Author: Peter

Aetna Inc on Friday said it would buy smaller rival Humana Inc for about $37 billion in cash and stock, in the largest ever deal in the insurance industry…deal will face antitrust scrutiny but if it goes through...

Calls for removing the Congressional prohibition on the use of federal funds for development of unique ID…correct patient identification as a critical need for ensuring patient safety…"The accurate and efficient matching of patients with their healthcare data is a signification threat to patient safety,"

'What's at stake in healthcare is confidence in the system'...healthcare organizations too often depend on security protections that aren't much more than "theater."… a more nuanced approach is needed – a "delicate balancing act" that makes smart use of technology while also capitalizing on a people-based approach...

An emerging trend in health care is that some patient-centered medical homes are including pharmacists. At Tripler Army Medical Center…a 1-year pilot showed that the value of …clinical pharmacists can be quantified in both cost and quality terms.

…the number of pharmacy armed robberies across the country increased during the first five months of 2015,…382 pharmacy armed robberies (76.4 per month) reported between January 2015 and June 2015 is ahead of 2014’s pace of 69.16 robberies per month.

Alarmed by rising resistance to antibiotics scientists….taking a fresh look at bacteria-chomping viruses first isolated a century ago from the stools of patients recovering from dysentery… with the rise of drug-resistant "superbugs" … first...clinical trial of phage therapy…start treating…burns patients with infections...

American Pharmacists Association Foundation has introduced a self-management tool designed to improve healthcare outcomes for diabetes patients and to reduce overall costs..."enables pharmacists and other healthcare providers to gain a comprehensive understanding of their patients’ ability to manage their diabetes"

Increasing prescription fraud, forgery attempts, and armed robberies have decidedly alarmed the pharmacy community and should cause us all to pause and review our preparedness…your primary defense is your alarm and security system. Criminals fear hard targets and the more advanced and visible your system is the better.

Health IT support in care coordination inconsistent….leaves much to be desired, according to a new survey of clinicians….survey showed that although 78 percent of the 350 respondents viewed timely notification of hospital discharges as very important, only about 49 percent used health IT systems to accomplish this task.

In a win for pharmacists and their patients, CMS has allowed Medicare Part D plans to continue to be able to cover pharmacy claims at the point of sale for prescriptions written by "other authorized prescribers," such as pharmacists, in an interim final rule...