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A new bill introduced in the US Senate would permit pharmacists to dispense birth control pills without a prescription.

A pharmacist is being praised for coming to the rescue in a hostage and robbery situation. The hostages were kept in the back room of the store until pharmacist Donna Weatherford was able to convince Trail (the burglar) to let the other hostages go, while she remained behind to gather the requested drugs. Weatherford seized the moment to pick up the burglar’s gun and run outside, where police were waiting.....

The decision last week by experts at the Food and Drug Administration to endorse a pair of medicines aimed at combating heart disease brought on the latest round of hand-wringing over prescription drug costs. The drugs, which work to reduce cholesterol, are projected to cost anywhere from $7,000 to $12,000 annually once on the market.

North Dakota is making it easier for pharmacists to work on healthcare teams and also preparing the next generation of pharmacists to care for patients in contemporary practice settings. During its brief 2015 legislative session, the state enacted four laws that together enhance collaborative practice opportunities for pharmacists, confirm that pharmacists are healthcare providers, and provide new prescribing and billing authority under specific circumstances.

Nearly three in four Americans say the costs of prescription drugs are "unreasonable" — and most blame drugmakers for those prices, according to a poll released Tuesday. The survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found 74 percent of those taking prescription drugs find the costs unreasonable, as do 72 percent of those not taking such drugs.

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser vowed Monday to crack down hard on suppliers of synthetic drugs after a spike in overdoses sent dozens to area hospitals in the past month. Bowser plans to introduce emergency legislation this week that would give the D.C. police chief authority to shut down any business found selling the drugs for a period of 96 hours while police investigate.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted down the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement on Friday, ensuring a continued debate between branded and generic pharmaceutical manufacturers over the trade pacts possible impact on the availability of generic drugs. That is because the intellectual property provisions in TPP are designed to give longer protection to patented drugs and postpone the entry of cost-saving generic medicines. ..That is because the intellectual property provisions in TPP are designed to give longer protection to patented drugs and postpone the entry of cost-saving generic medicines.

"There's no way Silk Road could be reasonably expected to reduce violence," Federal District Court Judge Katherine Forrest said at the recent sentencing hearing for Ross Ulbricht, the convicted founder of the Silk Road online drug market. But if people are buying online, there's no turf to fight over -- "with Silk Road functioning to considerable degree at the wholesale/broker market level, its virtual location should reduce violence, intimidation and territorialism,"

Brius Healthcare Services has 81 facilities stretching from San Diego to Roseville to Eureka. In the past year, some of the facilities have become the target of police scrutiny, lawsuits, stiff regulatory fines and state and federal investigations that have uncovered numerous alleged violations......

Facing resistance from Pacific trading partners, the Obama administration is no longer demanding protection for pharmaceutical prices under the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, according to a newly leaked section of the proposed trade accord. Public health professionals, generic-drug makers and activists opposed to the trade deal, which is still being negotiated, contend that it will empower big pharmaceutical firms to command higher reimbursement rates in the United States and abroad, at the expense of consumers.