and drank a lot of coffee and energy drinks to get him through the day.
Then he made a New Year's resolution to get healthier.
He talked to his doctor about other ways to boost his energy without caffeine and was told to eat well and take a multivitamin and B vitamins, which are good for stress relief.
"I'm not sure if it works as a placebo, but I feel a lot better," says Eams, who followed the doctor's advice and added ginseng, too. "I feel I have more energy and I don't have to drink caffeine or coffee all day."
Eams is one of millions of Canadians who take vitamins to improve their health. In fact, so many people are using so-called alternative therapies that medical students now learn about them in school. ...more
Mike Eams didn't eat very well and drank a lot of coffee and energy drinks to get him through the day.
Then he made a New Year's resolution to get healthier.
He talked to his doctor about other ways to boost his energy without caffeine and was told to eat well and take a multivitamin and B vitamins, which are good for stress relief.
"I'm not sure if it works as a placebo, but I feel a lot better," says Eams, who followed the doctor's advice and added ginseng, too. "I feel I have more energy and I don't have to drink caffeine or coffee all day."
Eams is one of millions of Canadians who take vitamins to improve their health. In fact, so many people are using so-called alternative therapies that medical students now learn about them in school. ...more
The hardest working pill on the market
From Canada.com:
For the past decade, erectile dysfunction drugs such as Viagra and Cialis have sent men marching into bedrooms all over the world with renewed confidence and vigour.
Now, there seems to be another good reason to appreciate them -- they may help to save some of the planet's endangered animal species.
Evidence is mounting that men who used to rely on concoctions such as tiger penis soup and powdered rhinoceros horn are finding the convenient and fast-acting pills a good alternative.
One landmark study, done in 2004 by Australian researchers led by William von Hippel, involved 256 Chinese men, aged 50 to 76 years. All were receiving treatment at a traditional Chinese medicine clinic in Hong Kong.
The scientists found these consumers reported selectively switching to Western medicines to treat erectile dysfunction or ED, but not to treat other health ailments, such as gout and arthritis. ...more
For the past decade, erectile dysfunction drugs such as Viagra and Cialis have sent men marching into bedrooms all over the world with renewed confidence and vigour.
Now, there seems to be another good reason to appreciate them -- they may help to save some of the planet's endangered animal species.
Evidence is mounting that men who used to rely on concoctions such as tiger penis soup and powdered rhinoceros horn are finding the convenient and fast-acting pills a good alternative.
One landmark study, done in 2004 by Australian researchers led by William von Hippel, involved 256 Chinese men, aged 50 to 76 years. All were receiving treatment at a traditional Chinese medicine clinic in Hong Kong.
The scientists found these consumers reported selectively switching to Western medicines to treat erectile dysfunction or ED, but not to treat other health ailments, such as gout and arthritis. ...more
Robber gets surprise when pharmacist opens fire
From WRDW (GA):
It was a robbery with a big surprise for the robber. A gunman walked into a CVS drugstore expecting to hold up the place. What he didn't expect was to find a pharmacist who had a gun and was not afraid to use it.
The shooting happened just after midnight at the CVS on Walton Way and 15th Street.
Investigators say this isn't the first time CVS has been robbed, but this time was different. A pharmacist fired at the suspect, protecting himself and the store.
The surveillance pictures tell the story. In a matter of seconds a masked robber wearing black enters this CVS Pharmacy and starts demanding money. Clenching a pistol, the robber gives the cashier a bag to fill and then heads towards the back.
"The suspect then asked about the register in the pharmacy and began heading back to the pharmacy," says Richmond County Sheriff's Sergeant Ken Rogers.
But Investigators say the overnight pharmacist, Michael Swindle, heard the commotion, grabbed his gun and made his way out into the store. ...more
It was a robbery with a big surprise for the robber. A gunman walked into a CVS drugstore expecting to hold up the place. What he didn't expect was to find a pharmacist who had a gun and was not afraid to use it.
The shooting happened just after midnight at the CVS on Walton Way and 15th Street.
Investigators say this isn't the first time CVS has been robbed, but this time was different. A pharmacist fired at the suspect, protecting himself and the store.
The surveillance pictures tell the story. In a matter of seconds a masked robber wearing black enters this CVS Pharmacy and starts demanding money. Clenching a pistol, the robber gives the cashier a bag to fill and then heads towards the back.
"The suspect then asked about the register in the pharmacy and began heading back to the pharmacy," says Richmond County Sheriff's Sergeant Ken Rogers.
But Investigators say the overnight pharmacist, Michael Swindle, heard the commotion, grabbed his gun and made his way out into the store. ...more
Lack of sleep could be driving us mad
From the Calgary Herald:
With reports that “economic insomnia” is robbing people of sleep, researchers are warning poor sleep can unhinge the mind and increase the risk for depression and other full-blown psychiatric conditions.
“When you are tired, when you’re worn out, then everything becomes more of a challenge for you,” says Dr. Adam Moscovitch, medical director of the Canadian Sleep Institute in Toronto and Calgary. “Your confidence is affected, your ability to trust yourself. So there is a higher likelihood you’ll be ruminating about, are you doing things right? It significantly affects, from the psychological standpoint, the (risk) of mental illness developing.”
According to prescription drug tracking firm, IMS_Health Canada, about 17.8 million prescriptions for sleep aids were dispensed by Canadian retail drug stores last year.
There’s speculation that, with the economic crisis, the population may be using more sleep aids, and there was a slight increase in prescriptions from June to December, 2008. However, IMS_says at least three to four months of solid data into 2009 are needed to know for certain. ...more
With reports that “economic insomnia” is robbing people of sleep, researchers are warning poor sleep can unhinge the mind and increase the risk for depression and other full-blown psychiatric conditions.
“When you are tired, when you’re worn out, then everything becomes more of a challenge for you,” says Dr. Adam Moscovitch, medical director of the Canadian Sleep Institute in Toronto and Calgary. “Your confidence is affected, your ability to trust yourself. So there is a higher likelihood you’ll be ruminating about, are you doing things right? It significantly affects, from the psychological standpoint, the (risk) of mental illness developing.”
According to prescription drug tracking firm, IMS_Health Canada, about 17.8 million prescriptions for sleep aids were dispensed by Canadian retail drug stores last year.
There’s speculation that, with the economic crisis, the population may be using more sleep aids, and there was a slight increase in prescriptions from June to December, 2008. However, IMS_says at least three to four months of solid data into 2009 are needed to know for certain. ...more
Pharmacists get paid more for consultations
From the (Nashville) Tennessean:
A push by Medicare and other insurers to control patients' misuse of medications as a way to cut unnecessary drug costs has given many pharmacists a chance to make additional money by getting paid for in-depth consultations or other extra services.
Advertisement
Kroger, for instance, is training more pharmacists to handle up to one-hour consultations with patients that it began offering members of sponsoring health plans two years ago. As profit margins shrink, the new fees could help pharmacists develop another stable source of revenue.
Already, health plans are required to offer such pharmacist-patient chats to members enrolled in private Medicare plans known as Medicare Advantage. Those conversations can produce fees of $160 for up to one-hour conversations covering a patient's medical background and other services.
Other pharmacists perform extras for patients, including packaging patients' drugs in ready-to-use individual dosages to reduce the chances of a patient's taking too many pills or the wrong ones.
"You've got to find creative niches to stay alive," said W. Shane Reeves, co-owner of Reeves-Sain Drug Store, a small Murfreesboro pharmacy chain with two stores. ...more
A push by Medicare and other insurers to control patients' misuse of medications as a way to cut unnecessary drug costs has given many pharmacists a chance to make additional money by getting paid for in-depth consultations or other extra services.
Advertisement
Kroger, for instance, is training more pharmacists to handle up to one-hour consultations with patients that it began offering members of sponsoring health plans two years ago. As profit margins shrink, the new fees could help pharmacists develop another stable source of revenue.
Already, health plans are required to offer such pharmacist-patient chats to members enrolled in private Medicare plans known as Medicare Advantage. Those conversations can produce fees of $160 for up to one-hour conversations covering a patient's medical background and other services.
Other pharmacists perform extras for patients, including packaging patients' drugs in ready-to-use individual dosages to reduce the chances of a patient's taking too many pills or the wrong ones.
"You've got to find creative niches to stay alive," said W. Shane Reeves, co-owner of Reeves-Sain Drug Store, a small Murfreesboro pharmacy chain with two stores. ...more
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Big-profile Schering arthritis drug wins Canada nod
From Reuters:
Johnson & Johnson and Schering-Plough Corp said on Monday that Canadian regulators had approved use of their experimental once-monthly drug Simponi to treat moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis.
The potential blockbuster medicine, awaiting approval in the United States and Europe, is a follow-up to the widely used Remicade treatment sold by the two drugmakers.
Simponi could turn out to be a high-stakes bone of contention in Merck & Co's planned $41 billion purchase of Schering-Plough because Merck has said it will inherit overseas rights to Simponi and Remicade. Under an earlier marketing deal with J&J, Schering-Plough is obliged to return overseas rights to J&J if control of Schering-Plough changes.
J&J has exclusive rights to sell the new injectable treatment in the United States. Schering-Plough, which has rights in most other markets, said it hopes to introduce Simponi in Canada during the second half of the year.
Canadian authorities also approved Simponi for active psoriatic arthritis, an inflammatory condition of the skin and joints, and ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic inflammatory arthritis of the spine. ...more
Johnson & Johnson and Schering-Plough Corp said on Monday that Canadian regulators had approved use of their experimental once-monthly drug Simponi to treat moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis.
The potential blockbuster medicine, awaiting approval in the United States and Europe, is a follow-up to the widely used Remicade treatment sold by the two drugmakers.
Simponi could turn out to be a high-stakes bone of contention in Merck & Co's planned $41 billion purchase of Schering-Plough because Merck has said it will inherit overseas rights to Simponi and Remicade. Under an earlier marketing deal with J&J, Schering-Plough is obliged to return overseas rights to J&J if control of Schering-Plough changes.
J&J has exclusive rights to sell the new injectable treatment in the United States. Schering-Plough, which has rights in most other markets, said it hopes to introduce Simponi in Canada during the second half of the year.
Canadian authorities also approved Simponi for active psoriatic arthritis, an inflammatory condition of the skin and joints, and ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic inflammatory arthritis of the spine. ...more
Battle erupts over B.C. funding for eye treatment
From the Globe and Mail:
British Columbia has become the first province in Canada to pay for a relatively inexpensive drug that can help stop the progression and even reverse the effects of wet macular degeneration.
But not everybody is happy about it. A drug company that sells a similar treatment at a much higher cost said the decision could put the health of patients at risk - the latest chapter in a long-brewing battle over the two treatments.
The issue began to unfold Wednesday, when the B.C. government announced it will provide funding for Lucentis, an expensive breakthrough drug that has proven effective in fighting the progressive eye disease. At the same time, the government said it will become the first province in Canada to fund Avastin as a macular degeneration treatment.
Avastin was originally developed to treat colorectal cancer and isn't approved by Health Canada for use as an eye treatment. But significant anecdotal research indicates the drug has similar effects to Lucentis, and many ophthalmologists in Canada, the United States and Britain have been using it to treat macular degeneration. ...more
British Columbia has become the first province in Canada to pay for a relatively inexpensive drug that can help stop the progression and even reverse the effects of wet macular degeneration.
But not everybody is happy about it. A drug company that sells a similar treatment at a much higher cost said the decision could put the health of patients at risk - the latest chapter in a long-brewing battle over the two treatments.
The issue began to unfold Wednesday, when the B.C. government announced it will provide funding for Lucentis, an expensive breakthrough drug that has proven effective in fighting the progressive eye disease. At the same time, the government said it will become the first province in Canada to fund Avastin as a macular degeneration treatment.
Avastin was originally developed to treat colorectal cancer and isn't approved by Health Canada for use as an eye treatment. But significant anecdotal research indicates the drug has similar effects to Lucentis, and many ophthalmologists in Canada, the United States and Britain have been using it to treat macular degeneration. ...more
MP calls for independent drug agency following daughter's death
From the Vancouver Sun:
Nine years after vowing to find out why his healthy teenage daughter died while taking a popular prescription drug, a rookie MP is launching a campaign to persuade the Harper government to establish an independent drug safety agency in Canada.
Terence Young, Conservative MP for Oakville, Ont., is making his pitch for the agency in a new book that details his battle with "Big Pharma" and the health agencies and professionals that are charged with protecting patients like his daughter Vanessa.
Next week, he will introduce a motion in the House of Commons, where he hopes MPs from all parties will support his push for drug safety reform.
"This is a non-partisan issue. I will be appealing to all my colleagues in Parliament to create an independent drug agency to deal with these issues and make Canadians safer," Young said in an interview. "It's my goal, my dream, to have a consensus in Parliament to move forward on this."
The MP says his book, Death by Prescription: A Father Takes on his Daughter's Killer - The Multi-Billion-Dollar Pharmaceutical Industry, officially released Tuesday, is the culmination of his efforts to "uncover the truth" about why his 15-year-old daughter's heart stopped and she collapsed before his eyes on March 19, 2000. ...more
Nine years after vowing to find out why his healthy teenage daughter died while taking a popular prescription drug, a rookie MP is launching a campaign to persuade the Harper government to establish an independent drug safety agency in Canada.
Terence Young, Conservative MP for Oakville, Ont., is making his pitch for the agency in a new book that details his battle with "Big Pharma" and the health agencies and professionals that are charged with protecting patients like his daughter Vanessa.
Next week, he will introduce a motion in the House of Commons, where he hopes MPs from all parties will support his push for drug safety reform.
"This is a non-partisan issue. I will be appealing to all my colleagues in Parliament to create an independent drug agency to deal with these issues and make Canadians safer," Young said in an interview. "It's my goal, my dream, to have a consensus in Parliament to move forward on this."
The MP says his book, Death by Prescription: A Father Takes on his Daughter's Killer - The Multi-Billion-Dollar Pharmaceutical Industry, officially released Tuesday, is the culmination of his efforts to "uncover the truth" about why his 15-year-old daughter's heart stopped and she collapsed before his eyes on March 19, 2000. ...more
Seniors most likely hospitalized for adverse drug reactions: StatsCan
From the Calgary Herald:
Canadians aged 80 and older fill five times as many drug prescriptions a year as the average person, according to new data from Statistics Canada, helping explain why drug side effects are the No. 1 reason they visit emergency rooms.
In 2005, pharmacists filled an average of 74 prescriptions for each person over the age of 80, compared with an average of 14 prescriptions per Canadian, said the Statistics Canada study.
Typically, seniors on multiple drugs see numerous specialists who prescribe various medications to treat a range of chronic ailments: high blood pressure, hypertension, diabetes, Alzheimer's, arthritis, heart disease and stroke.
Experts have long known that seniors are the major consumers of drugs, but the Statistics Canada study is the first to quantify it nationally.
A study published last year by the Canadian Medical Association Journal revealed that adverse drug reactions accounted for 12 per cent, or more than one in nine, of all emergency-room visits. ...more
Canadians aged 80 and older fill five times as many drug prescriptions a year as the average person, according to new data from Statistics Canada, helping explain why drug side effects are the No. 1 reason they visit emergency rooms.
In 2005, pharmacists filled an average of 74 prescriptions for each person over the age of 80, compared with an average of 14 prescriptions per Canadian, said the Statistics Canada study.
Typically, seniors on multiple drugs see numerous specialists who prescribe various medications to treat a range of chronic ailments: high blood pressure, hypertension, diabetes, Alzheimer's, arthritis, heart disease and stroke.
Experts have long known that seniors are the major consumers of drugs, but the Statistics Canada study is the first to quantify it nationally.
A study published last year by the Canadian Medical Association Journal revealed that adverse drug reactions accounted for 12 per cent, or more than one in nine, of all emergency-room visits. ...more
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Pharmacist wins kudos for his compounding skills
From the Waterloo (Ont.) Record:
When pharmacist Phil Hudson came to Canada from England in 1986, the idea of a pharmacist customizing medications was a novel idea. Twenty years later, not only is his field fully accepted, but the British-trained Hudson was named compounding pharmacist of the year for 2008 by a company called Professional Compounding Centers of America, Canada.
The profession has come full circle. Early apothecaries mixed their own medications to suit a patient's malady. Over time, factory-produced pharmaceuticals became the norm. Today's compounding pharmacists can take basic medications and customize them to better suit a patient's needs and tastes.
"I had a situation (with a patient) I couldn't deal with," Hudson explained. "I came across a compounding pharmacist and called her, in the U.S. She started talking about how to overcome the problem." ...more
When pharmacist Phil Hudson came to Canada from England in 1986, the idea of a pharmacist customizing medications was a novel idea. Twenty years later, not only is his field fully accepted, but the British-trained Hudson was named compounding pharmacist of the year for 2008 by a company called Professional Compounding Centers of America, Canada.
The profession has come full circle. Early apothecaries mixed their own medications to suit a patient's malady. Over time, factory-produced pharmaceuticals became the norm. Today's compounding pharmacists can take basic medications and customize them to better suit a patient's needs and tastes.
"I had a situation (with a patient) I couldn't deal with," Hudson explained. "I came across a compounding pharmacist and called her, in the U.S. She started talking about how to overcome the problem." ...more
Quebec men arrested for Windsor card skimming scam
Good job by this alert pharmacy employee...
From the Windsor (Ont.) Star:
Windsor Police arrested two Quebec men Monday after they allegedly tried to pull a skimming scam at a west side pharmacy.
Police went to the pharmacy in the 1700 block of Huron Church Road at 11 a.m. Monday after receiving information that two suspects had stolen the point of sale PIN pad from a store counter.
Police said skimming involves taking a valid PIN Pad from a business and replacing it with a decoy. The scammers then put a card reader into the valid PIN and return it to the store. They wait while the card reader obtains information from peoples’ credit and debit cards, then return and take it back.
Once they have the information, police said the criminals begin cloning credit and debit cards and start running up charges on the unsuspecting victims.
Police said the suspects had been in the store on April 5. They removed a PIN Pad and one of them replaced it with a decoy. The pair were captured on surveillance video.
The next day, an alert store employee noticed the decoy PIN pad and informed her manager. Soon after the decoy discovery, the two suspects were back in the store. Police were called. They arrested the two suspects in the parking lot. ...more
C.B. doctor wants way to recycle used drugs
From the Halifax Chronicle Herald:
Ron MacCormick has attracted national attention by pitching the idea of recycling prescription drugs, which isn’t done in Canada.
The 56-year-old Cape Breton oncologist got the idea from the families of cancer patients who wanted their leftover or unused medication put to good use.
Dr. MacCormick says that a lot of expensive drugs, especially those used to treat illnesses such as cancer, are being wasted. In Canada, about $200 billion is spent on oral medication every year. If one per cent of that amount was recycled it would save $2 billion, he says. Flushing leftover drugs down the toilet has also resulted in traces of the medication turning up in drinking water throughout North America. ...more
Ron MacCormick has attracted national attention by pitching the idea of recycling prescription drugs, which isn’t done in Canada.
The 56-year-old Cape Breton oncologist got the idea from the families of cancer patients who wanted their leftover or unused medication put to good use.
Dr. MacCormick says that a lot of expensive drugs, especially those used to treat illnesses such as cancer, are being wasted. In Canada, about $200 billion is spent on oral medication every year. If one per cent of that amount was recycled it would save $2 billion, he says. Flushing leftover drugs down the toilet has also resulted in traces of the medication turning up in drinking water throughout North America. ...more
Community pharmacist admits fatal medicine mistake
From Management in Practice:
A pharmacist who had worked a 10-hour shift without a break wept in court when it heard an elderly woman collapsed and later died after she gave her the wrong drugs.
The daughter of 72-year-old cancer sufferer Carmel Sheller was given a heart rate reducing drug by Elizabeth Lee, 30, who was working on the busy Tesco counter in Dedworth Road, Windsor.
She was in fact supposed to be collecting the steroid prednisolone for her mother who had been prescribed the drug to treat her wheezing and lung inflammation, the Old Bailey heard.
Ms Lee was working as a locum and was in sole charge of the counter when she made the mistake "under pressure" as two other pharmacists were both on maternity leave. The court heard the mother of two had been working from 9am to 7pm.
After pleading guilty to supplying medicine with a misleading label on the package Ms Lee was given a suspended sentence of three months under a breach of the Medicines Act 1968 - an offence carrying a maximum two-year jail sentence. ...more
A pharmacist who had worked a 10-hour shift without a break wept in court when it heard an elderly woman collapsed and later died after she gave her the wrong drugs.
The daughter of 72-year-old cancer sufferer Carmel Sheller was given a heart rate reducing drug by Elizabeth Lee, 30, who was working on the busy Tesco counter in Dedworth Road, Windsor.
She was in fact supposed to be collecting the steroid prednisolone for her mother who had been prescribed the drug to treat her wheezing and lung inflammation, the Old Bailey heard.
Ms Lee was working as a locum and was in sole charge of the counter when she made the mistake "under pressure" as two other pharmacists were both on maternity leave. The court heard the mother of two had been working from 9am to 7pm.
After pleading guilty to supplying medicine with a misleading label on the package Ms Lee was given a suspended sentence of three months under a breach of the Medicines Act 1968 - an offence carrying a maximum two-year jail sentence. ...more
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Study on cholesterol drugs raises ethical questions
From the Calgary Herald:
Quebec doctors are being offered $100 for every new patient they put on cholesterol-lowering statin drugs as part of a major, federally subsidized study that's raising questions about the influence of the pharmaceutical industry on health research.
Critics say the OBSTAT trial seems more about drug marketing than science, getting thousands more people to take an already popular medicine.
Statins are among the most successful medications in history, with Lipitor — Canada's top-selling prescription drug — racking up almost $1.4 billion in national sales in 2008. There is ample evidence that, by cutting levels of blood cholesterol, they lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes in people already diagnosed with cardiovascular disease.
Whether they work well as primary prevention — for people who have high levels of cholesterol but don't have heart disease yet — is more debatable, though millions of such patients are taking them.
Considered relatively safe, the drugs can nevertheless cause muscle pain — sometimes severe — and other side effects. ...more
Quebec doctors are being offered $100 for every new patient they put on cholesterol-lowering statin drugs as part of a major, federally subsidized study that's raising questions about the influence of the pharmaceutical industry on health research.
Critics say the OBSTAT trial seems more about drug marketing than science, getting thousands more people to take an already popular medicine.
Statins are among the most successful medications in history, with Lipitor — Canada's top-selling prescription drug — racking up almost $1.4 billion in national sales in 2008. There is ample evidence that, by cutting levels of blood cholesterol, they lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes in people already diagnosed with cardiovascular disease.
Whether they work well as primary prevention — for people who have high levels of cholesterol but don't have heart disease yet — is more debatable, though millions of such patients are taking them.
Considered relatively safe, the drugs can nevertheless cause muscle pain — sometimes severe — and other side effects. ...more
Secrecy slowing drug research
From the Toronto Star:
It takes a big brain and a big-time swagger to transform the drug industry. And Aled Edwards – a renowned University of Toronto biochemist and respected laboratory leader – employs both to change the way drugs get into your medicine cabinet.
The 47-year-old researcher says the current method of creating drugs – one shrouded in secrecy and driven by patents and money-making – has failed. Too few medicines have come to market in the past 30 years, which means too many people still get sick and die from disease.
Edwards believes the only way to get more medicines to patients is for industry and academia to work together – and to post all their findings free on the Internet.
It is a groundbreaking idea – one many said would be anathema to the billion-dollar drug industry, which for decades has thrived on the spoils of patented blockbuster drugs. ...more
It takes a big brain and a big-time swagger to transform the drug industry. And Aled Edwards – a renowned University of Toronto biochemist and respected laboratory leader – employs both to change the way drugs get into your medicine cabinet.
The 47-year-old researcher says the current method of creating drugs – one shrouded in secrecy and driven by patents and money-making – has failed. Too few medicines have come to market in the past 30 years, which means too many people still get sick and die from disease.
Edwards believes the only way to get more medicines to patients is for industry and academia to work together – and to post all their findings free on the Internet.
It is a groundbreaking idea – one many said would be anathema to the billion-dollar drug industry, which for decades has thrived on the spoils of patented blockbuster drugs. ...more
Grapefruit, birth control pill interaction may have caused weird blood clot case
From the Canadian Press:
Chalk another one up to the bizarre power grapefruit and grapefruit juice have to mess around with medications.
An American woman in her 40s nearly lost a leg to gangrene because of a confluence of health factors exacerbated by a diet that included daily doses of grapefruit, the doctors who treated her reported in a medical journal on Friday.
"The way I think of it actually is like she's a setup for the perfect storm. And I believe it was the grapefruit that tipped the balance," Dr. Lucinda Grande, a medical resident at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, Wa., explained in an interview.
Grande is the first author on the case report, which appears in this week's issue of The Lancet.
The woman, then 42, arrived at the hospital's emergency room last November with a badly swollen and discoloured left leg. She was experiencing shortness of breath and light-headedness.
Doctors diagnosed a large deep vein thrombosis - a dangerous blood clot - in her left leg, running all the way from her hip to her calf. Because of the condition of the leg, the doctors treating her were worried she might be developing irreversible gangrene that would force amputation of the limb. ...more
Chalk another one up to the bizarre power grapefruit and grapefruit juice have to mess around with medications.
An American woman in her 40s nearly lost a leg to gangrene because of a confluence of health factors exacerbated by a diet that included daily doses of grapefruit, the doctors who treated her reported in a medical journal on Friday.
"The way I think of it actually is like she's a setup for the perfect storm. And I believe it was the grapefruit that tipped the balance," Dr. Lucinda Grande, a medical resident at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, Wa., explained in an interview.
Grande is the first author on the case report, which appears in this week's issue of The Lancet.
The woman, then 42, arrived at the hospital's emergency room last November with a badly swollen and discoloured left leg. She was experiencing shortness of breath and light-headedness.
Doctors diagnosed a large deep vein thrombosis - a dangerous blood clot - in her left leg, running all the way from her hip to her calf. Because of the condition of the leg, the doctors treating her were worried she might be developing irreversible gangrene that would force amputation of the limb. ...more
New law to force pharmacies to close for lunch?
From Stuff.co.nz:
A new law about rest breaks may force some pharmacies to close for lunch, the Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand says.
Changes to the Employment Relations Act come into force tomorrow, meaning a person working more than four hours is entitled to an unpaid half-hour meal break.
Pharmacy Guild chief executive Annabel Young said under the Medicines Act a pharmacy must be operated with the "immediate supervision and control of a pharmacist".
This meant small pharmacies where only one pharmacist worked would have to close when that person took a lunch break, she said.
However, a spokesman for Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson said the Act covered this kind of situation.
"Our advice from the Department of Labour is that the legislation is flexible enough to deal with these concerns in that if breaks can't be scheduled due to certain requirements or commitments then they should be taken 'where reasonable and practicable'." ...more
A new law about rest breaks may force some pharmacies to close for lunch, the Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand says.
Changes to the Employment Relations Act come into force tomorrow, meaning a person working more than four hours is entitled to an unpaid half-hour meal break.
Pharmacy Guild chief executive Annabel Young said under the Medicines Act a pharmacy must be operated with the "immediate supervision and control of a pharmacist".
This meant small pharmacies where only one pharmacist worked would have to close when that person took a lunch break, she said.
However, a spokesman for Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson said the Act covered this kind of situation.
"Our advice from the Department of Labour is that the legislation is flexible enough to deal with these concerns in that if breaks can't be scheduled due to certain requirements or commitments then they should be taken 'where reasonable and practicable'." ...more
Fish oil pills don't boost benefit of heart drugs
From the Associated Press:
Heart attack patients who are already taking the right medicines to prevent future problems get no added benefit from taking fish oil capsules, a large study in Germany finds.
The study tested a 1-gram daily dose of a prescription version of highly purified omega-3 fatty acid — the "good fat" contained in certain oily fish that is thought to help the heart.
Researchers led by Dr. Jochen Senges of the University of Heidelberg gave fish oil or dummy capsules to more than 3,800 people who had suffered a heart attack in the previous two weeks. About 90 percent were already receiving all the medicines recommended to prevent a second attack, including aspirin, anti-clotting and cholesterol drugs.
After a year, it made no difference whether these patients took fish oil or dummy capsules. In both groups, fewer than 2 percent had suffered sudden cardiac death, 4 percent had another heart attack, and fewer than 2 percent had suffered a stroke.
If recent heart attack patients are already getting good care, "there is almost nothing you can do better on top of this" to further lower risk, Senges said. He presented the results Monday at an American College of Cardiology conference. ...more
Heart attack patients who are already taking the right medicines to prevent future problems get no added benefit from taking fish oil capsules, a large study in Germany finds.
The study tested a 1-gram daily dose of a prescription version of highly purified omega-3 fatty acid — the "good fat" contained in certain oily fish that is thought to help the heart.
Researchers led by Dr. Jochen Senges of the University of Heidelberg gave fish oil or dummy capsules to more than 3,800 people who had suffered a heart attack in the previous two weeks. About 90 percent were already receiving all the medicines recommended to prevent a second attack, including aspirin, anti-clotting and cholesterol drugs.
After a year, it made no difference whether these patients took fish oil or dummy capsules. In both groups, fewer than 2 percent had suffered sudden cardiac death, 4 percent had another heart attack, and fewer than 2 percent had suffered a stroke.
If recent heart attack patients are already getting good care, "there is almost nothing you can do better on top of this" to further lower risk, Senges said. He presented the results Monday at an American College of Cardiology conference. ...more
Cleanup Drive to Sweep Pharm Industry
From the Korea Times:
The government will step up its fight against chronic illegal rebate practices whereby doctors and pharmacists receive money from drug makers in return for prescribing or recommending their products.
The wholesalers who receive such de-facto bribes will be sanctioned, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said Tuesday.
A relevant bill has been submitted to the National Assembly to establish the legal grounds to suspend the licenses of doctors who take the money for up to one year.
Under the new rules to make more transparent the way pharmaceuticals are distributed to consumers, all parties ― doctors, pharmacists, wholesalers and retailers ― who give or take rebates will be subject to sanctions. ...more
The government will step up its fight against chronic illegal rebate practices whereby doctors and pharmacists receive money from drug makers in return for prescribing or recommending their products.
The wholesalers who receive such de-facto bribes will be sanctioned, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said Tuesday.
A relevant bill has been submitted to the National Assembly to establish the legal grounds to suspend the licenses of doctors who take the money for up to one year.
Under the new rules to make more transparent the way pharmaceuticals are distributed to consumers, all parties ― doctors, pharmacists, wholesalers and retailers ― who give or take rebates will be subject to sanctions. ...more
Pharmacist warns of 'pharm parties'
From the Madison (IN) Courier:
"Pharm parties" where party-goers ingest random prescription drugs collected from family medicine cabinets without regard for potentially lethal drug interactions are a rapidly increasing trend among teens and young adults, a pharmacist told a town hall audience Monday in Carrollton, Ky.
Pharmacist Dave Sallengs likened the possible deadly consequences of mixing prescription medication to the death Jan. 22, 2008, of Academy Award-winning actor Heath Ledger, who accidentally overdosed on six different painkillers and sedatives.
Sallengs said the number of 12- to 17-year-olds abusing controlled substances in the U.S. grew 212 percent between 1992 and 2003, and the number of prescriptions written for controlled substances in the U.S. grew 150 percent.
Sallengs, the manager of the drug enforcement and professional practices branch office of the Kentucky inspector general, said the number of people abusing prescription drugs exceeded the number of people abusing cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants and heroin combined during that same period. ..more
"Pharm parties" where party-goers ingest random prescription drugs collected from family medicine cabinets without regard for potentially lethal drug interactions are a rapidly increasing trend among teens and young adults, a pharmacist told a town hall audience Monday in Carrollton, Ky.
Pharmacist Dave Sallengs likened the possible deadly consequences of mixing prescription medication to the death Jan. 22, 2008, of Academy Award-winning actor Heath Ledger, who accidentally overdosed on six different painkillers and sedatives.
Sallengs said the number of 12- to 17-year-olds abusing controlled substances in the U.S. grew 212 percent between 1992 and 2003, and the number of prescriptions written for controlled substances in the U.S. grew 150 percent.
Sallengs, the manager of the drug enforcement and professional practices branch office of the Kentucky inspector general, said the number of people abusing prescription drugs exceeded the number of people abusing cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants and heroin combined during that same period. ..more
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
More than $547M spent on drugs
From the Fredericton (NB) Daily Gleaner:
More than $547.3 million worth of prescribed drugs were sold in 191 New Brunswick pharmacies last year, accounting for more than nine million prescriptions filled provincewide.
According to an IMS Health Canada report, New Brunswick was second, behind Quebec, in spending per capita.
At the same time, New Brunswickers are keen to purchase cheaper prescriptions, leading other provinces in sales of generic brands (purchasing 58.9 per cent of generics versus brand name drugs at 41.1 per cent).
Janet Cooper, senior director of professional affairs at the Canadian Pharmacists Association, said this doesn't necessarily mean New Brunswickers are paying more for prescriptions.
"You have to look at it from a much bigger picture and get into the details," she said, adding that people in the province may be getting different kinds of prescriptions that could in turn be more expensive.
New Brunswick had a prescription per capita rate of 12 for each person in the province last year, below the national average of 14. ...more
More than $547.3 million worth of prescribed drugs were sold in 191 New Brunswick pharmacies last year, accounting for more than nine million prescriptions filled provincewide.
According to an IMS Health Canada report, New Brunswick was second, behind Quebec, in spending per capita.
At the same time, New Brunswickers are keen to purchase cheaper prescriptions, leading other provinces in sales of generic brands (purchasing 58.9 per cent of generics versus brand name drugs at 41.1 per cent).
Janet Cooper, senior director of professional affairs at the Canadian Pharmacists Association, said this doesn't necessarily mean New Brunswickers are paying more for prescriptions.
"You have to look at it from a much bigger picture and get into the details," she said, adding that people in the province may be getting different kinds of prescriptions that could in turn be more expensive.
New Brunswick had a prescription per capita rate of 12 for each person in the province last year, below the national average of 14. ...more
P.E.I. retailer upset by pulling of electronic cigarettes
From CBC News:
A Charlottetown store owner is wondering where some of her customers will turn now that Health Canada has ordered her to stop selling electronic cigarettes.
"We see people doing two things," Tracy Dooley of Wild Impulse told CBC News Monday.
"We see people using them who either want to reduce the amount they're smoking. So, they're substituting them — cigarettes and one of these [electronic ones]. And we've seen a lot of people as well completely quit smoking using these."
But they won't be using them for either purpose in the foreseeable future. Health Canada has ordered Canadian retailers to stop selling the e-cigarettes until it has had an opportunity to evaluate their safety.
E-cigarettes look like real cigarettes from a distance, complete with a glowing tip, but they deliver nicotine in a vapour. E-cigarettes are reusable, with a replaceable nicotine cartridge. ...more
A Charlottetown store owner is wondering where some of her customers will turn now that Health Canada has ordered her to stop selling electronic cigarettes.
"We see people doing two things," Tracy Dooley of Wild Impulse told CBC News Monday.
"We see people using them who either want to reduce the amount they're smoking. So, they're substituting them — cigarettes and one of these [electronic ones]. And we've seen a lot of people as well completely quit smoking using these."
But they won't be using them for either purpose in the foreseeable future. Health Canada has ordered Canadian retailers to stop selling the e-cigarettes until it has had an opportunity to evaluate their safety.
E-cigarettes look like real cigarettes from a distance, complete with a glowing tip, but they deliver nicotine in a vapour. E-cigarettes are reusable, with a replaceable nicotine cartridge. ...more
Merck Wins Reversal of Vioxx Ruling in Saskatchewan
From Bloomberg:
Merck & Co., after settling most of its Vioxx lawsuits in the U.S., persuaded an appeals court to halt one of two national group lawsuits in Canada claiming the painkiller caused heart attacks and strokes. The drugmaker still faces trial in Ontario, Canada’s most-populous province.
A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan ruled unanimously yesterday there were too many different issues involved to resolve in a class-action lawsuit and a lower court judge erred in allowing the plaintiffs to proceed as a group.
The case “gives the impression of commonality, where commonality in fact does not exist,” Judge Gene Ann Smith wrote on behalf of the panel.
The ruling bodes well for Canadian plaintiffs because pursuing one national lawsuit, rather than two, may be quicker, Michael Peerless, a lawyer representing the Ontario plaintiffs, said in a telephone interview today. ...more
Merck & Co., after settling most of its Vioxx lawsuits in the U.S., persuaded an appeals court to halt one of two national group lawsuits in Canada claiming the painkiller caused heart attacks and strokes. The drugmaker still faces trial in Ontario, Canada’s most-populous province.
A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan ruled unanimously yesterday there were too many different issues involved to resolve in a class-action lawsuit and a lower court judge erred in allowing the plaintiffs to proceed as a group.
The case “gives the impression of commonality, where commonality in fact does not exist,” Judge Gene Ann Smith wrote on behalf of the panel.
The ruling bodes well for Canadian plaintiffs because pursuing one national lawsuit, rather than two, may be quicker, Michael Peerless, a lawyer representing the Ontario plaintiffs, said in a telephone interview today. ...more
'Polypill' could reduce heart disease, stroke: Researchers
This article mentions the polypill, but doesn't break down the ingredients. Here it is: atenolol 50mg, ramapril 5mg, ASA 100mg, simvastatin 20mg and hydrochlorothiazide 12.5mg.
From the Calgary Herald:
Canadian researchers say a single, daily pill combining five medicines could potentially cut by half the number of heart attacks and strokes in middle-aged people.
The pill — called Polycap — is a cocktail of three blood-pressure lowering drugs, Aspirin to reduce blood clotting and a cholesterol-lowering drug. In tests involving more than 2,000 people in India, each component of the pill did what it was supposed to do.
In addition, the Polycap was generally well tolerated. There was no evidence of increasing side effects with increasing number of active components in one pill.
The 12-week study wasn't designed to see whether the "polypill" actually reduced heart attacks, stroke and death. Larger numbers of people would need to be treated with a longer followup.
But the findings suggest the pill could potentially reduce cardiovascular heart disease by 62 per cent, and stroke by 48 per cent, researchers from McMaster University in Hamilton and St. John's Medical College in Bangalore, India write in the journal, The Lancet. The study is to be presented Tuesday at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Florida. ...more
it's in the blood: the story of vitamin k
From the Montreal Gazette:
The chickens were hemorrhaging but Henrik Dam, a young biochemist at the University of Copenhagen couldn't figure out why.
The year was 1929 and Dam was investigating the metabolism of cholesterol in chickens. Eggs contained cholesterol but where was it coming from? The birds' diet?
To check this out, Dam extracted the cholesterol from the chicken feed and saw they still produced eggs with cholesterol. Obviously the birds were synthesizing the substance from other dietary components. But they were also bleeding in an unusual fashion. Adding cholesterol back to the chicks' diet didn't solve the problem. It therefore seemed that the cholesterol extraction removed some other substance of importance from the feed.
Dam eventually found that a second fat-soluble compound had indeed been extracted and it was its absence from the birds' diet that prevented blood from clotting. He called it the coagulation vitamin, or in German, Koagulationsvitamin. We now know it as vitamin K. ...more
The chickens were hemorrhaging but Henrik Dam, a young biochemist at the University of Copenhagen couldn't figure out why.
The year was 1929 and Dam was investigating the metabolism of cholesterol in chickens. Eggs contained cholesterol but where was it coming from? The birds' diet?
To check this out, Dam extracted the cholesterol from the chicken feed and saw they still produced eggs with cholesterol. Obviously the birds were synthesizing the substance from other dietary components. But they were also bleeding in an unusual fashion. Adding cholesterol back to the chicks' diet didn't solve the problem. It therefore seemed that the cholesterol extraction removed some other substance of importance from the feed.
Dam eventually found that a second fat-soluble compound had indeed been extracted and it was its absence from the birds' diet that prevented blood from clotting. He called it the coagulation vitamin, or in German, Koagulationsvitamin. We now know it as vitamin K. ...more
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Health Canada puts foot down on electronic cigarettes
From CBC News:
Health Canada is warning people not to use so-called "electronic smoking" products, and has instructed businesses not to promote or sell them until the government has evaluated their safety.
"Persons importing, advertising or selling electronic cigarette products in Canada must stop doing so immediately," Health Canada said in a statement Friday.
This includes electronic cigarettes (dubbed "e-cigarettes"), cigars, cigarillos and pipes, and cartridges of nicotine solutions.
The department said sales, imports and ads for the devices, which vaporize tobacco without burning it, are governed by the Food and Drugs Act and require federal approval, which none has so far received. ...more
Health Canada is warning people not to use so-called "electronic smoking" products, and has instructed businesses not to promote or sell them until the government has evaluated their safety.
"Persons importing, advertising or selling electronic cigarette products in Canada must stop doing so immediately," Health Canada said in a statement Friday.
This includes electronic cigarettes (dubbed "e-cigarettes"), cigars, cigarillos and pipes, and cartridges of nicotine solutions.
The department said sales, imports and ads for the devices, which vaporize tobacco without burning it, are governed by the Food and Drugs Act and require federal approval, which none has so far received. ...more
Canadians using more prescription drugs, drug-tracking firm reports
From the Canadian Press:
Canadians are taking more prescription drugs than ever before, and increasingly those medicines are generic versions rather than brand-names, says a company that tracks worldwide pharmaceutical sales.
In a report released Thursday, IMS Health said the number of prescriptions filled by Canadians rose by more than seven per cent in 2008 over the previous year.
Prescription spending last year hit an estimated $21.4 billion, up from $20.2 billion in 2007, said IMS. In all, pharmacists countrywide dispensed 453 million prescriptions, for an average of roughly 14 per Canadian.
Brian Carter, director of external affairs for IMS Health Canada, said the 2008 rise in total prescriptions reflects a trend that's been going on for several years.
"Basically it's an increased utilization, but that's driven by things like the aging population, an increasing number of products in the marketplace and increasing awareness of consumers of the diseases they have and the drugs that are there to treat them," Carter said from Edmonton. ...more
Canadians are taking more prescription drugs than ever before, and increasingly those medicines are generic versions rather than brand-names, says a company that tracks worldwide pharmaceutical sales.
In a report released Thursday, IMS Health said the number of prescriptions filled by Canadians rose by more than seven per cent in 2008 over the previous year.
Prescription spending last year hit an estimated $21.4 billion, up from $20.2 billion in 2007, said IMS. In all, pharmacists countrywide dispensed 453 million prescriptions, for an average of roughly 14 per Canadian.
Brian Carter, director of external affairs for IMS Health Canada, said the 2008 rise in total prescriptions reflects a trend that's been going on for several years.
"Basically it's an increased utilization, but that's driven by things like the aging population, an increasing number of products in the marketplace and increasing awareness of consumers of the diseases they have and the drugs that are there to treat them," Carter said from Edmonton. ...more
New study pinpoints prescription error problems
From CTV News:
Every day, pharmacists find errors on physician prescriptions; most are corrected and quickly forgotten. Now a new study is counting those errors -- and the results are surprising.
Under a unique program, pharmacists in Nova Scotia are now tracking and reporting what they call "near hits" - those mistakes that patients never hear about but ones that -- had they not been caught -- could have sent the wrong medication or the wrong dose to a patient.
The ongoing study recruited 13 pharmacies across Nova Scotia, asking workers there to keep track of the errors and near-errors they encounter. They were then asked to report the errors anonymously using an online reporting tool.
In just eight months, the pharmacists at the 13 drug stores have reported 813 potential medication errors.
Dr. Neil MacKinnon, an associate professor at the College of Pharmacy at Dalhousie University, helped launch the study, called SafetyNET. He notes that all of the reported errors were caught in time and corrected before they got to the patient. ...more
Every day, pharmacists find errors on physician prescriptions; most are corrected and quickly forgotten. Now a new study is counting those errors -- and the results are surprising.
Under a unique program, pharmacists in Nova Scotia are now tracking and reporting what they call "near hits" - those mistakes that patients never hear about but ones that -- had they not been caught -- could have sent the wrong medication or the wrong dose to a patient.
The ongoing study recruited 13 pharmacies across Nova Scotia, asking workers there to keep track of the errors and near-errors they encounter. They were then asked to report the errors anonymously using an online reporting tool.
In just eight months, the pharmacists at the 13 drug stores have reported 813 potential medication errors.
Dr. Neil MacKinnon, an associate professor at the College of Pharmacy at Dalhousie University, helped launch the study, called SafetyNET. He notes that all of the reported errors were caught in time and corrected before they got to the patient. ...more
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Suit planned against drug makers
From the Montreal Gazette:
A Quebec consumer-rights association is planning an $8-million class-action lawsuit against eight drug makers of children’s cough and cold medications, claiming that they engaged in false advertising.
Option consommateurs contends that the companies knew all along that their over-the-counter syrups and chewable tablets did not relieve cough and cold symptoms in children under the age of six, as advertised.
“Those corporations sold drugs that are simply ineffective,” Maxime Nasr, a lawyer for Option consommateurs, said in an interview Wednesday.
“The labels for those products clearly stated that they were useful for children under the age of six when, in fact, that is not the case.”
In December, Health Canada ordered the companies to re-label antihistamines, decongestants, cough suppressants and expectorants for children under the age of 12. It demanded that the labels warn that the products not be used by children under six. ...more
A Quebec consumer-rights association is planning an $8-million class-action lawsuit against eight drug makers of children’s cough and cold medications, claiming that they engaged in false advertising.
Option consommateurs contends that the companies knew all along that their over-the-counter syrups and chewable tablets did not relieve cough and cold symptoms in children under the age of six, as advertised.
“Those corporations sold drugs that are simply ineffective,” Maxime Nasr, a lawyer for Option consommateurs, said in an interview Wednesday.
“The labels for those products clearly stated that they were useful for children under the age of six when, in fact, that is not the case.”
In December, Health Canada ordered the companies to re-label antihistamines, decongestants, cough suppressants and expectorants for children under the age of 12. It demanded that the labels warn that the products not be used by children under six. ...more
Province’s funding of rheumatoid arthritis treatment welcomed
From the Grande Prairie (AB) Daily Herald Tribune:
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) sufferers in Alberta will soon be able to share in some joint relief.
As of April 1, the drug Rituximab will be covered by Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan for rheumatoid arthritis patients who meet “special authorization criteria.”
Sandy Ursel, a Pincher Creek, Alta.-resident, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis more than five years ago, and Rituximab is the only drug that has brought relief from the illness’s symptoms. Until now, Alberta funded the drug for the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but not RA. Alberta and P.E.I. were the only two provinces that did not cover Rituximab as a treatment for RA, leaving Ursel to worry she would have to cover the cost on her own.
“One treatment costs approximately $19,000, and that’s actually two treatments in succession, two weeks apart,” she said. ...more
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) sufferers in Alberta will soon be able to share in some joint relief.
As of April 1, the drug Rituximab will be covered by Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan for rheumatoid arthritis patients who meet “special authorization criteria.”
Sandy Ursel, a Pincher Creek, Alta.-resident, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis more than five years ago, and Rituximab is the only drug that has brought relief from the illness’s symptoms. Until now, Alberta funded the drug for the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but not RA. Alberta and P.E.I. were the only two provinces that did not cover Rituximab as a treatment for RA, leaving Ursel to worry she would have to cover the cost on her own.
“One treatment costs approximately $19,000, and that’s actually two treatments in succession, two weeks apart,” she said. ...more
Fury as High Street pharmacy sells morning-after pill online in bulk
From the Daily Mail (UK):
Women can bulk buy the morning-after pill over the internet from today - but critics claim it will promote promiscuity and encourage risky sex.
Visitors to Lloyds Pharmacy's online store will be able to buy up to three emergency contraceptive tablets without seeing a doctor or pharmacist.
The company says the move will allow women to stockpile the drug at home to use when their normal contraception fails, or after they have had unplanned and unprotected sex.
It insists it will do 'everything it can' to ensure the drug is not sold to girls under 18, but can only ask customers to promise not to pass the pills on to a friend or family member.
Campaigners said the easy availability of emergency contraception would encourage women to have unprotected sex, safe in the knowledge that they could pop a pill from their bathroom cabinet the next day. ...more
Women can bulk buy the morning-after pill over the internet from today - but critics claim it will promote promiscuity and encourage risky sex.
Visitors to Lloyds Pharmacy's online store will be able to buy up to three emergency contraceptive tablets without seeing a doctor or pharmacist.
The company says the move will allow women to stockpile the drug at home to use when their normal contraception fails, or after they have had unplanned and unprotected sex.
It insists it will do 'everything it can' to ensure the drug is not sold to girls under 18, but can only ask customers to promise not to pass the pills on to a friend or family member.
Campaigners said the easy availability of emergency contraception would encourage women to have unprotected sex, safe in the knowledge that they could pop a pill from their bathroom cabinet the next day. ...more
Drug-resistant TB treated at home in South Africa
From CBC News:
South Africa is trying a home-based care program to contain the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis.
With no new drugs on the horizon, the only way to contain the spread of the highly contagious disease is to help people stick to the gruelling two-year treatment plan required for a full recovery, said Dr. Eric Goemaere, who heads Médecins Sans Frontières in South Africa.
"We are recycling old drugs" that were invented in the 1950s, Goemaere said in an interview for World TB Day on Tuesday. "They were abandoned because they were too toxic."
Goemaere has launched a home-based care program in Khayelitsha, a poor, black township near Cape Town.
Busi Beko was isolated from her family when she was diagnosed with a strain of tuberculosis that is resistant to conventional TB medications. Beko endured two years of injections so toxic that they could have left her permanently deaf. ...more
South Africa is trying a home-based care program to contain the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis.
With no new drugs on the horizon, the only way to contain the spread of the highly contagious disease is to help people stick to the gruelling two-year treatment plan required for a full recovery, said Dr. Eric Goemaere, who heads Médecins Sans Frontières in South Africa.
"We are recycling old drugs" that were invented in the 1950s, Goemaere said in an interview for World TB Day on Tuesday. "They were abandoned because they were too toxic."
Goemaere has launched a home-based care program in Khayelitsha, a poor, black township near Cape Town.
Busi Beko was isolated from her family when she was diagnosed with a strain of tuberculosis that is resistant to conventional TB medications. Beko endured two years of injections so toxic that they could have left her permanently deaf. ...more
Doctor calls for pharmacists not to sell homeopathic products
From New Zealand Doctor Online:
“Pharmacists are scientists, and I urge them not to sell products that are proven to be ineffective”, states Dr. Shaun Holt in the latest issue of Pharmacy Today.
Mirroring a similar call made by Professor Ernst in the UK, Dr. Holt said that homeopathic products did not contain any active ingredient but supposedly had energy of substances that were in the product before they were diluted away. “Not only does this make no sense, it has never been demonstrated and there is a US$1 million prize for the first person to show that this occurs”.
Dr Holt continued: “homeopathic products are not just very diluted – they are so diluted there’s nothing there. It is like pouring a cup of coffee into Lake Taupo and then taking a cup of water from the lake the next day and describing that water as “dilute coffee”, and saying that you will get an even bigger boost from it than regular coffee as the dilution has increased its power”. ...more
“Pharmacists are scientists, and I urge them not to sell products that are proven to be ineffective”, states Dr. Shaun Holt in the latest issue of Pharmacy Today.
Mirroring a similar call made by Professor Ernst in the UK, Dr. Holt said that homeopathic products did not contain any active ingredient but supposedly had energy of substances that were in the product before they were diluted away. “Not only does this make no sense, it has never been demonstrated and there is a US$1 million prize for the first person to show that this occurs”.
Dr Holt continued: “homeopathic products are not just very diluted – they are so diluted there’s nothing there. It is like pouring a cup of coffee into Lake Taupo and then taking a cup of water from the lake the next day and describing that water as “dilute coffee”, and saying that you will get an even bigger boost from it than regular coffee as the dilution has increased its power”. ...more
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Seniors fight drug changes
From the Edmonton Sun:
A crowd of about 75 people gathered at the constituency office of MLA Dr. Raj Sherman yesterday afternoon to protest "deficiencies" in the province's proposed seniors pharmaceutical strategy.
"The government is proposing to impose a serious increase to drug costs for seniors, moving from a flat rate system to a means test," said protest organizer David Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare.
"This is a real attack on the principle of universality and really singling seniors out unfairly which, especially in an economic downturn, doesn't seem right."
Ralliers of all ages gathered at the west-end office shouting: "Don't cut seniors out" and waving signs as cars drove by and honked in support. The Raging Grannies also showed their support, flying their own banner and breaking into song. ...more
A crowd of about 75 people gathered at the constituency office of MLA Dr. Raj Sherman yesterday afternoon to protest "deficiencies" in the province's proposed seniors pharmaceutical strategy.
"The government is proposing to impose a serious increase to drug costs for seniors, moving from a flat rate system to a means test," said protest organizer David Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare.
"This is a real attack on the principle of universality and really singling seniors out unfairly which, especially in an economic downturn, doesn't seem right."
Ralliers of all ages gathered at the west-end office shouting: "Don't cut seniors out" and waving signs as cars drove by and honked in support. The Raging Grannies also showed their support, flying their own banner and breaking into song. ...more
Personalized medicines could change prescribing practices
From CBC News:
Much of the $30 billion that Canadians spend on drugs every year is wasted, but personalized medicines could revolutionize the way doctors prescribe, a biopharmaceutical researcher says.
People have genetic differences that determine how their bodies react to drugs such as warfarin or Coumadin, a blood thinner taken to prevent clotting. It is tricky to get the dosing right, because too little has no effect but too much can cause bleeding.
"Maybe you need more or maybe you have too much," said Serge Carriere, a healthy 70-year-old in Montreal who takes warfarin because he is at high risk for stroke. "It depends on the individual, the way they metabolize the drug."
Dr. Jean-Claude Tardif of the Montreal Heart Institute is testing the use of genetic analysis to help tailor drug dosages for patients like Carriere. ...more
Much of the $30 billion that Canadians spend on drugs every year is wasted, but personalized medicines could revolutionize the way doctors prescribe, a biopharmaceutical researcher says.
People have genetic differences that determine how their bodies react to drugs such as warfarin or Coumadin, a blood thinner taken to prevent clotting. It is tricky to get the dosing right, because too little has no effect but too much can cause bleeding.
"Maybe you need more or maybe you have too much," said Serge Carriere, a healthy 70-year-old in Montreal who takes warfarin because he is at high risk for stroke. "It depends on the individual, the way they metabolize the drug."
Dr. Jean-Claude Tardif of the Montreal Heart Institute is testing the use of genetic analysis to help tailor drug dosages for patients like Carriere. ...more
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Pharmacists look for more control
From the Sudbury (Ont.) Star:
It's a scenario that has happened to many people.
You forgot your prescription was running low, there are no more refills allowed and a two-week wait to see the doctor to get it renewed just won't do.
So, you end up going to the emergency department to get the prescription renewed, tying up valuable time and making others wait for something that should have taken just a few minutes to address.
If Ken Burns and the other 7,300 members of the Ontario Pharmacists Association get their wish, that scenario will come to an end.
That's because pharmacists may soon be able to take care of simple renewals for things such as high blood pressure pills and migraine medication after being granted the authority to do so by the province.
"There are a lot of people being treated for things such as high blood pressure," said Burns, pharmacist/manager at Errington Pharmacy in Chelmsford. "They may be monitored on a medication for seven years. We have a written record of the patient and the doctor here. Does it make sense to have to make them go back to a physician (for a renewal) or sitting in an emergency department in a line and then meeting a doctor who doesn't have any information about them?" ...more
It's a scenario that has happened to many people.
You forgot your prescription was running low, there are no more refills allowed and a two-week wait to see the doctor to get it renewed just won't do.
So, you end up going to the emergency department to get the prescription renewed, tying up valuable time and making others wait for something that should have taken just a few minutes to address.
If Ken Burns and the other 7,300 members of the Ontario Pharmacists Association get their wish, that scenario will come to an end.
That's because pharmacists may soon be able to take care of simple renewals for things such as high blood pressure pills and migraine medication after being granted the authority to do so by the province.
"There are a lot of people being treated for things such as high blood pressure," said Burns, pharmacist/manager at Errington Pharmacy in Chelmsford. "They may be monitored on a medication for seven years. We have a written record of the patient and the doctor here. Does it make sense to have to make them go back to a physician (for a renewal) or sitting in an emergency department in a line and then meeting a doctor who doesn't have any information about them?" ...more
Only 30% of RI pharmacists are certified
From the Jakarta Post:
Only 30 percent of the at least 27,000 pharmacists working across Indonesia posses a certificate declaring their competency, an official with the Association of Indonesian Pharmacy Graduates (ISFI) has said.
Speaking to journalists here Thursday, secretary of the association, Arel ST Iskandar, said this was mainly due to the fact that official certification for pharmacists had only been available in the country since 2006.
Thanks to the certification program, he said, the gap in quality between certified and uncertified pharmacists can now be clearly seen, Arel said on the sidelines of celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the education of pharmacists in Indonesia, at Padjadjaran University. ...more
Only 30 percent of the at least 27,000 pharmacists working across Indonesia posses a certificate declaring their competency, an official with the Association of Indonesian Pharmacy Graduates (ISFI) has said.
Speaking to journalists here Thursday, secretary of the association, Arel ST Iskandar, said this was mainly due to the fact that official certification for pharmacists had only been available in the country since 2006.
Thanks to the certification program, he said, the gap in quality between certified and uncertified pharmacists can now be clearly seen, Arel said on the sidelines of celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the education of pharmacists in Indonesia, at Padjadjaran University. ...more
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wetaskiwin pill dispenser a first for Alberta
From the Wetaskiwin (AB) Times Advertiser:
It’s a first for Alberta and the Wetaskiwin Value Drug Mart.
The business has been chosen as the first pharmacy in the province to install the latest technology for automated dispensing.
The change will help equip the store’s pharmacists with “the ability to handle more prescriptions with increased efficiency and accuracy,” according to a press release.
“It’s an investment in the future of our pharmacy, and reflects our strong commitment to patients’ health and safety,” said Wetaskiwin Value Drug Mart pharmacy manager Rodney Bleakney.
Parata Max fully automates the dispensing of oral solids – pills, tablets and capsules, which comprise approximately 70 per cent of the pharmacy’s prescriptions. ...more
It’s a first for Alberta and the Wetaskiwin Value Drug Mart.
The business has been chosen as the first pharmacy in the province to install the latest technology for automated dispensing.
The change will help equip the store’s pharmacists with “the ability to handle more prescriptions with increased efficiency and accuracy,” according to a press release.
“It’s an investment in the future of our pharmacy, and reflects our strong commitment to patients’ health and safety,” said Wetaskiwin Value Drug Mart pharmacy manager Rodney Bleakney.
Parata Max fully automates the dispensing of oral solids – pills, tablets and capsules, which comprise approximately 70 per cent of the pharmacy’s prescriptions. ...more
Gonorrhea superbug hits Canada
From the Vancouver Sun:
Gonorrhea superbugs are swiftly emerging in Canada, and men, as well as patients over 30 are at the greatest risk, new research shows.
In women, untreated gonorrhea can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease and scarring of the fallopian tubes, causing infertility. In men, it can cause inflammation of the prostate and urethra.
For both sexes, the sexually transmitted infection can cause serious bloodstream and joint infections, as well as immune complications.
Symptoms of gonorrhea include a painful or burning sensation with urination and penile or vaginal discharge. But, according to Canada's public health agency, the majority of infected women and some infected men will not show any symptoms. ...more
Gonorrhea superbugs are swiftly emerging in Canada, and men, as well as patients over 30 are at the greatest risk, new research shows.
In women, untreated gonorrhea can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease and scarring of the fallopian tubes, causing infertility. In men, it can cause inflammation of the prostate and urethra.
For both sexes, the sexually transmitted infection can cause serious bloodstream and joint infections, as well as immune complications.
Symptoms of gonorrhea include a painful or burning sensation with urination and penile or vaginal discharge. But, according to Canada's public health agency, the majority of infected women and some infected men will not show any symptoms. ...more
Heavy drinking-prostate cancer link confirmed
From CTV News:
Men who drink 14 or more drinks a week are 20 per cent more likely to develop prostate cancer, according to an international review co-authored by a University of Victoria researcher.
The results, published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, provides more concrete evidence of the link between alcohol and prostate cancer - a link that has remained controversial.
Tim Stockwell, director of the University of Victoria's Centre for Addictions Research of B.C., along with research teams from the U.S. and Australia reviewed 35 previously published studies that linked drinking and the risk of developing prostate cancer.
The studies that Stockwell and his colleagues examined included "cohort studies", which measure people at one point in time and then re-measure them later to see if their drinking, smoking or exercise is associated with the incidence of disease. ...more
Men who drink 14 or more drinks a week are 20 per cent more likely to develop prostate cancer, according to an international review co-authored by a University of Victoria researcher.
The results, published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, provides more concrete evidence of the link between alcohol and prostate cancer - a link that has remained controversial.
Tim Stockwell, director of the University of Victoria's Centre for Addictions Research of B.C., along with research teams from the U.S. and Australia reviewed 35 previously published studies that linked drinking and the risk of developing prostate cancer.
The studies that Stockwell and his colleagues examined included "cohort studies", which measure people at one point in time and then re-measure them later to see if their drinking, smoking or exercise is associated with the incidence of disease. ...more
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Pharmacists' role in evolutionary mode
From the Toronto Star:
On Monday afternoon, when Zubin Austin was educating his Introduction to Clinical Pharmacology class about cholesterol, he was standing in front of a diverse group.
The diversity of first-year pharmacy students at the University of Toronto – not only culturally, but ranging in age from 16 to fifty-something, with upwards of one year of university to a PhD under their belts – serve to underscore the burgeoning range of possibilities for graduates.
"Become a teacher, industry expert, regulator, the sky is the limit," says Deo Bahadur, Pharmacy Operations Leader at Toronto Western Hospital.
Bahadur was a pharmacist in his native Guyana and worked as a pharmacy technician when he first arrived in Canada. Later, he went back to school in Jamaica for two years to earn a pharmacy degree that's recognized here.
He currently teaches in the new Bridging program for pharmacy technicians at Centennial College, a first step to becoming a regulated technician. At Toronto Western, he's both a manager and a clinical pharmacist, responsible for about 30 to 40 neurology and neurosurgery patients. ...more
On Monday afternoon, when Zubin Austin was educating his Introduction to Clinical Pharmacology class about cholesterol, he was standing in front of a diverse group.
The diversity of first-year pharmacy students at the University of Toronto – not only culturally, but ranging in age from 16 to fifty-something, with upwards of one year of university to a PhD under their belts – serve to underscore the burgeoning range of possibilities for graduates.
"Become a teacher, industry expert, regulator, the sky is the limit," says Deo Bahadur, Pharmacy Operations Leader at Toronto Western Hospital.
Bahadur was a pharmacist in his native Guyana and worked as a pharmacy technician when he first arrived in Canada. Later, he went back to school in Jamaica for two years to earn a pharmacy degree that's recognized here.
He currently teaches in the new Bridging program for pharmacy technicians at Centennial College, a first step to becoming a regulated technician. At Toronto Western, he's both a manager and a clinical pharmacist, responsible for about 30 to 40 neurology and neurosurgery patients. ...more
Toronto vending machines dispense prescription drugs
From the National Post:
Hundreds of Toronto patients have been picking up their prescription drugs in recent months much as they withdraw cash or buy a can of cola -- from special vending machines that some observers believe could transform the pharmacy business.
Customers insert their prescription into a slot in the device and a few minutes later, it spits out their medication.
Proponents say the Canadian-made drug kiosks, which feature a video link to a real pharmacist, offer convenience when there is no pharmacy open or close by. Skeptics, though, warn the machines will never duplicate the benefits of meeting in person with a druggist.
Pharmacy regulators, meanwhile, seem sympathetic, with the profession's governing body in Ontario releasing proposed legislative changes this week that would open the door to wider use of such technology.
"I think it could be the next BlackBerry," said Dr. Sharon Domb, medical director of family medicine at Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, which has been testing the technology. "The feedback has been positive: ‘It's great, it's fast, I don't have to go anywhere else.' " ...more
Hundreds of Toronto patients have been picking up their prescription drugs in recent months much as they withdraw cash or buy a can of cola -- from special vending machines that some observers believe could transform the pharmacy business.
Customers insert their prescription into a slot in the device and a few minutes later, it spits out their medication.
Proponents say the Canadian-made drug kiosks, which feature a video link to a real pharmacist, offer convenience when there is no pharmacy open or close by. Skeptics, though, warn the machines will never duplicate the benefits of meeting in person with a druggist.
Pharmacy regulators, meanwhile, seem sympathetic, with the profession's governing body in Ontario releasing proposed legislative changes this week that would open the door to wider use of such technology.
"I think it could be the next BlackBerry," said Dr. Sharon Domb, medical director of family medicine at Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, which has been testing the technology. "The feedback has been positive: ‘It's great, it's fast, I don't have to go anywhere else.' " ...more
Accreditation for pharmacy college
I am a bit unclear regarding what this means. Now that Qatar University has been accredited by the Canadian Council for Accreditation, will this make it easier for their grads to move to Canada? Is this a trend we can expect from other foreign universities?
From Gulf Times (Qatar):
Qatar University’s College of Pharmacy has been accredited by the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programmes, it was announced yesterday.
“Qatar University is the first international institution to be evaluated by the Council for accreditation under the standards applied to pharmacy schools in Canada,” CCAPP Executive Director Dr David Hill said.
In a letter to QU President Prof Sheikha Abdulla al-Misnad he stated that the Council is extremely pleased with the initial stages of its relationship with QU and will use the experience as a model for other international universities seeking CCAPP accreditation.
Prof al-Misnad described the accreditation as a testament to the excellence of the Pharmacy programme, the dedication of the students, staff and faculty and recognition of the commitment of Qatar’s only university to the continued advancement of pharmacy education and practice in the country.
College of Pharmacy Dean Dr Peter Jewesson explained that the accreditation is provisional as a class of students is yet to be graduated. “The College will continue to work with CCAPP as it prepares for the first BSc (Pharm) class graduation and first Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) class enrollment by 2011,” he said. ...more
Foreign drugs can be a risk or a bargain
From the Los Angeles Times:
Obtaining low-cost drugs from Canada, Mexico and other foreign countries is a controversial method for shaving prescription expenses.
In most instances it is illegal, but authorities often take a "don't ask, don't tell" approach to the practice as long as consumers are purchasing nonnarcotic drugs for personal use.
Residents of border states such as Michigan and California have frequented foreign pharmacies for years. Buying from abroad via the Internet or mail order carries additional risk, experts warn, because consumers can't be sure of the source of the drugs.
This month, Sens. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) introduced drug importation legislation that creates a legal and regulated system for buying drugs from foreign countries. ...more
Obtaining low-cost drugs from Canada, Mexico and other foreign countries is a controversial method for shaving prescription expenses.
In most instances it is illegal, but authorities often take a "don't ask, don't tell" approach to the practice as long as consumers are purchasing nonnarcotic drugs for personal use.
Residents of border states such as Michigan and California have frequented foreign pharmacies for years. Buying from abroad via the Internet or mail order carries additional risk, experts warn, because consumers can't be sure of the source of the drugs.
This month, Sens. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) introduced drug importation legislation that creates a legal and regulated system for buying drugs from foreign countries. ...more
How to protect yourself from medication errors
From CTV News:
Each year, about 422 million prescriptions are filled in Canada. And each year, countless Canadians are sent to hospital because of problems with these prescriptions.
A study published this past summer in the Canadian Medical Association Journal estimated that more than one in nine of all emergency room visits are medication-related. Many of the times, the patients were at fault because they skipped doses or ignored warnings on the label. But often, the patient has done everything right; they've simply been the victim of a prescribing error.
Somewhere between a doctor writing a prescription and a patient receiving it, errors can be made with incorrect drug selection, contraindications, dosage errors, or communication problems with the pharmacy.
How serious is the problem in Canada? Startlingly, no one knows. That's because Canada still does not have a decent nationwide system for reporting medication errors.
The systems that do exist focus more on medication side effects or on errors made in hospital. But the problem of prescribing errors made in doctors' offices remains largely unexplored, says Dr. Neil MacKinnon, an associate professor at the College of Pharmacy at Dalhousie University in Halifax, whose primary area or research is studying medication errors. ..more
Each year, about 422 million prescriptions are filled in Canada. And each year, countless Canadians are sent to hospital because of problems with these prescriptions.
A study published this past summer in the Canadian Medical Association Journal estimated that more than one in nine of all emergency room visits are medication-related. Many of the times, the patients were at fault because they skipped doses or ignored warnings on the label. But often, the patient has done everything right; they've simply been the victim of a prescribing error.
Somewhere between a doctor writing a prescription and a patient receiving it, errors can be made with incorrect drug selection, contraindications, dosage errors, or communication problems with the pharmacy.
How serious is the problem in Canada? Startlingly, no one knows. That's because Canada still does not have a decent nationwide system for reporting medication errors.
The systems that do exist focus more on medication side effects or on errors made in hospital. But the problem of prescribing errors made in doctors' offices remains largely unexplored, says Dr. Neil MacKinnon, an associate professor at the College of Pharmacy at Dalhousie University in Halifax, whose primary area or research is studying medication errors. ..more
Pfizer to set up 600 smoking cessation clinics in 2 years
It looks like Pfizer will opt for a more direct approach when they are selling Champix in India. With the relatively open pharmaceutical laws, it could work there. I wonder how objective these clinics will be. Nonetheless, it's an innovative concept.
From the Economic Times (India):
Pfizer India plans to launch 600 smoking cessation clinics across the country in the next two years in partnership with private sector hospitals and clinics. Pfizer India director (pharmaceutical marketing) Anjan Sen said: “We have already tied up with 150 clinics in 17 cities, including Max Healthcare, and are in talks with more hospitals for partnerships. We are also in talks with the government to use this as a treatment option in the 600 clinics that they plan to set up.”
The government had last year announced to launch same number of clinics. The government clinics will use nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) like chewing gum and patches, along with counselling, to help people quit smoking, a method that doctors say has far less success rate than medication which blocks the receptors in the brain absorbing nicotine.
According to Mr Sen, the government will shortly conduct a clinical trial of the Pfizer drug, Champix, to check its efficacy and if satisfied it will become a part of the government’s anti-smoking programme. ...more
Researchers explore supersized doses
From the Globe and Mail:
Researchers are taking a fresh look at vitamin D - the over-the-counter supplement much-ballyhooed as a way to prevent diseases - to determine whether it could be effective as a medical treatment for those who already have chronic illnesses such as cancer.
Although the investigations are in their early stages, any successful outcomes could be a major health breakthrough, giving patients an inexpensive treatment option that's as close as the nearest pharmacy.
Already the so-called sunshine vitamin is glowing brightly in medical circles, with recent studies showing its efficacy in preventing everything from cancer to the flu. Typical of the recent investigations was one conducted at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, where multiple sclerosis patients received one of the largest vitamin D doses ever dispensed in a clinical setting.
It yielded some tantalizing evidence that supersizing the nutrient helps calm symptoms of the neurological disease. ...more
Researchers are taking a fresh look at vitamin D - the over-the-counter supplement much-ballyhooed as a way to prevent diseases - to determine whether it could be effective as a medical treatment for those who already have chronic illnesses such as cancer.
Although the investigations are in their early stages, any successful outcomes could be a major health breakthrough, giving patients an inexpensive treatment option that's as close as the nearest pharmacy.
Already the so-called sunshine vitamin is glowing brightly in medical circles, with recent studies showing its efficacy in preventing everything from cancer to the flu. Typical of the recent investigations was one conducted at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, where multiple sclerosis patients received one of the largest vitamin D doses ever dispensed in a clinical setting.
It yielded some tantalizing evidence that supersizing the nutrient helps calm symptoms of the neurological disease. ...more
Better drugs encouraging AIDS complacency: Nobel doctor
From AFP:
People are forgetting to practise safe sex because they no longer fear dying from HIV/AIDS, says the doctor who won the Nobel prize for helping to discover the virus.
Treatment advances mean "some people in my country, France, and other Western countries have become complacent -- they see HIV/AIDS as a chronic disease -- not as one that can kill," virologist Francoise Barre-Sinoussi said.
The doctor shared the Nobel Prize last year with fellow French virologist Dr Luc Montagnier for their discovery in 1981 of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS.
Barre-Sinoussi noted there has been a huge leap forward in treatments for HIV/AIDS with a cocktail of drugs that reduces the level of virus in the body and likewise lowers the risk of passing on the pathogen to others.
But she told AFP she worried that people's confidence in retroviral drugs had created a false sense of security, leading to an increase in unprotected sex. ...more
People are forgetting to practise safe sex because they no longer fear dying from HIV/AIDS, says the doctor who won the Nobel prize for helping to discover the virus.
Treatment advances mean "some people in my country, France, and other Western countries have become complacent -- they see HIV/AIDS as a chronic disease -- not as one that can kill," virologist Francoise Barre-Sinoussi said.
The doctor shared the Nobel Prize last year with fellow French virologist Dr Luc Montagnier for their discovery in 1981 of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS.
Barre-Sinoussi noted there has been a huge leap forward in treatments for HIV/AIDS with a cocktail of drugs that reduces the level of virus in the body and likewise lowers the risk of passing on the pathogen to others.
But she told AFP she worried that people's confidence in retroviral drugs had created a false sense of security, leading to an increase in unprotected sex. ...more
Smoking-cessation drug under scrutiny
From CTV Calgary:
Hundreds of people claim a drug used to help people quit smoking has given them some serious side effects.
Dana Roy says she tried to slit her wrists while she was taking the drug Champix. She says "I looked down at the sink and this knife was sitting here, and I picked it up and cut both my wrists".
Roy says "I had such an overwhelming feeling of anxiety; I just wanted the feeling to go away".
Roy's medication did come with an information sheet that described common side effects such as nausea and trouble sleeping. It also said "tell your doctor if you experience agitation, depressed mood or suicidal thoughts" the sheet also says "it's not known if these symptoms are related to Champix". ...more
Hundreds of people claim a drug used to help people quit smoking has given them some serious side effects.
Dana Roy says she tried to slit her wrists while she was taking the drug Champix. She says "I looked down at the sink and this knife was sitting here, and I picked it up and cut both my wrists".
Roy says "I had such an overwhelming feeling of anxiety; I just wanted the feeling to go away".
Roy's medication did come with an information sheet that described common side effects such as nausea and trouble sleeping. It also said "tell your doctor if you experience agitation, depressed mood or suicidal thoughts" the sheet also says "it's not known if these symptoms are related to Champix". ...more
Vitamin C may protect against gout
From the Guardian (UK):
Getting plenty of vitamin C in your diet may protect against painful attacks of gout, researchers have found. The study showed that men who consumed the most vitamin C, from fruit and vegetables or from supplements, were less likely than other men to get gout.
Gout is a very painful condition causing swelling and stiffness in the joints. It usually affects the big toe joint and can make walking difficult. Gout is quite prevalent, with about 1 in 100 people getting it at some point in life, and is far more common in men than women. It tends to occur in men over 40, especially those who are overweight. Unfortunately, there are few good treatments. The pain is treated mainly with painkillers. ...more
Getting plenty of vitamin C in your diet may protect against painful attacks of gout, researchers have found. The study showed that men who consumed the most vitamin C, from fruit and vegetables or from supplements, were less likely than other men to get gout.
Gout is a very painful condition causing swelling and stiffness in the joints. It usually affects the big toe joint and can make walking difficult. Gout is quite prevalent, with about 1 in 100 people getting it at some point in life, and is far more common in men than women. It tends to occur in men over 40, especially those who are overweight. Unfortunately, there are few good treatments. The pain is treated mainly with painkillers. ...more
MDs, pharmacists battling drug resellers
From the Winnipeg Free Press:
Inner-city doctors and pharmacists want the province to help them crack down on prescription-drug abuse in response to the growing number of people reselling addictive painkillers such as OxyContin on the street.
Betty Edel, executive director of the Mount Carmel Clinic, said the strip of medical clinics and pharmacies along North Main Street has become a hub for the resale of prescription painkillers.
Edel said area residents and people from other Winnipeg communities are coming to North Main to fill their prescriptions and sell them to dealers who, in turn, sell the drugs for a steeper price on the street.
OxyContin is a strong narcotic that contains oxycodone and other opiates and is prescribed by physicians as a long-release painkiller. Some addiction experts call it "hillbilly heroin," since tablets containing oxycodone can be purchased for about $5 a pill, then resold by dealers. ...more
Inner-city doctors and pharmacists want the province to help them crack down on prescription-drug abuse in response to the growing number of people reselling addictive painkillers such as OxyContin on the street.
Betty Edel, executive director of the Mount Carmel Clinic, said the strip of medical clinics and pharmacies along North Main Street has become a hub for the resale of prescription painkillers.
Edel said area residents and people from other Winnipeg communities are coming to North Main to fill their prescriptions and sell them to dealers who, in turn, sell the drugs for a steeper price on the street.
OxyContin is a strong narcotic that contains oxycodone and other opiates and is prescribed by physicians as a long-release painkiller. Some addiction experts call it "hillbilly heroin," since tablets containing oxycodone can be purchased for about $5 a pill, then resold by dealers. ...more
Pharmacists want power to renew prescriptions
From the Windsor (Ont.) Star:
Giving pharmacists authority to fill some prescriptions without a doctor’s order would help patients in our physician shortage-plagued region, a local pharmacist says.
David Malian, a LaSalle pharmacist and past-president of the Ontario Pharmacists Association, is endorsing the recommendation that Ontario pharmacists be given more power to order prescription refills and give people meds for minor ailments without a doctor’s sanction.
“Pharmacists are well-educated, well-trained … and they’re the most accessible health care professional that a patient can see,” Malian said in an interview this week. “Allowing them to expand their scope of practice, in conjunction and in communication with other health care practitioners, only will enhance better health care.”
Last fall, the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council submitted a report to the Ministry of Health that recommends allowing pharmacists to extend or adjust prescriptions, order lab tests and dispense medication for simple ailments like rashes and pink eye. The ministry has said it will study the report and ask for input from health professionals and the public....more
Giving pharmacists authority to fill some prescriptions without a doctor’s order would help patients in our physician shortage-plagued region, a local pharmacist says.
David Malian, a LaSalle pharmacist and past-president of the Ontario Pharmacists Association, is endorsing the recommendation that Ontario pharmacists be given more power to order prescription refills and give people meds for minor ailments without a doctor’s sanction.
“Pharmacists are well-educated, well-trained … and they’re the most accessible health care professional that a patient can see,” Malian said in an interview this week. “Allowing them to expand their scope of practice, in conjunction and in communication with other health care practitioners, only will enhance better health care.”
Last fall, the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council submitted a report to the Ministry of Health that recommends allowing pharmacists to extend or adjust prescriptions, order lab tests and dispense medication for simple ailments like rashes and pink eye. The ministry has said it will study the report and ask for input from health professionals and the public....more
'Don't stop asthma meds in pregnancy'
From IrishHealth.com:
Pregnant women who have asthma run a greater risk of giving birth prematurely if they stop taking their asthma medication, the results of a new study indicate.
According to researchers at the University of Montreal in Canada, ‘many pregnant women cease taking their asthma medication to protect the health of their child. However, they don't know that unchecked asthma can cause greater harm to the child than the medication’.
The researchers also pointed out that there is no link between taking asthma medication, such as Ventolin, and any congenital birth defect.
The study involved 13,000 pregnant women who consulted a doctor about asthma between 1990 and 2002. The Canadian team analysed the medication used by these women and their rate of admission to hospital following visits to A&E.
It found that those who suspended their asthma treatment during pregnancy were more likely to give birth prematurely. The probability of suffering from hypertension (high blood pressure) during pregnancy also increased among those who stopped taking their medication. ...more
Pregnant women who have asthma run a greater risk of giving birth prematurely if they stop taking their asthma medication, the results of a new study indicate.
According to researchers at the University of Montreal in Canada, ‘many pregnant women cease taking their asthma medication to protect the health of their child. However, they don't know that unchecked asthma can cause greater harm to the child than the medication’.
The researchers also pointed out that there is no link between taking asthma medication, such as Ventolin, and any congenital birth defect.
The study involved 13,000 pregnant women who consulted a doctor about asthma between 1990 and 2002. The Canadian team analysed the medication used by these women and their rate of admission to hospital following visits to A&E.
It found that those who suspended their asthma treatment during pregnancy were more likely to give birth prematurely. The probability of suffering from hypertension (high blood pressure) during pregnancy also increased among those who stopped taking their medication. ...more
Monday, March 09, 2009
Birth-control pills, low birth weight linked
From the National Post:
Women who get pregnant within a few weeks of taking birth-control pills seem much more likely than others to have low birth-weight or premature babies, concludes a new Canadian study that deals with one of the most widely prescribed classes of drugs.
The findings suggest couples should consider using condoms and other "barrier" contraception methods in the month before they try to conceive, say the researchers from the University of Ottawa.
The study does not definitively prove a cause-and-effect relationship and needs to be confirmed by more research, said the lead investigator. It is also unclear why oral contraceptives might affect the development of the fetus, added Xi-Kuan Chen, an epidemiologist.
The findings should not be ignored, though, he said.
"Doctors should be bringing this to the attention of patients," said Mr. Chen, who is also a senior analyst with the Canadian Institute for Health Information. "When they consult with some patients, they should suggest there might be some effect for them." ...more
Women who get pregnant within a few weeks of taking birth-control pills seem much more likely than others to have low birth-weight or premature babies, concludes a new Canadian study that deals with one of the most widely prescribed classes of drugs.
The findings suggest couples should consider using condoms and other "barrier" contraception methods in the month before they try to conceive, say the researchers from the University of Ottawa.
The study does not definitively prove a cause-and-effect relationship and needs to be confirmed by more research, said the lead investigator. It is also unclear why oral contraceptives might affect the development of the fetus, added Xi-Kuan Chen, an epidemiologist.
The findings should not be ignored, though, he said.
"Doctors should be bringing this to the attention of patients," said Mr. Chen, who is also a senior analyst with the Canadian Institute for Health Information. "When they consult with some patients, they should suggest there might be some effect for them." ...more
Bitter pill for 'uncaring' pharmacists
From the Sydney Morning Herald:
Suburban pharmacies sheltered from supermarket competition routinely failed to live up to their claims of being caring professionals, according to the consumer organisation, Choice.
The consumer group has seized on fresh research that says pharmacies are failing to give customers advice on drugs. It wants consumers to have a voice in the secretive negotiations between the Pharmacy Guild and the Government over the billions of taxpayer dollars paid to pharmacists to provide dispensing services.
University of South Australia researchers have found that nearly half the customers surveyed said they rarely got advice on drugs from pharmacists.
This was despite the $5.44 pharmacists receive from the Government each time they dispensed a prescription, in adddition to their retail mark-up.
"Most consumers are not routinely given or offered written or oral medicine information at the time a medicine is dispensed," concludes a report by the university's School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences. ...more
Suburban pharmacies sheltered from supermarket competition routinely failed to live up to their claims of being caring professionals, according to the consumer organisation, Choice.
The consumer group has seized on fresh research that says pharmacies are failing to give customers advice on drugs. It wants consumers to have a voice in the secretive negotiations between the Pharmacy Guild and the Government over the billions of taxpayer dollars paid to pharmacists to provide dispensing services.
University of South Australia researchers have found that nearly half the customers surveyed said they rarely got advice on drugs from pharmacists.
This was despite the $5.44 pharmacists receive from the Government each time they dispensed a prescription, in adddition to their retail mark-up.
"Most consumers are not routinely given or offered written or oral medicine information at the time a medicine is dispensed," concludes a report by the university's School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences. ...more
Alberta cancer patients win drug funding
From the Calgary Herald:
Tears of joy greeted the Stelmach government's announcement Thursday that it will spend an estimated $5 million a year to fund the colorectal cancer treatment Avastin--making Alberta one of the last provinces to cover the controversial drug.
With cancer patients looking on, Health Minister Ron Liepert told the legislature the province will begin funding Avastin on April 1, following an Alberta Health Services Board recommendation Thursday that the pricey drug be covered.
"At the end of the day, what we want to do is what is right,"Liepert told reporters. "The decision is the right one."
The decision follows an Alberta Cancer Board recommendation in January that government fund Avastin for the treatment of advanced colon cancer.
Avastin has been at the centre of a national debate about costly cancer drugs, but the board endorsed the therapy after reviewing studies showing it can modestly extend survival for those suffering from colon cancer.
The health minister announced the decision Thursday after Calgary-Currie Liberal MLA Dave Taylor brought patients and family members to the legislature to plead their case. ...more
Tears of joy greeted the Stelmach government's announcement Thursday that it will spend an estimated $5 million a year to fund the colorectal cancer treatment Avastin--making Alberta one of the last provinces to cover the controversial drug.
With cancer patients looking on, Health Minister Ron Liepert told the legislature the province will begin funding Avastin on April 1, following an Alberta Health Services Board recommendation Thursday that the pricey drug be covered.
"At the end of the day, what we want to do is what is right,"Liepert told reporters. "The decision is the right one."
The decision follows an Alberta Cancer Board recommendation in January that government fund Avastin for the treatment of advanced colon cancer.
Avastin has been at the centre of a national debate about costly cancer drugs, but the board endorsed the therapy after reviewing studies showing it can modestly extend survival for those suffering from colon cancer.
The health minister announced the decision Thursday after Calgary-Currie Liberal MLA Dave Taylor brought patients and family members to the legislature to plead their case. ...more
Doctor recycles prescription drugs to the homeless
From CBC News:
A prominent Canadian doctor has begun to recycle unused prescription drugs to homeless people in Ottawa because he says they could not afford them otherwise, CBC News has learned.
Dr. Jeff Turnbull, chief of staff at the Ottawa Hospital in Ottawa, acknowledges the practice is controversial but says it is one way to ensure that homeless people get the medication they desperately need.
He and Dr. Ron MacCormick, an oncologist in Sydney, N.S., want provincial governments to establish regulations that would guide doctors who want to recycle unused prescription drugs that would otherwise be thrown out.
"I think it's a common sense issue where we could come up with common sense guidelines to direct this," Turnbull said.
Turnbull, who is nominated to become president of the Canadian Medical Association next year, gives the unused drugs to patients at an inner city health centre in Ottawa. ...more
A prominent Canadian doctor has begun to recycle unused prescription drugs to homeless people in Ottawa because he says they could not afford them otherwise, CBC News has learned.
Dr. Jeff Turnbull, chief of staff at the Ottawa Hospital in Ottawa, acknowledges the practice is controversial but says it is one way to ensure that homeless people get the medication they desperately need.
He and Dr. Ron MacCormick, an oncologist in Sydney, N.S., want provincial governments to establish regulations that would guide doctors who want to recycle unused prescription drugs that would otherwise be thrown out.
"I think it's a common sense issue where we could come up with common sense guidelines to direct this," Turnbull said.
Turnbull, who is nominated to become president of the Canadian Medical Association next year, gives the unused drugs to patients at an inner city health centre in Ottawa. ...more
A little bit of sugar provides lasting pain relief for babies: study
From CBC News:
Sugar has a calming effect on babies that lasts beyond 10 minutes, new Toronto research suggests.
Researchers at the Hospital for Sick Children, the University of Toronto, Mount Sinai Hospital and York University studied 240 babies and their reactions after half were given sugar and the other half were given a placebo following a painful medical procedure.
The research involved measuring the "pain responses" of the babies during a diaper change after a blood test, including recording their heart rate and facial reactions, such as squeezing their eyes shut and bulging their brows.
The findings, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, determined that while babies cried during a diaper change after a blood test, giving them a bit of sugar after the needle appeared to dull the pain.
The majority of the babies in both the group given the sugar and the group given a placebo were given a diaper change within an hour of the blood test.
The infants given table sugar, or sucrose, had lower pain scores than the infants given placebos. ...more
Sugar has a calming effect on babies that lasts beyond 10 minutes, new Toronto research suggests.
Researchers at the Hospital for Sick Children, the University of Toronto, Mount Sinai Hospital and York University studied 240 babies and their reactions after half were given sugar and the other half were given a placebo following a painful medical procedure.
The research involved measuring the "pain responses" of the babies during a diaper change after a blood test, including recording their heart rate and facial reactions, such as squeezing their eyes shut and bulging their brows.
The findings, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, determined that while babies cried during a diaper change after a blood test, giving them a bit of sugar after the needle appeared to dull the pain.
The majority of the babies in both the group given the sugar and the group given a placebo were given a diaper change within an hour of the blood test.
The infants given table sugar, or sucrose, had lower pain scores than the infants given placebos. ...more
HIV rates 'surprisingly high' in those over 50
From CTV News:
Rates of HIV infection among people over 50 appear to be on the rise - perhaps in part to the increased use of erectile-dysfunction drugs, global experts are warning.
In an article published in the World Health Organization's Bulletin on Tuesday, WHO experts warn that HIV is still rarely considered a risk for older individuals, even though seniors are considered more likely than younger people to risk unprotected sex.
"HIV prevalence and incidence in the over-50-year-olds seem surprisingly high and the risk factors are totally unexplored," the authors from the WHO and Minnesota's St. Olaf College write.
Patients over the age of 50 make up roughly eight per cent of new HIV diagnoses in Europe and 11 per cent in the United States, the report finds. And in Brazil, HIV infection among those aged over 50 years doubled between 1996 and 2006, jumping from 7.5 to 15.7 cases per 100 000 inhabitants. ...more
Rates of HIV infection among people over 50 appear to be on the rise - perhaps in part to the increased use of erectile-dysfunction drugs, global experts are warning.
In an article published in the World Health Organization's Bulletin on Tuesday, WHO experts warn that HIV is still rarely considered a risk for older individuals, even though seniors are considered more likely than younger people to risk unprotected sex.
"HIV prevalence and incidence in the over-50-year-olds seem surprisingly high and the risk factors are totally unexplored," the authors from the WHO and Minnesota's St. Olaf College write.
Patients over the age of 50 make up roughly eight per cent of new HIV diagnoses in Europe and 11 per cent in the United States, the report finds. And in Brazil, HIV infection among those aged over 50 years doubled between 1996 and 2006, jumping from 7.5 to 15.7 cases per 100 000 inhabitants. ...more
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Drug Imports May Become Legal in U.S. Under Obama, McCain Plans
From Bloomberg:
Americans may soon be able to buy cheap drugs imported from other countries without fear of breaking the law, now that a five-year push in Congress for new rules has gained support in President Barack Obama’s budget.
A proposal to allow drug imports was introduced today by Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican defeated by Obama for the presidency, along with Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan, of North Dakota, and Republican Senator Olympia Snowe, of Maine. Obama called for the changes in his budget last week, and views the measure as one way to reduce health-care costs so that medical coverage for the uninsured can be expanded.
Brand-name drugs in other countries cost as much as 70 percent less than in the U.S. Allowing imports would save Americans $50 billion over the next decade, including $10 billion for the U.S. government, the lawmakers said. Dorgan and Snowe previously introduced similar legislation opposed by the pharmaceutical industry and former President George W. Bush. ...more
Americans may soon be able to buy cheap drugs imported from other countries without fear of breaking the law, now that a five-year push in Congress for new rules has gained support in President Barack Obama’s budget.
A proposal to allow drug imports was introduced today by Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican defeated by Obama for the presidency, along with Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan, of North Dakota, and Republican Senator Olympia Snowe, of Maine. Obama called for the changes in his budget last week, and views the measure as one way to reduce health-care costs so that medical coverage for the uninsured can be expanded.
Brand-name drugs in other countries cost as much as 70 percent less than in the U.S. Allowing imports would save Americans $50 billion over the next decade, including $10 billion for the U.S. government, the lawmakers said. Dorgan and Snowe previously introduced similar legislation opposed by the pharmaceutical industry and former President George W. Bush. ...more
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Cross-border medicine trade back in spotlight
From the Globe and Mail:
U.S. President Barack Obama's $3.55-trillion (U.S.) budget included one sentence that could reopen a long simmering debate in Canada - how much access Americans should have to inexpensive medicines from Canada.
For years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has made it difficult for Americans to import drugs from other countries, including Canada, citing concerns about safety. But that has not stopped many Internet pharmacies from sprouting up on this side of the border, offering a wide range of prescription and non-prescription drugs, usually at lower prices. Price controls and a lower dollar have kept medicine prices generally lower in Canada compared with the United States.
The Internet cross-border business has been estimated as close to $1-billion (Canadian) and peaked several years ago when the Canadian dollar traded well below 70 cents (U.S). Business has trailed off in recent years as the dollar strengthened and changes were made to some U.S. drug plans for senior citizens.
Yesterday, Mr. Obama signalled in his budget that his administration supports efforts to open up the cross-border medicine trade. One section, titled "Lower Drug Costs and Improves Food and Medical Product Safety," noted that the budget "supports the Food and Drug Administration's new efforts to allow Americans to buy safe and effective drugs from other countries." ...more
U.S. President Barack Obama's $3.55-trillion (U.S.) budget included one sentence that could reopen a long simmering debate in Canada - how much access Americans should have to inexpensive medicines from Canada.
For years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has made it difficult for Americans to import drugs from other countries, including Canada, citing concerns about safety. But that has not stopped many Internet pharmacies from sprouting up on this side of the border, offering a wide range of prescription and non-prescription drugs, usually at lower prices. Price controls and a lower dollar have kept medicine prices generally lower in Canada compared with the United States.
The Internet cross-border business has been estimated as close to $1-billion (Canadian) and peaked several years ago when the Canadian dollar traded well below 70 cents (U.S). Business has trailed off in recent years as the dollar strengthened and changes were made to some U.S. drug plans for senior citizens.
Yesterday, Mr. Obama signalled in his budget that his administration supports efforts to open up the cross-border medicine trade. One section, titled "Lower Drug Costs and Improves Food and Medical Product Safety," noted that the budget "supports the Food and Drug Administration's new efforts to allow Americans to buy safe and effective drugs from other countries." ...more
Shoppers Drug Mart's cure for the recession
From the Financial Post:
The sorry economy may be sending customers in to a Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. outlet these days for some Xanax and a box of tissue to dry their tears.
But after posting 19 consecutive quarters of profit in a backsliding retail sector, what's important to chief executive Jurgen Schreiber is the added booty customers continue to walk out with: a tube of lipstick here, a scented candle there, a treat from the new line of antioxidant chocolate and perhaps some Royale toilet paper, offered that week at a fire-sale price. Before they know it, that trip for a box of Kleenex has morphed into a $150 basket of items at the checkout counter.
"People spend 20 to 30 minutes in our stores looking around," Mr. Schreiber said in a recent interview at his Toronto headquarters, shortly after Canada's largest drug store chain posted a fourth-quarter earnings rise of 14.4% and sales that leapt 15% to $2.5-billion. That's against an economic backdrop that saw the biggest overall retail sales decline in December since the same month in 1991, when the goods and services tax was introduced. Sales fell 5.4% from November, while economists were projecting a decline of up to 3%. ...more
The sorry economy may be sending customers in to a Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. outlet these days for some Xanax and a box of tissue to dry their tears.
But after posting 19 consecutive quarters of profit in a backsliding retail sector, what's important to chief executive Jurgen Schreiber is the added booty customers continue to walk out with: a tube of lipstick here, a scented candle there, a treat from the new line of antioxidant chocolate and perhaps some Royale toilet paper, offered that week at a fire-sale price. Before they know it, that trip for a box of Kleenex has morphed into a $150 basket of items at the checkout counter.
"People spend 20 to 30 minutes in our stores looking around," Mr. Schreiber said in a recent interview at his Toronto headquarters, shortly after Canada's largest drug store chain posted a fourth-quarter earnings rise of 14.4% and sales that leapt 15% to $2.5-billion. That's against an economic backdrop that saw the biggest overall retail sales decline in December since the same month in 1991, when the goods and services tax was introduced. Sales fell 5.4% from November, while economists were projecting a decline of up to 3%. ...more
Prescription drugs: more business for Canadian online pharmacies?
From CBC News:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration still says "don't do it." The "it" being buying prescription drugs from Canadian — or any other foreign — online pharmacy.
The official line is that if you're an American buying drugs online, you could be paying for:
* Counterfeit drugs.
* Medicine that's too strong or two weak.
* Drugs made in unsafe conditions.
* Drugs that are beyond their best-before date.
The FDA says there's nothing wrong with buying online, as long as the website is located in the United Prescription drugs being measured out.States, is licensed by the state board of pharmacy where the site is operating, has a licensed pharmacist on hand to answer your questions and requires a prescription from a doctor who is licensed to practice in the United States. ...more
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration still says "don't do it." The "it" being buying prescription drugs from Canadian — or any other foreign — online pharmacy.
The official line is that if you're an American buying drugs online, you could be paying for:
* Counterfeit drugs.
* Medicine that's too strong or two weak.
* Drugs made in unsafe conditions.
* Drugs that are beyond their best-before date.
The FDA says there's nothing wrong with buying online, as long as the website is located in the United Prescription drugs being measured out.States, is licensed by the state board of pharmacy where the site is operating, has a licensed pharmacist on hand to answer your questions and requires a prescription from a doctor who is licensed to practice in the United States. ...more
Health Canada asks for quarantine of drugs from Indian plant under investigation
From the Canadian Press:
An Indian pharmaceutical firm has agreed to a Health Canada request to quarantine all drugs coming into Canada from a manufacturing plant alleged to have falsified data and test results.
Health Canada said Thursday that Ranbaxy Canada has agreed to place a hold on all drugs coming into the country from the Paonta Sahib manufacturing facility.
Health Canada revealed the move in a brief end-of-day email in response to questioning from The Canadian Press.
The questions were provoked by a statement issued Wednesday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA said it was halting review of new drug applications involving the Paonta Sahib plant because it had evidence of data falsification.
Health Canada provided no details of how many or what type of drugs Ranbaxy Canada imports to this country. Nor did it offer advice to people who might be taking those drugs.
"Health Canada is taking appropriate actions to mitigate the potential risks to the health and safety of Canadians," said the response, sent by spokesperson Alastair Sinclair.
"Following Health Canada's request, Ranbaxy Canada has quarantined all products imported into Canada from the Paonta Sahib site." ...more
An Indian pharmaceutical firm has agreed to a Health Canada request to quarantine all drugs coming into Canada from a manufacturing plant alleged to have falsified data and test results.
Health Canada said Thursday that Ranbaxy Canada has agreed to place a hold on all drugs coming into the country from the Paonta Sahib manufacturing facility.
Health Canada revealed the move in a brief end-of-day email in response to questioning from The Canadian Press.
The questions were provoked by a statement issued Wednesday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA said it was halting review of new drug applications involving the Paonta Sahib plant because it had evidence of data falsification.
Health Canada provided no details of how many or what type of drugs Ranbaxy Canada imports to this country. Nor did it offer advice to people who might be taking those drugs.
"Health Canada is taking appropriate actions to mitigate the potential risks to the health and safety of Canadians," said the response, sent by spokesperson Alastair Sinclair.
"Following Health Canada's request, Ranbaxy Canada has quarantined all products imported into Canada from the Paonta Sahib site." ...more
McKesson withdraws offer for Uniprix after pharmacists fail to approve deal
From the Brandon (MB) Sun:
The sale of Quebec's second-largest pharmacy was scuttled Friday after independent pharmacists who own Uniprix Inc. rejected an offer from medicine distributor McKesson Canada.
The company withdrew its offer after the number of shares tendered by the deadline Friday didn't meet the minimum conditions laid out in McKesson's Jan. 19 offer.
McKesson said it will continue to support the independent pharmacy business model despite withdrawing the offer.
"Our desire to help the Uniprix Group succeed and to see further growth among its banners remains strong, and we wish to pursue our longstanding business relationship," stated McKesson Canada president Domenic Pilla. ...more
The sale of Quebec's second-largest pharmacy was scuttled Friday after independent pharmacists who own Uniprix Inc. rejected an offer from medicine distributor McKesson Canada.
The company withdrew its offer after the number of shares tendered by the deadline Friday didn't meet the minimum conditions laid out in McKesson's Jan. 19 offer.
McKesson said it will continue to support the independent pharmacy business model despite withdrawing the offer.
"Our desire to help the Uniprix Group succeed and to see further growth among its banners remains strong, and we wish to pursue our longstanding business relationship," stated McKesson Canada president Domenic Pilla. ...more
Wash. pharmacist put old drugs back in supply
From the Seattle Post Intelligencer:
The pharmacist at TOP Food and Drug in suburban Edmonds seemed like an excellent employee.
Friendly and helpful to the customers, he even ran a collection drive, asking people to bring back any unused prescriptions so he could donate the medicine to Third World countries.
Instead, he put much of that medicine back in the pharmacy's supply - even if its expiration date had passed - thus improving the store's profits while masking that he was also skimming thousands of dollars in copayments and other transactions.
The now-former pharmacist, Milton Cheung, will be sentenced Friday after admitting his conduct in a plea agreement with federal prosecutors last fall. The government and Cheung's attorney agreed to recommend a 15-month sentence, while the pharmacy's parent company, Bellingham-based Haggen Inc., has agreed to create a compliance program to improve record-keeping at all its pharmacies.
"Customers were never advised that they were receiving expired and adulterated drugs," Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Friedman wrote in a memo to the court. "And while there are no reports of adverse patient reaction, Cheung had no right to expose the public to the risk of product tampering, bacteria and other market adulteration inherent in his scheme." ...more
The pharmacist at TOP Food and Drug in suburban Edmonds seemed like an excellent employee.
Friendly and helpful to the customers, he even ran a collection drive, asking people to bring back any unused prescriptions so he could donate the medicine to Third World countries.
Instead, he put much of that medicine back in the pharmacy's supply - even if its expiration date had passed - thus improving the store's profits while masking that he was also skimming thousands of dollars in copayments and other transactions.
The now-former pharmacist, Milton Cheung, will be sentenced Friday after admitting his conduct in a plea agreement with federal prosecutors last fall. The government and Cheung's attorney agreed to recommend a 15-month sentence, while the pharmacy's parent company, Bellingham-based Haggen Inc., has agreed to create a compliance program to improve record-keeping at all its pharmacies.
"Customers were never advised that they were receiving expired and adulterated drugs," Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Friedman wrote in a memo to the court. "And while there are no reports of adverse patient reaction, Cheung had no right to expose the public to the risk of product tampering, bacteria and other market adulteration inherent in his scheme." ...more
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