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With two dozen scheduled executions in limbo, Ohio sent a forceful letter to Washington… asserting that the state believes it can obtain a lethal-injection drug from overseas without violating any laws…stopped short of suggesting Ohio is moving forward to obtain the powerful sedative sodium thiopental…the state asked to begin discussing with federal officials about acquiring the substance legally…FDA had warned Ohio in June that importing the restricted drug could be illegal…setting up the latest roadblock that Ohio and several other states have faced in carrying out the death penalty…States have struggled to obtain lethal injection drugs since pharmaceutical companies discontinued the medications they traditionally used or put them off limits for executions…"My sense is that the Food and Drug Administration…was never designed to create an additional impediment to states trying to carry out lawful sentences,"…

Ever since the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of ...OxyContin for certain children…it has faced unabated criticism from lawmakers and public officials who are wrestling with devastating rates of prescription opioid abuse in their communities…. The crux of the issue is whether the agency’s approval will lead to more prescriptions for OxyContin in young patients. For years, the powerful long-acting drug has been prescribed off-label to…children in severe pain… agency’s approval means those doctors will finally have "information about how to do it appropriately," like dosage recommendations…"This approval allows Purdue Pharma to market and promote this product for use in children, and the obvious concern is this approval will change the pattern of use.".. postmarketing data could prove revelatory and useful..."It’s not a given, but it could help us better address the problem of prescription drug abuse in adolescents....

Did you know pharmacists are licensed by a state board? Learn more about what the board does and where it does it.

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

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California Governor…Brown…signed a bill that sets the strictest government standards in the United States for the use of antibiotics in livestock production…. comes amid growing concern that the overuse of such drugs is contributing to rising numbers of life-threatening human infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as "superbugs."… Veterinary use of antibiotics is legal…consumer advocates, public health experts and investors have become more critical of the practice of routinely feeding antibiotics to chickens, cattle and pigs…The bill…will restrict the regular use of antibiotics for disease prevention and bans antibiotic use to fatten up animals…aims to stop over-the-counter sale of antibiotics for livestock use…antibiotics would have to be ordered by a licensed veterinarian…California's Department of Food and Agriculture will be required to monitor antibiotic sales and use.

The increasing roles that pharmacists and their national associations are taking in mental health care are illustrated in a new document…"Focus on mental health: The contribution of the pharmacist" is to be published on World Mental Health Day (10 October)... gives an overview of the areas in mental health care in which pharmacists are involved, including health promotion, early detection, triage, optimising treatment outcomes, education (including addiction prevention), shaping public policies, research and inter-professional practice…Gaps in the mental health care have long been acknowledged and global initiatives to address these gaps…requires a different skill mix and a different attitude to health…people experiencing mental health problems, pharmacists and family doctors are likely to be their first point of contact. Pharmacists have a significant role to play…

Michael Johnston…former Georgia physician has admitted in federal court that he conspired with the owner of a Georgia pain clinic…to unlawfully distribute thousands of controlled substance prescription pills… further admitted that he ignored the fact that his Kentucky customers were addicts and were likely selling a large percentage of the drugs... Johnston…acknowledged that he had no formal training or experience in prescribing adult pain medication…many of the patients were seen by non-physicians, who then recommended prescriptions, allowing the clinic to increase the number of patients that could be seen in a day…also admitted that he provided little or no physical examination to many of these patients, before providing the prescriptions; he made no referrals for surgery or other medical exams; and he was encouraged to see as many patients, per day, as possible.

Pfizer is targeting a deadly bacterium that thrives in hospitals…Staphylococcus aureus can strike healthy, young people with no known risk factors, survive a barrage of antibiotics, and sometimes be fatal…One antibiotic-resistant strain frequently found in hospitals (MRSA) is responsible for about 75,000 serious infections and 10,000 deaths…a year…The pharmaceutical giant has spent more than 15 years working on a vaccine…and is in the midst of testing it on patients…Staph is a very difficult organism to make a vaccine against...Pfizer’s researchers are trying a multipronged approach. Two of the vaccine’s components go after a capsule that cloaks the bacterium and prevents the immune system from recognizing it. Another deprives the organism of manganese…A fourth targets the mechanism staph uses to lodge itself in the body…

Pharmacists are beginning to be employed by ambulance services around Australia to improve medicines use and patient safety. In an article published in the September 2015 issue of the Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research, South Australian ambulance pharmacist Dr Peter Hayball describes the importance of his role…Paramedics give medicines to patients in approximately half of all ambulances cases. Often these are high-risk medicines. South Australian Ambulance Service recognised a real need for pharmacists' clinical skills in this environment and advocated for the role,..

American Pharmacists Association…announced that The Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act reached an important milestone in the House of Representatives, having a majority of members support the legislation…"This is a crucial moment in the public debate on how to improve health care access and how to reduce America's health care costs,"…."National surveys show Americans believe pharmacists are integral members of their health care team. Now, the majority of the House has stated that they agree."