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...Food and Drug Administration...downplayed the risk caused by contamination of the already recalled popular heartburn drug Zantac, and said its tests suggest it does not cause carcinogens to form after ingestion by patients...Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said...that the levels of the probable carcinogen N-nitrosodimethylamine it found in ranitidine...“are similar to the levels you would expect to be exposed to if you ate common foods like grilled or smoked meats.”...Still, the FDA released results of its testing here on branded and generic ranitidine products that showed some versions of the over-the-counter medicine had as much as nine times the regulator's "acceptable limit" for NDMA...READ MORE

Nicole Grassano, PTNN, Pharmacy Week in Review, this weekly video program provides our readers with an in-depth review of the latest news, product approvals, FDA rulings and more.

...officers cannot explain how the medicine outlet in Kowloon became a victim of clearance operation..Store manager harmed by the chemical irritant, which engulfed Ming Yan Dispensary on Sunday...Police have apologised for firing tear gas into a pharmacy and restaurant in Hong Kong during a protest...READ MORE

Three major U.S. retailers, including Walmart, are removing all 22-ounce bottles of Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder from their stores, following the healthcare conglomerate’s recall last week of some bottles due to possible asbestos contamination...CVS Health Corp said...it would remove the bottles from its online store as well, out of caution and to prevent customer confusion. The pharmacy chain said all other sizes of the talc would remain on its shelves...READ MORE

Drug shortages are a major challenge in healthcare. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the number of drug shortages is rising, with most shortage events lasting longer and resulting in a more adverse impact on public health, including added costs, delayed treatments or even death...Ultimately, drug shortages create uncertainty for a range of stakeholders: patients, hospitals, manufacturers, pharmacists and others. Especially in cases of shortages for lifesaving drugs, doctors must implement conservative efforts to ensure the patients that need it the most get their medication...Today, more than 100 lifesaving drugs are in shortage, and 70% of all hospital pharmacists report at least 50 shortages a year...READ MORE

The FDA Tuesday dropped its report Drug Shortages: Root Causes and Potential Solutions with the explanation that includes suggestions that might help relieve chronic shortages but acknowledging that there has never really been any “private- or public-sector effort to collect and analyze comprehensive information to characterize shortages, quantify their effects, or closely observe the contracting practices that may be driving them.”...While there are many reasons for drug shortages, it had three recommendations to get at the root causes...READ MORE

Amazon is going places with its free package pickup. The company has expanded its Counter pickup option to thousands of locations through its new store partners GNC, Stage Stores and Health Mart pharmacies...“For six years, my pharmacy team has served our community and made sure our patients get the care they need,” said Laura Temple, pharmacist and owner of Laura’s Health Mart Pharmacy in Azle, Texas. “Amazon Hub Counter has given my current patients a new, convenient way to pick up their Amazon packages, and it’s also brought in new neighbors who have then been introduced to the meaningful care at my pharmacy. I’m delighted to offer Counter in my local store.”...READ MORE

Christina Mattina, welcome to This Week in Managed Care from the Managed Markets News Network

Outcome Health, which streams pharmaceutical ads on televisions and computer tablets it installs in doctors’ offices, agreed to pay $70 million to end a U.S. criminal probe into whether it defrauded clients by selling ad inventory it did not have...Department of Justice said...Outcome entered a three-year non-prosecution agreement where it admitted that former executives and employees overbilled clients, which were mostly pharmaceutical companies, in a scheme that ran from 2012 to 2017...The Justice Department also said Outcome admitted to overstating revenue, enabling it to raise $972.5 million of equity and debt financing, including from affiliates of Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Google parent Alphabet Inc and Pritzker Group, and obtain a $5 billion valuation by 2017...READ MORE

With conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease on the rise, providing in-store cognitive screening can fulfill an unmet need and could be an opportunity for pharmacies to advance their self-care initiatives...“There is an opportunity for retail pharmacists to take the lead in testing for early cognitive decline — in particular testing when it matters most, when a patient can take action to modify underlying risk factors...The proactive management of modifiable risk factors can delay or slow the onset or progression of the cognitive decline...“As retail pharmacy clinical services continue to evolve, cognitive screening can play an integral role in identifying individuals who will benefit most from early detection so they can make lifestyle modifications to lead healthier, better lives,”...READ MORE