Success with drug therapy requires effective collaboration between many individuals and businesses in the lengthy chain of pharmaceutical distribution. But efforts to prevent controlled substance diversion may lead to confrontation rather than collaboration in the acquisition of needed medications.

David B. Brushwood, BSPharm, JD

Over recent years, more and more health systems have been affected by payer health care coverage policies referred to as “bagging.” These practices have come about as payers have vertically integrated with PBMs

Trey Melazzo, PharmD, MBA

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has shown how pharmacists can contribute to emergency preparedness and response by being involved in diagnostic testing, vaccinations, and ensuring the continued safe use of medications.

Maria G. Tanzi, PharmD

Anyone who has worked in a pharmacy over the past few years knows that medication shortages have continued to become more of a problem, with no apparent end in sight.

Johanna Taylor Katroscik, PharmD

Ageism— that is, biases toward patients based on their age—creeps into many health care encounters and can have wide-sweeping effects.

Sonya Collins

Updates from FDA

APhA Staff

Apoprotein B (ApoB) was the only lipid parameter significantly associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI), according to results of a prospective cohort analysis presented at the 2021 American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions and published simultaneously in JAMA Cardiology.

Maria G. Tanzi, PharmD

Results of a new study about Google Translate for patient medication directions and counseling points should be taken as a warning for pharmacists.

Loren Bonner

Home-based rapid diagnostic testing is integral in the fight against COVID-19.

Clarissa Chan, PharmD

While FDA has authorized two COVID-19 antiviral medications—Paxlovid from Pfizer and molnupiravir from Merck, Americans may not have the easiest time accessing these medications, which are aimed at preventing hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk patients.

Loren Bonner

Whether it’s to help a parent looking for a product for their teething infant or a college-aged student interested in options to manage cold sores, we have pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic options to help patients with oral disorders.

Daniel L. Krinsky, BS, MS, RPh, FAPhA

Although supplement sales have skyrocketed since the beginning of the pandemic, there is no scientific evidence that immune-boosting supplements can cure or prevent COVID-19 infection.

Johanna Taylor Katroscik, PharmD

Trending Topics in Health-System Pharmacy

APhA Staff

One of the principal strategies used to mitigate gastrointestinal bleeds (GIBs) in critically ill patients is to use stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP) treatments, which mainly include proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and histamine 2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs). Over the last two decades there has been considerable flux in the consensus between clinical guidelines as to which agent is preferred.

Corey Diamond, PharmD

The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) has finally released its updated Chapter <797> revisions. These revisions were written over the past 22 months while USP considered appeals filed by stakeholders.

Joey Sweeney, PharmD

Even as opioid overdose deaths have reached record highs during the COVID-19 pandemic, patients being treated for overdose in U.S. emergency departments (EDs) didn’t receive lifesaving medications before discharge, suggests a new study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Loren Bonner

A new study conducted by Oskotsky and colleagues in JAMA Network Open’s November 2021 issue found an association suggesting that patients with COVID-19 who take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants—specifically fluoxetine hydrochloride and fluvoxamine maleate—are less likely to experience severe forms of COVID-19 requiring hospitalizations resulting in death.

Clarissa Chan, PharmD

The murder of George Floyd occurred at a time in history when the world had slowed down due to the pandemic and many citizens had time to watch and process racial injustices that had previously been lost in the frantic buzz of everyday life. This catapulted racial injustice to center stage and brought about what many call a “racial reckoning.”

Jazmin Black, PharmD, BCGP

APhA Member News

APhA Staff

Take the Crossword Challenge