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A hard drumbeat of FDA complaints against more than two dozen companies in India for quality violations has affected 39 drugmaking facilities, creating an avalanche of remedial work that could take years and is steadily driving up medicine costs in the United States…FT (Financial Times) said it counted 6 Indian drugmakers that had manufacturing sites hauled up by the FDA…encompassing 27 companies…spate of massive product recalls.

An analysis in Canadian Family Physician casts further doubt on the ability of marijuana to provide pain relief for patients with chronic noncancer pain. Yet,..in the same issue, Roger Ladouceur,...suggests that pain management specialists continue to prescribe it… While acknowledging that the clinical evidence in support of prescribing marijuana is limited, the editorial makes the case that physician involvement in prescribing it avoids a situation in which patients who say that the drug offers them relief are forced to get it wherever and however they can.

California’s pharmacists would be required to provide prescription drug labels or medication instructions in five languages besides English under a bill passed unanimously…by California lawmakers…AB 1073, will be sent to Gov…Brown for his signature…Upon request from patients or their caregivers, pharmacists would need to provide medication instructions in Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese, Vietnamese or Korean, the most common languages in California after English. The instructions could be on prescription labels or in patient handouts...

China will push patients to seek medical treatment locally in a bid to overhaul a over-burdened healthcare system where wide gaps between urban and rural care often mean people travel hundreds of miles to seek help in cities…. by 2017 all patients with serious illnesses will receive treatment within their own county,… drive could reduce steep costs for its citizens… also a lure for investors and firms betting billions of dollars on China opening up a market set to be worth around $1.3 trillion by 2020.

Paul Greenall, senior vice president of strategy and business development at McKesson Corporation, talks about how he sees the role of the pharmacist changing in the next few years.

Empathy is neither sympathy nor compassion,...It is also not feeling sorry for a patient…In medical interviewing, being empathic means listening to the total communication—words, feelings, and gestures—and letting the patient know that you are really hearing what he or she is saying,..Empathy can create better relationships with patients and lead to better therapeutic outcomes.

Here are 5 ways pharmacists can show empathy toward patients:

1. Show respect to receive respect.
2. Encourage patients to express themselves.
3. Put yourself in the patient’s shoes.
4. Recognize and address patients’ fears.
5. Use interchangeable and additive responses.

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

Not every drugstore is the same. Some pharmacists work in small stores that provide specialized services for people with particular needs, like HIV or cancer.

Kristene Diggins, MBA, manager of professional practice at MinuteClinic, and Contemporary Clinic Editorial Board member, talks about some dynamic trends in diabetes management.

Pat Basu, MD, MBA, chief medical officer of Doctor on Demand, discusses problems associated with automation in the pharmacy dispensing process.

Doctors say primary care is growing fragmented and turning into more of a commodity, with physician access based on what consumers will pay…the role of primary care has diminished ... and I don't see encouraging signs that it is having a renaissance,.. the result of technology and competition creating more convenient options for care that does not require an in-person doctor visit… changes have helped make basic care more accessible to patients and lowered the cost per visit for many consumers… Patients are opting for drugstore clinics over doctor's offices, and many will soon start wondering why they even need to leave the house when smartphone apps let them chat live with a physician.