- FDA Issues Guidance on Outsourcing Registration (pharmtech.com)
FDA released guidance… directed at companies that are considering registering with the agency as an outsourcing facility under…the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act… guidance is in response to questions the agency received from companies about which activities (e.g., drug compounding) would require a company to register as an outsourcing facility and, therefore, be subject to registration fees…
- New CMS Forecast: Drug Spending Grows Along with Impossible Hospital and Doctor Spending (drugchannels.net)
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services…released its latest forecasts for national health expenditures...2014, prescription drug spending growth was higher than the growth in total U.S. healthcare spending...the next 10 years,..drug spending is projected to closely track overall healthcare spending. By 2024,.. will spend about $560 billion annually on outpatient prescription drugs...the perceptions that drugs prices are "too high," outpatient prescription drugs will only account for about one of every 10 U.S. healthcare dollars....
- Prevention and Control of Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, United States, 2015–16 Influenza Season (cdc.gov)
This report updates the 2014 recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices regarding the use of seasonal influenza vaccines. Updated information for the 2015–16 season includes
- antigenic composition of U.S. seasonal influenza vaccines;
- information on influenza vaccine products expected to be available for the 2015–16 season;
- an updated algorithm for determining the appropriate number of doses for children aged 6 months through 8 years; and
- recommendations for the use of live attenuated influenza vaccine and inactivated influenza vaccine when either is available,…
- Thailand’s state-run drug maker objects to competition moves (fiercepharmaasia.com)
chief of Thailand's Government Pharmaceutical Office said legislation afoot that would lead to a halt of making state hospitals spend at least 60% of their medicine budgets on its products is a bad idea on costs alone--but also because the state manufacturer lacks in-house marketing and sales expertise…Instead, …GPO executive managing director…wants at least a 5 year phase-in period...
- Interoperability done in 10 years? (healthcareitnews.com)
Office of the National Coordinator for Healthcare Information technology puts interoperability front and center this week, comes a survey that shows healthcare professionals are skeptical it can be achieved in 10 years…"Interoperability in 10 years is unquestionably a worthy goal, but our experience has shown that this is a complex area and providers need secure universal solutions in the interim,"...
- House to FDA: who’s in charge clinical trial manufacturing? (in-pharmatechnologist.com)
House to FDA: who's in charge clinical trial manufacturing? US politicians have given the NIH and FDA until Friday to answer questions about oversight at a contaminated National Institutes of Health clinical trial manufacturing site…what are the FDA’s obligations for inspecting non-commercial drug production?...
- Identifying the Optimal Role for Pharmacists in Care Transitions: A Systematic Review (amcp.org)Study Overview (amcp.org)
What this Study Adds
- Our model systematically categorized components of pharmacist intervention in care transition programs. Study heterogeneity enabled a best evidence synthesis to elucidate effective components.
- This review revealed that multifaceted programs should combine medication reconciliation with active patient counseling and a clinical medication review. Care continuity can be secured by integrating pharmacists across settings and providing them with patients’ clinical background.
- Collaborating with other health care professionals is crucial to increase the effectiveness of pharmacist intervention.