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Two leading House Republicans expressed concern to TRICARE officials recently regarding patient access to prescribed compounded medications and the National Community Pharmacists Association expressed support for the lawmakers’ efforts. …..in a letter to the Department of Defense that “we have heard from both TRICARE beneficiaries and the pharmacy owners who serve their healthcare needs that they can no longer receive their compounded medications.”

'We do see healthcare organizations and health plans making moves'. The lion's share of medical identity theft victims can expect to pay upwards of $13,500 to resolve the crime. What's more, about 50 percent of consumers say they would find another healthcare provider if they were concerned about the security of their medical records.

Jason Simcakoski is one of countless post-9/11 veterans since at least 2005 who have died by accidental overdose under VA care.....proposed Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety bill would create a number of safeguards to protect veterans and improve VA medical care. It would require VA and the Defense Department to update clinical practice guidelines for opioid therapy for pain; mandate training for VA doctors who prescribe opioids; and create pain management boards in all VA regions........

Compliance with the United States Pharmacopeia chapter <800> is on the horizon, and pharmacists everywhere should know what to expect with these standards for handling hazardous drugs in their facilities.

Can the US Drug Enforcement Administration use an "administrative subpoena" to obtain information from a database of transactions maintained by a state government of prescriptions of controlled substances, or is the expectation of privacy of such information so significant that the DEA’s motives for wanting such information need to be more thoroughly vetted before being able to access the data?

Several healthcare industry trade organizations are asking the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to make changes … to its proposed rule for meaningful use. The American Medical Group Association……calling for bolstering the healthcare IT infrastructure to ensure it will support the anticipated increased requirements for data transmission in the years ahead…. increases in compliance thresholds proposed for Stage 3.

Could lead to fraud and abuse, incomplete documentation, industry group argues. More than one ICD-10 bill has been introduced in Congress recently aiming to create a "safe harbor" for physician claims denial post-switchover. But the Coalition for ICD-10 has put forth six reasons why such a plan would have "far-reaching, negative consequences."

A new study published in the British Medical Journal found 27% of US veterans who received opioids between 2004 and 2009 were taking benzodiazepines at the same time. Roughly half of the drug overdose deaths among that population occurred when the drugs were prescribed concurrently, and veterans’ risk of fatal drug overdose grew as their daily benzodiazepines doses increased.

The federal government cannot verify nearly $3 billion in subsidies distributed through Obamacare, putting significant taxpayer funding "at risk," according to a new audit report.

Ralph Neas, president and CEO of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, issued a statement Monday criticizing the FDA at the organization’s public meeting on the Generic Drug User Free Act. “It is industry opinion that the FDA is falling short of meeting its commitment to GDUFA goals, resulting in decreased access for patients and billions of dollars in lost savings,”....