Author: Peter

….. federal officials have given the U.S. departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs flak for failing to make their electronic health record systems interoperable. The decibel level of such complaints rose astronomically following a February 2013 decision to abandon development of a joint EHR, and has grown deafening in recent months as the push for interoperability of all health records systems continues to gain steam throughout the halls of Congress.

…. program funded by Wounded Warrior Project aspires to improve mental health services and care for veterans in the private sector. The charity is using $70 million to fund an effort that will create outpatient programs at four of the nation's top academic medical facilities, aimed at helping sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

Can the US Drug Enforcement Administration use an "administrative subpoena" to obtain information from a database of transactions maintained by a state government of prescriptions of controlled substances, or is the expectation of privacy of such information so significant that the DEA’s motives for wanting such information need to be more thoroughly vetted before being able to access the data?

The problem is, the deck is stacked against the pharmacist the moment the word "union" comes up. The danger of punitive retaliation and possible job loss is real. Not knowing whether they can trust the people around them, and with mortgages, families, and futures on the line, pharmacists don’t even say the word "union" out loud, much less do anything about the problems we all face.

Since Electric Daisy Carnival came to Las Vegas in 2011, there have been five drug-related fatalities. But it’s obviously remiss to deny the effect that drugs have had on the dance scene. …..conference presented by Insomniac, talking about drugs and the dance scene.

Two leading House Republicans expressed concern to TRICARE officials recently regarding patient access to prescribed compounded medications and the National Community Pharmacists Association expressed support for the lawmakers’ efforts. …..in a letter to the Department of Defense that “we have heard from both TRICARE beneficiaries and the pharmacy owners who serve their healthcare needs that they can no longer receive their compounded medications.”

A new study published in the British Medical Journal found 27% of US veterans who received opioids between 2004 and 2009 were taking benzodiazepines at the same time. Roughly half of the drug overdose deaths among that population occurred when the drugs were prescribed concurrently, and veterans’ risk of fatal drug overdose grew as their daily benzodiazepines doses increased.

I review key deal terms and what they mean for CVS and Target. I also consider derivative impacts on McKesson, Cardinal Health, Diplomat Pharmacy, and Catamaran.

Health-system pharmacists can play a pivotal role in ensuring medication adherence among anticoagulated patients during transitions of care. ..In fact, studies have shown pharmacist-led interventions are successful in supporting patient adherence to novel oral anticoagulants and improving health outcomes.

In his own doctor's office, cyber security expert Gary Glover found he could gain unauthorized access to physician practice data. It wasn't that he was trying to hack the system,…director of security assessment at Security Metrics, .....waiting for an appointment, he needed Wi-Fi and was able to get on the practice's system.