- Birth control and med adherence are connected how? (drugtopics.modernmedicine.com)
It finally seems as if the pharmacy birth control wars are behind us, which I hope will prove that medication adherence isn't the type of rocket-science problem requiring academic studies by professors pondering how to get people to take their medicine. No, that wasn't an accidental grafting of two different sentences you just read. Stick with me, and by the end of the column you'll understand.
- Bipartisan thinktank offers FDA fixes (healthcareitnews.com)Advancing Medical Innovation for a Healthier America (bipartisanpolicy.org)
"Americans cannot afford to rely on 20th century methodologies for treatments when the world is on the cutting edge of new medical technologies. Federal agencies must be equipped to keep the U.S. at the forefront of medical innovation."… much of the report focuses on improving the FDA’s ability to work more quickly to evaluate and approve new devices and therapies.
- One big myth about medicine: We know how drugs work (washingtonpost.com)
Here’s how we think we discover powerful new medicines: Scientists dig deep into biology and zero in on a molecular Achilles’ heel that could disable a devastating disease,..They concoct experimental drugs that hit the target....Here’s how we actually develop...treatments: good old-fashioned observation, trial and error, and luck
- A Queer History of Quaalude (pharmacytimes.com)
Methaqualone (Quaalude) use peaked in the 1970s, but interest in the powerful sedative peaked again when comedian Bill Cosby admitted to using the drugs to have sex with women.
- HIPAA technical controls no silver bullet for securing patient data (fiercehealthit.com)How to Implement Strong HIPAA Technical Safeguards (healthitsecurity.com)
Putting too much trust in technical controls could be a big mistake in a provider organization's security strategy… encryption and access management go a long way toward securing patient data, employee training remains "absolutely indispensable, absolutely top of the priority list"..
- Value-Based Payment Models – Pharmacy Times Video series (pharmacytimes.com)Impact of Value-Based Payment Models on Pharmacies (pharmacytimes.com)How CMS Affects Pharmacists, Health Plans (pharmacytimes.com)Increasing Emphasis on CMR Completion Rates (pharmacytimes.com)Improving Quality at the Pharmacy Level (pharmacytimes.com)Adapting to Change in Community Pharmacy Culture (pharmacytimes.com)
Sam Stolpe, PharmD, senior director of Quality Strategies and Business Development at Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA),...Pharmacy Times Perspectives...video editorial series featuring in-depth reports
- Getting Comfortable with New Pharmacy Technologies (pharmacytimes.com)
Daniel Kraft, MD, chair of medicine at Singularity University discusses how pharmacists can become more comfortable with new technology. (video)
- Therapeutic Focus: Oncology (mmm-online.com)
Immunotherapies are dangling on the edge of a treatment paradigm shift, potentially slipping into the first-line option spot where cytotoxic chemotherapies have been comfortably seated for some time. The promise of immunotherapies, ranging from monoclonal antibodies to interferons and checkpoint inhibitors, has to do with target specificity to reduce toxicity.
- Why insurers should negotiate with manufacturers for better drug prices (fiercehealthpayer.com)
federal government could save anywhere between $15.2 billion and $16 billion annually if it negotiated Medicare Part D prescription prices with drug makers, … the high levels of deductibles and out-of-pocket copayments are the main reason why so many Americans cannot afford to fill their prescriptions…federal government cannot directly negotiate rebates due to the non-interference clause,…but insurers can.
- Building Tomorrow’s Biopharma Workforce (pharmexec.com)
pharmaceutical industry is a knowledge industry. Knowledge is a function of human capital—the cumulative measure of native intelligence, learned skills, environmental awareness, and pooled effort that lead to improvements in the human condition. It follows that attracting a deep, diverse pool of in-house talent should stand as a top strategic goal for today’s biopharmaceutical enterprise—but is it?