Pharmacist cleared

I will post more info once it's available...

From CHML-AM:
The Pharmacist who was charged with selling fake heart drugs has been cleared of criminal charges.

Abadir Nasr, had a dozen fraud charges dismissed today as the crown couldn't prove that he intended to sell the counterfeit drugs. ...more

Pharmacist defaulted on $1m loan

It looks like the counterfeit Norvasc case in Hamilton will have a verdict announced today. Meanwhile, Mr. Nasr appears to be in further legal trouble as a civil suit is now being filed regarding some shady financial dealings.

From the Hamilton Spectator:
CIT Financial Ltd. of Burlington is seeking a civil judgment against a former Hamilton pharmacist who defaulted on a $1 million loan.

Abadir Nasr, 29, of Mississauga, also faces a criminal court judgment today in a separate proceeding in which he is charged with defrauding the public, pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer Canada and various public and private health insurers through the sale of a counterfeit heart drug and pills not authorized for sale in Canada. ...more

Slight OD of popular antidepressant could cause death

The details of the venlafaxine toxicity report is located at the British Columbia Medical Journal website.

From the Vancouver Sun:
B.C. doctors are being put on alert that the most commonly prescribed antidepressant in B.C. is increasingly being observed to have toxic overdose consequences such as seizures and even deaths.

"We are alerting doctors about our concerns to give them a heads-up that it is a potential concern because it appears it is more toxic than it was originally hoped it would be," Derek Daws, managing director of the B.C. Drug and Poison Information Centre said in an interview Monday, referring to the medication called venlafaxine whose brand name is Effexor. ...more

Sask. pharmacy owners sell UPE

I suppose it's a sign of the times: a pharmacist-owned wholesale company sells out to one the big players in the wholesale business. Hopefully the pharmacists/shareholders get a good return on their investment, but it's unfortunate that Saskatchewan pharmacists have one less option to buy their pharmaceuticals.

From the Saskatoon Star Phoenix:
A group of Saskatchewan pharmacy owners have decided it's time to wind down their Saskatoon-based pharmaceutical distribution company and tap into a much larger supply chain.

The pharmacist-shareholders of United Pharmacists Enterprises Ltd. (UPE) announced Monday that the company is being sold to McKesson Canada. The sale will mean the loss of about 50 full-time and 15 part-time jobs at the UPE distribution centre on 45th Street East in Saskatoon's north end. ...more

Deal reached in methadone case

From the Toronto Star:
A deal has been reached between a pharmacist accused of professional misconduct and prosecutors with the Ontario College of Pharmacists.

Susan Wong, the pharmacist, is alleged to have behaved in a "disgraceful" and "unprofessional" manner in her involvement in a methadone pipeline that supplied a large chain of drug-addiction clinics. ...more

Eligible kids missing out on Pharmacare

It sounds like this drug plan for low-income families is relatively new. Hopefully Nova Scotia pharmacists can help spread the word about the program. A link to the plan is at http://www.gov.ns.ca/coms/LIPC.html

From the Halifax Chronicle Herald:
Less than a third of children in low-income families eligible for $5 prescriptions are in the program, according to the Community Services Department.

The MacDonald government launched the children’s Pharmacare program in October, after promising it during last year’s election campaign. As of mid-February, 10,600 children from 8,500 families were enrolled. That’s only 30 per cent of the 35,000 children eligible. ...more

A chance to jump wait list

This isn't a specifically a Canadian pharmacy story, but it's about a Canadian pharmacist who was one the internet pharmacy pioneers. Now that the online pharmacy business has cooled, it can be expected that some of those original entrepreneurs will use their experience and resources to branch out into different projects.

From the Winnipeg Free Press:
Manitobans will have the chance to jump the wait list and pay for their own surgeries in India and Cuba thanks to a new medical tourist program starting this spring.

Choice Medical Services is set to launch in less than three months, and is intended to be a middle-class alternative to pricey procedures at the U.S. Mayo Clinic. For about $6,000, patients can pay out-of-pocket for a total hip replacement in Delhi, India, instead of waiting an average of 25 weeks in Manitoba or forking over upwards of $20,000 to have the surgery done in the U.S.

Local businessman and Internet pharmacy pioneer Daren Jorgenson has already inked agreements with Apollo Hospitals Group in India and the Cuban Ministry of Health in Havana to start sending patients through the program, which he said is a safe alternative for Manitobans frustrated with lengthy wait times in the health care system. ...more

Important safety information on rosiglitazone-containing products: Avandia, Avandamet and Avandaryl

From Health Canada:
GlaxoSmithKline Inc. (GSK), in consultation with Health Canada, would like to inform you of recent safety data concerning rosiglitazone-containing products, i.e., AVANDIA® (rosiglitazone maleate) tablets, AVANDAMET® (rosiglitazone maleate/metformin hydrochloride) tablets and AVANDARYLTM (rosiglitazone maleate/glimepiride) tablets. These products are used in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus.
For Health Professionals

Health Canada examining information linking antiviral drug to development of treatment-resistant HIV

From Health Canada:
Health Canada is informing Canadians of new information submitted by the manufacturer of the antiviral drug Baraclude that suggests the drug may be linked to the development of a treatment-resistant strain of HIV in one patient with HIV.
For the Public
For Health Professionals

Saccharin ban under review

From Canada.com:
Health Canada is considering lifting the country's 30-year-old ban on saccharin, the infamous artificial sweetener that was forbidden for use in food here after it was linked to cancer in lab animals, and is still classified by the department as a suspected carcinogen.

New studies and information about the health and safety of saccharin, perhaps best known as the sweetening agent in Sweet 'N Low, prompted the decision to review its regulatory status in Canada, Health Canada spokesman Paul Duchesne said. ...more

For cures to colds, it's buyer beware

Cold fX really scored big points last week when it received new approvals by Health Canada. It sure helped their stock price a lot, but will it really change the opinions of pharmacists who don't recommend it? As the article below mentions, it's still buyer beware.

From the Ottawa Citizen:
When Canadians walk into drugstores, they are greeted with more cold remedies than ever before. But just because the aisles are filled with natural health products and drugs that promise to combat the sniffles doesn't mean we're any healthier, pharmacists say.

While Health Canada gave its official seal of approval to the immune-boosting product COLD-fX yesterday, medical experts say consumers still need to take a cautious, "buyer beware" approach when examining solutions to runny noses and coughs. ...more

NDP calls for recognition of foreign credentials

Instead of rehashing yet another story about foreign professionals not being recognized in Canada, let's go over the NDP proposal in regards to pharmacists.

1) Creating an agency for the recognition of foreign credentials.

The Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada is an organization all pharmacists must go through before they are able to get a license, whether they are Canadian or foreign trained. This includes writing the PEBC exam.

2) The establishment of uniform recognition practices across the country.

Pharmacy and the approval of pharmacy licenses has always been under provincial jurisdication, which is the same for physicians, nurses, dentists, veterinarians, and pretty much any other health care profession I can think of. There is a lot more uniformity between provinces now then there was a decade ago when I got my pharmacy license. Back then, it was difficult for even a Canadian pharmacist to move between provinces. I can't see the provincial colleges giving up their current level of authority.

3) Websites to publicize accreditation processes.

The PEBC site has pretty much everything a foreign grad needs to know. It's in both official languages as well. PEBC website

4) More mentorship and training programs for newcomers.

More formal training programs are needed for foreign pharmacists, but I think that as a profession we are doing a lot better than most when it comes to mentorship programs. It's not uncommon to see a foreign pharmacist working in a dispensary assisting a pharmacist, gaining experience that undoubtably helps their chances of passing the PEBC exam. Perhaps some type of tax incentive from the government for hiring these positions could be instituted.

Overall, I think pharmacy is doing better than average compared to other health care professions when it comes to foreign professionals. However, there is room for improvement. I hope Mr. Layton and the public also have to keep in mind that there are some foreign pharmacists that will not meet Canadian standards. We ask a lot of our health care system and it's not unreasonable to expect that all practitioners meet those standards.

From CTV News:
NDP Leader Jack Layton has called on the federal government to do more to recognize the foreign credentials of immigrants to Canada.

"The tragic fact is that we lure people to come here, we give them points for their experience, and their professional credentials," Layton, speaking in front of Toronto's Union Station, said Sunday. ...more

Cherokees look into mail-order-medicine business

It's been a while since a specific American group has made public noise about buying Canadian drugs. This story is a bit different because the Cherokee tribe argues that they are a soverign nation and not subject to regular American laws. I'm hardly an expert when it comes to these type of matters, but I suspect the big problem they would have is that the Cherokee would want to sell to the general public. That would give the state pharmacy board the jurisdiction to do something about it. We'll see if this actually goes anywhere, but keep in mind that a tribe in Maine tried something similar a while back and never went ahead with a Canadian option.

From the Contra Costa (Calif.) Times:
Cherokee leaders are scouting the moneymaking potential of a business venture other tribes have found lucrative: selling discount prescription drugs by mail.

They might also import less expensive pharmaceuticals from Canada for a future business that could fill prescriptions for tribal members and for people who live far beyond the boundaries of Cherokee land in the mountains of western North Carolina.

But that would set up an age-old conflict between a tribe that argues it has the rights of a sovereign nation that exempt it from federal laws and federal health officials who say selling Canadian drugs in the United States is illegal and, perhaps, unsafe.

"We've definitely looked at the Canada option," said Michell Hicks, principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. "That definitely could go under sovereignty." ...more

Health Canada advises consumers not to use herbal sleep supplement Sleepees which contains a habit-forming drug

From Health Canada:
Health Canada is advising consumers not to use a product called Sleepees, because it was found to contain an undeclared drug estazolam, which can be habit-forming when used for as little as a few months. Consumers who may still have this product in their homes are advised to consult with a health care professional before they stop taking the capsules, because of the risk of withdrawal symptoms. ...more

Concern over Xenical sales

Here's another global story. It seems that Australian pharmacists aren't doing a great job of screening patients wanting to buy Xenical. I'm not familiar with what needs to be done by a pharmacist before being allowed to sell Xenical, but I think it must be relatively similar to what is expected of Canadian pharmacists that sell Schedule 2 or "behind the counter" drugs.

From Sky News Australia:
...When put to the test, 80 per cent of pharmacists sold Xenical inappropriately, when they should not.

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia says an 80 per cent failure rate is indefensible, and that pharmacists had contravened the Society's strict guidelines. ...more

Pharmacists Freely Dispense Drugs Without Prescription

This story has nothing to do with Canadian pharmacy, but I think it's worthwhile to pass on pharmacy practice issues in other countries that are interesting. I'm not exactly sure how Saudi pharmacists can get away with selling prescription only mediciations without a prescription. Isn't there some sort of government regulatory body that monitors pharmacy practice?

From the Arab News:
If you live in the Kingdom long enough, chances are you’ll eventually go to a pharmacy and pick up prescription-only medication as easily as picking up a package of Panadol, an over-the-counter, non-narcotic painkiller.

The practice of buying drugs illegally conjures up images of drug addicts finding ways to obtain controlled substances in order to abuse them for a cheap high. However the most “under-the-counter” drugs are antibiotics and other powerful medications used for treating diabetes, heart conditions or depression. ...more

ADHD drug makers in U.S. told to warn patients of heart, mental risks

From CBC News:
Drugs prescribed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder will include guides in the United States to alert patients and parents to the risks of mental and heart problems, including sudden death.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that it directed the manufacturers of Ritalin, Adderall, Strattera and all other ADHD drugs to develop the guides. ...more

Will Canada click its way to better health?

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

She is among the minority of the nation's doctors who are trying to do something about the health care system's archaic processes, which by one estimate are causing as many as 24,000 unnecessary deaths each year. ...more

Hepatitis drug may be linked with resistant strain of HIV: Health Canada

From CBC News:
Health Canada has received new information about an antiviral hepatitis medication suggesting the drug may have been tied to the onset of a treatment-resistant strain of HIV in one patient with the disease.

Entecavir, which is sold under the brand name Baraclude, was authorized for use in Canada in June 2006 to treat hepatitis B in adults. ...more

The Return

New posts will resume tomorrow -- Thursday, February 22.