Author: Peter

For years,…GlaxoSmithKline was illegally persuading doctors to prescribe paroxetine (Paxil),…as an antidepressant for children and teenagers…citing…Study 329…research...claiming to show that Paxil is "well tolerated and effective" for kids…A…new analysis of the raw data behind Study 329, published in BMJ (British Medical Journal), suggests that the original conclusions were…wrong. Not only is Paxil ineffective, working no better than placebo, but it can actually cause serious side effects, including self-injury and suicide…New York State Attorney General…sued GSK,...pleaded guilty...paying out $3 billion in fines. Drug companies are pushing to market more drugs for off-label uses…

CDC estimates that 47% of the population age 6 months and older was vaccinated during the 2014-2015 season,...Coverage remains highest among children age 6 months through 23 months at 75%, the only age group that met the public health vaccination coverage goal of 70%. Children age 2 years through 4 years followed at 68%....vaccination among children age 5 years through 12 years is still above the national average, at 62%...In contrast to younger children, the estimated vaccination rate for adults age 18 years through 49 years has yet to top 40%.

As pharmacists from across the nation gathered in Washington, D.C., for meetings with their congressional representatives, ASHP President John Armitstead reminded his colleagues that they are not alone in advocating for the profession's priorities…referring to Georgia Representative Buddy Carter, the only licensed pharmacist in Congress…"Provider status is very important," emphasized Carter,..cosponsor of the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act, which would recognize pharmacists as healthcare providers under Medicare in specific circumstances…Legislative Day is part of ASHP's annual Policy Week activities, which include council meetings and a trip to Capitol Hill for attendees to talk pharmacy with their elected officials.

Sen. Alexander, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee,…called for a delay and a phased-in implementation of Stage 3 of the electronic health-records program…we should delay until Jan. 1, 2017, making of the final rules for Stage 3 of the federal government’s program to require doctors and hospitals to create electronic health-record systems…should be phased in at a rate that reflects how successfully the program is being implemented…about a quarter of a million physicians and about 200 hospitals face Medicare penalties if the current Stage 2 rules are not revised. Only about 12% of physicians and 40% of hospitals have been able to comply thus far …

PharmTalk is a special production from the University of Arizona, College of Pharmacy that features Keith and Kevin Boesen.

PharmTalk team visits one of the nation’s oldest poison centers. The Tucson-based center not only knows all about poison and drugs, but has a "special specialty" in venomous creatures, including scorpions.

Southern Nevada Health District will start offering the flu vaccine Monday at all of its centers...The health district is offering injectable, quadrivalent flu vaccine,...two influenza A viruses and two influenza B viruses. The cost of the vaccine is $41...The trivalent high-dose vaccine for people age 65 and over is $59...

Pharmacy Podcast Ron Lanton talks with the president of Trovita Health Science nutritional products for patient’s special needs – William Brown. (podcast 19:23 minutes)

Clinical integration aims to improve pediatric care in northern Nevada..School of Medicine's pediatrics office…has joined the Renown Medical Group. The change was effective on Sept. 1, 2015 and follows the 2014 partnership agreement...School of Medicine pediatricians will remain employed by the medical school. They will see patients under a professional services agreement with Renown, while Renown assumes responsibility for the administrative staff, mid-level practitioners, office space, equipment, scheduling and billing.

Chief District Judge David Barker today denied a request to disqualify the judge assigned to a medical malpractice case against Summerlin Hospital…Ruben White, who claims malpractice led to the tuberculosis-related deaths of his wife and twin daughters at the hospital, had asked District Judge Joe Hardy Jr. to withdraw from the case because of an appearance of impropriety…. The court finds that a reasonable person, knowing all the facts, would not harbor doubts about Judge Hardy's impartiality…White argued in a motion for recusal that Hardy's father, Republican state Sen. Joe Hardy, has an economic interest in the outcome of the case. White indicated he plans to file a motion in the case asking that the state's cap on medical malpractice damages be declared unconstitutional, and he argued that the judge's father has been "an active opponent" of removing the cap.

Gloucester police, taking an unconventional approach to fighting the state’s opioid epidemic, are imploring people to contact chief executives at five pharmaceutical companies and ask what they’re doing to curb the drug scourge…In a Facebook post this week that was shared more than 500 times, Police Chief Leonard Campanello listed names and contact information…exhorted the department’s....followers to reach out directly to the corporate chiefs to start a conversation about drug abuse prevention… Campanello said he believes that the executives could play a key role in finding a solution to the epidemic, but they "might need a little push" in the form of phone calls and e-mails.