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Starting today, all pharmacies in Greece will close for 24 hours due to a strike…The impact of closed pharmacies—including disruption to patients’ access to medications—may not be widely covered, as Greek journalists are preparing to cancel news broadcasts and online content today, as well…Public services, museums, and schools will also close, public transportation will be affected, and hospitals will function with emergency staff…Small regional airports will cancel flights, and ferries will stay in port.

Settlements sought for prescriptions written in cases where doctors never met patients…Federal prosecutors in at least four states are mounting investigations into what they describe as widespread fraud by compounding pharmacies in claims to the health-insurance program that covers 9.5 million U.S. military members and their families…In the latest move, four Florida pharmacies last month agreed to pay $12.8 million combined to settle civil allegations that they falsely billed the insurance program Tricare for expensive pharmaceutical creams and gels to treat pain, scars and other ailments…Two of the compounding pharmacies...employed salespeople who paid doctors to write prescriptions to Tricare beneficiaries…In some cases, doctors would conduct telephone consultations with beneficiaries and then write them prescriptions, despite having not met with the beneficiaries in person…Those prescriptions were illegitimate because they weren’t based on genuine doctor-patient relationships, a violation of the federal False Claims Act...

The IPU (Irish Pharmacy Union) has reacted angrily to claims made in a statement about Community Pharmacists issued by the IMO (Irish Medical Organisation) this afternoon, calling it an ‘unprecedented and unfounded attack on the pharmacy profession’…The IMO claim, ‘that there is a risk to patient’s health and safety if pharmacists are given permission to expand their role into areas which are more properly undertaken by doctors’ goes against international evidence that clearly shows the benefits of expanding the role of pharmacists in areas such as providing treatment for minor ailments and vaccination services…Various GP organisations have pointed out that general practice in Ireland currently faces a manpower crisis, which they claim will be worsened by the expansion of free GP care. In England, Scotland and Canada, where demand for GP services exceeds the available capacity, the unique skills and expertise of pharmacists have been used to enhance access to healthcare, generating considerable benefits to both patients and the State...

VA hired thousands of new staff but can't see all patients within 30 days…Despite the addition of thousands of new doctors and nurses, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald says the number of appointments not completed in 30 days within the VA system has grown from 300,000 to nearly 500,000…McDonald told the National Press Club that the VA is addressing the problems that led to delays in care and has completed 3.1 million more appointments in the latest fiscal year than the previous one. He said more veterans seek care at the VA because it is more convenient, effective and cheaper than other settings.

Carlos Aquino, founder and president of PharmaDiversion LLC, talks about his experience working undercover for the Philadelphia Drug Enforcement Administration task force.

Johnson & Johnson (Janssen Pharmaceuticals) lost another courtroom battle over claims that the company failed to warn doctors and patients that its antipsychotic drug Risperdal (risperidone) could cause breast growth in boys, a blow for the company as it continues to deal with related cases…state court jury in Philadelphia ordered J&J to pony up $1.75 million, including damages for disfigurement and mental anguish, to a young man who developed gynecomastia…while taking the drug as a teen…The company and its Janssen unit still face about 1,500 cases…

The FDA is an exciting and respected career option for students unsure about what to do when they graduate from pharmacy school…advice to pharmacy students interested in a career with the FDA is to apply for the Pharmacy Student Experiential Program during their third professional year so that they can gain exposure to the agency and network…final-year students, (Lindsay E. Wagner, PharmD) suggested attending continuing education or poster presentations by FDA speakers at meetings and introducing themselves…those who are already in their residency or fellowship program can ask if their postgraduate program has any connection with the FDA or other public health agencies. There is always the possibility that a pharmacy student could do an optional rotation or shadow someone at the agency.

What happens to physician-patient confidentiality when any government agency can obtain a patient’s prescription records without a warrant? A case before a state supreme court threatens to keep these indiscriminant lines of investigation wide open…Lewis v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, a case before the Supreme Court of the State of California, calls into question whether or not the California Medical Board infringed upon patients’ constitutional right to privacy when it obtained prescription data without a showing of good cause. The board did so through the California Department of Justice database, which allows broad and indiscriminate disclosures to state, local and federal agencies—including law enforcement—and fails to adequately protect patient privacy.

“Pharmacy is first and foremost a commercial enterprise and allowing pharmacists powers to prescribe and treat patients will lead to serious conflicts of interest.”…The President of the Irish Medical Organisation has issued a strong warning of the risks that will arise for patient health and safety if pharmacists are given permission to expand their role into areas which are more properly undertaken by doctors. Due to economic reasons pharmacists are seeking to expand their professional roles and move their scope of practice into the treatment and management of patients thus undermining the role of doctors and the patient/doctor relationship. Dr. Ray Walley said that the IMO (Irish Medical Organisation) will strongly oppose attempts to allow pharmacists increase their roles in respect of activities like managing repeat prescriptions, diagnosing minor ailments, Chronic Disease Management and any further expansion of vaccination programmes.

Supreme Court is weighing a request from Allergan to rule on whether drug companies can pull a medication from the market as generic competition looms in order to force patients to switch to new versions of the drug…The move, which may hinge on antitrust laws, will be closely watched by the pharmaceutical industry…Allergan’s request follows a heated battle between the drug maker and New York Attorney General...over a tactic known variously as product-hopping or forced switching, which involves pushing consumers from one product to another (Namenda IR to Namenda XR). A federal appeals court earlier this year ruled that a switch Allergan had planned would harm consumers.