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The Expanding Role of P&T Committees: THE EXPANSION OF MEDICARE PHARMACY BENEFITS

3, Jun 2010

In late June 2003, the House and Senate passed separate bills addressing the longstanding void that has existed since Medicare’s inception in the 1960s regarding the provision of outpatient medications. Although the bills differed, some major features are the same; only the exact amount and percentage of coverage must be worked out in committee.

The Expanding Role of P&T Committees

2, Jun 2010

On October 30, 1991, tremendous hurricane forces converged in what the National Weather Service labeled the “perfect storm,” causing significant damage to parts of the U.S. Today we are witnessing the confluence of major factors involving U.S. senior citizens and their medications, which may represent another type of perfect storm. These factors include the increasing [...]

The “Dark Side” of Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor Therapy: INFLIXIMAB AND ETANERCEPT: MAJOR PROBLEMS WITH THERAPY

28, May 2010

Infection
Controlled trials have shown no overall increase in the risk of serious sepsis in enrolled patients taking infliximab and etan-ercept. Such trials provide a comprehensive data set, but patients enrolled in trials are not always typical of those who receive these drugs in the real world. Indeed, postmarketing surveillance has identified an increased risk of [...]

The “Dark Side” of Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor Therapy

27, May 2010

The introduction of biological agents in recent years for the treatment and possible reversal of the progression of some serious chronic diseases was heralded as a breakthrough in therapy, in which the benefits seemed to outweigh the risks. Although carefully controlled clinical trials demonstrated several adverse effects, the benefits of these agents led to the [...]

Medical Errors Still Rampant

20, May 2010

As readers of P&T, you are probably aware of the abundance of articles that have been published on the topic of reducing medical errors and improving patient safety. What, then, makes the Wall of Silence different from all the other published materials and worthy of your time?
The authors, both of whom have written in the [...]

Securing Electronic HIPAA Data Becomes Hip

19, May 2010

Whether you work for a formulary, a hospital pharmacy, a managed care plan, or a health maintenance organization (HMO), if you are a pharmacist, two things are certain:
1.  You are dealing with “protected health information” (PHI). This term, which is used in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), includes, among other things, prescriptions [...]

Surf’s Up!

14, May 2010

Mark Merritt, President of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), called it “a shock wave that will reverberate throughout the entire health care system.”
He was referring to the announcement on July 21, 2004, by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson of a broad effort to bring organized health care kicking [...]

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