As of January 1, 2010, low-income seniors who use Medicare part D coverage are now eligible for additional help purchasing prescription drugs. The changes impact low income seniors by adjusting the way assets are evaluated to determine low-income eligibility.

Previous calculations required seniors to include the value of life insurance policies in order to determine eligibility. The change allows the exclusion of the value of insurance as well as exclusion of home and automobile values. The social security administration is urging seniors who may not have qualified in the past to reapply for the benefits under the new rules.

An advertising campaign starring Chubby Checker is slated to begin January 08 to spread the news to seniors.  The administration reasons that those who don’t recognize Chubby Checker and “the Twist”, made popular in the early 1960s, are likely too young to qualify for Medicare benefits.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34765715/ns/health-health_care/

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is examining evidence to issue recommendations that health care workers that are trying to conceive, pregnant, or breastfeeding be relocated to areas that limit contact with potentially hazardous drugs.  The organization has completed the collection of information and suggestions from industry workers and employers and is currently in the review process.

NIOSH acknowledges that moving employees might be difficult in smaller pharmacy settings but is convinced that the potential for side effects warrants the suggestion.  They cite the increase in negative events such as miscarriage and stillbirths for nurses and pharmacy workers as evidence for the necessity of examination of the guidelines.

They note also that the guides for those “trying to conceive” would also apply to male employees. NIOSH notes that the information collected will likely take around two years to translate in suggested guidelines. There are no plans at this time to draft laws or regulations that employers are required to follow. Read the rest of this entry »

In 1938 federal law began requiring that new drugs be approved for safety prior to marketing. In 1962 the laws required that drug makers also prove the effectiveness of new drugs before they could be introduced to the market. The FDA reported in 2006 that several thousand drugs are available that preceded these laws and that are currently still sold without any FDA approval.

In recent years the FDA has been targeting these medications and asking drug makers to submit new formulas for review to replace the previous prescriptions. Drug maker URL Pharma has been working with the FDA to produce a new and approved version of its drug Colchicine (used mostly to treat gout). While the FDA and URL Pharma tout increased public safety, critics claim the move is bad for consumers since it results in dramatically increased prescription prices. Read the rest of this entry »

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) has teamed up with the RxPatrol to offer a free training video to help ensure pharmacy safety. The video is an extension of the RxPatrol program that tracks and seeks to reduce the risk of pharmacy crime.

The video examines some of the most common pharmacy crimes across America. After the crime review it offers low cost tips for employees to secure pharmacy areas. For example, one tip is to verify the identification of anyone let into the pharmacy. The example in the video is a robber posing as a repair man who is able to enter the area without any verification of his identity.

The project of the RxPatrol is to gather crime data and work with law enforcement officials and crime stoppers to capture and prosecute criminals. The name stands for Rx Pattern Analysis Tracking Robberies and Other Losses. The free video is available through the following link:

http://www.rxpatrol.com/

Reports this week show that doses of the H1N1 are in high supply as pharmacy chains across the country have received increased stock.  Although recent reports are that the flu strain is decreasing, officials are still urging everyone to get the vaccine and suggesting that pharmacists continue to discuss it with patients to avoid future large outbreaks.

States that have had restrictions on the vaccine are now lifting them to make it available to everyone. Some had been prioritizing health care workers, pregnant women, infants, and others with high risk of complications. Now those prioritizations are being lifted and all of the general population is being encouraged to get vaccinated.

The Department of Health and Human Services reports that traditionally interest in the seasonal flu vaccine drops around the holidays even though the flu itself tends to surge in January and February.  Officials hope that a surge in H1N1 can be prevented by a renewed push to vaccinate everyone during the holiday season.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34465289/

Two Senate Democrats introduced an amendment Thursday that would ban the practice of pharmaceutical data mining. Pharmaceutical companies currently purchase pharmacy sales records from third party companies in order to identify doctors who prescribe their drugs and competitor alternatives.

The amendment to the Senate health care bill would ban the sale of pharmacy records for marketing purposes only. Records used to patient safety would still be made available.

Data mining companies argue that without the records pharmaceutical companies would need to dramatically expand their sales force rather than working on a more focused approach that is made specific by the pharmacy data. Proponents of the amendment believe that the marketing drives up health care costs because of the potential for aggressive, target sales of more expensive medications. The version of the bill already passed by the House of Representatives proposed a study of data mining but no initial limitations.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34369968/ns/politics-capitol_hill/

Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) will bring an amendment to vote this week to allow importing of prescription drugs from Canada to lower the cost of healthcare reform. The amendment would override an agreement between the White House and pharmaceutical companies in which the industry agreed to payback billions of dollars in rebates to the government to help fund the healthcare bill.

Despite the potential to turn large pharmaceutical companies into opponents of reform, Dorgan believes the amendment has a good chance of passing. If he is able to put together bipartisan support and gain at least 60 votes he will be successful in adding the amendment to the reform bill. Dorgan notes that the amendment would keep drug prices low without the necessity of negotiation between the government and big name pharmaceutical companies.

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/71067-two-issues-threaten-to-divide-senate-dems-on-healthcare

A large scale investigation of Medicare fraud by pharmaceutical companies has led to a settlement with Omnicare and ongoing investigations of Johnson & Johnson and other major drug makers. The focus of the investigation is on alleged kickbacks to companies that dispense drugs in exchange for preferential treatment in the writing and filling prescriptions.

The Omnicare settlement includes repayment of $98 million plus interest to federal and some state government Medicare programs. The complaint alleged that Omnicare paid millions of dollars to two nursing home chains in exchange for the sale of several of their generic drugs. The company has admitted no wrong doing as part of the settlement but has agreed to implement new training and company policies to clarify future practices. IVAX, part of Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, has agreed to pay 14 million plus interest as a part of their settlement. The investigation of Johnson & Johnson is ongoing. Read the rest of this entry »

The pharmaceutical industry has reacted with a degree of opposition to the House passage of the health bill over the weekend. The bill includes the provision for billions of dollars that drug companies will have to provide the government over a ten year period to help finance the reforms. Companies have spent a significant amount of time negotiating the terms of the rebates. The government is convinced that the payout will be offset by the increased customer base once most Americans have coverage. Read the rest of this entry »

This week the FDA launched a program aimed at reducing the number of injuries caused by preventable medication errors. The FDA is currently working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to come up with accurate estimates of the number of deaths due to medication misuse.

A large area of concern is the possible interactions of over the counter medications.  On the heels of the reexamination of the appropriate 24-hour dosages of acetometaphine, the FDA wants to focus on informing consumers of appropriate dosages and making those dosages easier to determine. New guidelines have recently been issued for medications that come with measuring devices such as cups or droppers.

The Safe Use Initiative is aimed at cutting in half the estimated 100,000 hospitalizations that occur each year from accidental and intentional misuse of medication. The hope is that by combining consumer education efforts with examination and revision of package and instructional standards the potential for misuse will drop dramatically.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/11/04/medication.misuse.fda/