Category:

PillDrill won this year’s Drug Store News/ECRM Most Innovative Product Award...PillDrill was developed to be a smart, friendly medication tracking system that simplifies the task of everyday pill taking. It gives reminders when pills need to be taken, tracks what’s being taken with a quick scan and sends real-time adherence updates to those people involved in the patients' well-being...We learned early on that medication adherence is not a technology problem, it’s a human problem...So what makes PillDrill special is that it’s completely user-centric. It’s not some complicated piece of hardware, and it’s not an app; those things don’t really work for people in their everyday context…PillDrill is a light overlay onto an existing routine that provides all the benefits of a technology product without any of the hassles.

Drugs currently being used to treat psychosis or depression may be able to treat emerging viruses, according to new research led by the University of Leeds...The researchers found that some common drugs were able to prevent a particular virus from infecting cells by blocking the ion channels that regulate potassium levels...drugs that were able to inhibit the potassium ion channels were effective against the Bunyamwera virus...which is increasing in prevalence in Mediterranean countries, and is endemic in Africa, the Middle East, and some Asian countries...There are many drugs targeting ion channels that are currently in use for a wide range of conditions. Our work shows that some of these might be suitable to treat virus infections...If existing drugs are confirmed to be effective against known members of a particular virus family, this opens up the possibility of using these 'off-the-shelf' treatments in a rapid response against dangerous new related virus strains that emerge...

Jerry McKee, PharmD, assistant director of Community Care of North Carolina, discusses the goals of the Pharmacy Home Project.

An ibuprofen patch that delivers the painkiller directly through the skin to the site of pain, at a consistent dose for up to 24 hours, has been developed by UK researchers...Scientists at the University of Warwick and spin-off company Medherant say their TEPI patch could revolutionize the transdermal drug delivery market...the polymer matrix in the patch acts as a reservoir for the drug, capable of releasing between five and ten times the amount of drugs used in gels and patches currently on the market, for periods of six hours, 12 hours, and even 24 hours...The patches could help treat conditions like chronic back pain, neuralgia and arthritis without the need to take potentially damaging doses of the drug orally... the technology has exciting potential for other medications, such as opioid painkillers. What's important is to be able to extend the range of drugs that are available by patches because at the moment we're limited to about 20 different drugs, and there are thousands of drugs out there...which is limited by the technology of the adhesive...The TEPI patch incorporates new adhesive technology developed by...Bostik...Nutrition companies have also shown an interest in adapting Medherant's technology for transmitting minerals and vitamins through the skin.

FlavoRx debuted its newest piece of pharmacy equipment — the FlavorMaster — the reconstituting and flavoring device...The FlavorMaster uses FlavoRx’s Fillmaster water dispensing technology and its flavors, making reconstitution available with the press of a button...pharmacies have the power to boost pediatric adherence and improve a child’s health outcome...

Health apps, like prescription drugs, come with side effects, it turns out...an astoundingly large number of health apps may be sharing users’ medical information. Many can also switch on smartphone cameras and make changes to the software on your phone...More than 80 percent of the 211 diabetes apps studied did not have privacy policies. And out of a randomly selected subset of 65 apps, 56 of them used tracking cookies, which could allow them to send information about the user to other companies, such as marketing firms...sharing or selling of personal information could lead to discrimination. Users with certain medical profiles...could have a tougher time getting life insurance...The apps are not bound by HIPAA...They are free to trade, sell, and use the information in any way that they want...There’s a lot more than blood glucose tracking on these apps...the fine-print permissions that all users have to accept before downloading a diabetes app, they found that 17 percent asked to track the user’s location, 11 percent sought to switch on the smartphone camera, and 64 percent requested the ability to delete or modify information anywhere on the user’s phone...Most health apps are completely unregulated. If you don’t want your information shared or the memory on your phone tampered with, be very careful about which apps you choose to download.

Imagine new medicines that effectively fight cancer, but may result in fewer side effects thanks to more accurate targeting of tumor cells. Today, PhRMA released a new video that highlights these promising new therapies called antibody drug conjugates, or ADCs...represent a continuing shift in the cancer treatment landscape toward personalized medicines that more accurately attack specific targets fueling cancer cell growth while leaving more healthy cells unharmed...You can think of them as smart bombs, basically. Precision weapons against cancer...which may provide patients the same level of benefits of standard chemotherapy without some of the side effects that often accompany such treatments...

A genetically engineered mosquito being used in the fight against Zika will not have a significant impact on the environment, the maker Intrexon Corp said, citing preliminary findings from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...Males of the self-limiting strain of the Aedes aegypti mosquito are modified so their offspring die before being able to reproduce, says Intrexon...The FDA findings agree with the draft environmental assessment submitted by Oxitec, the UK unit of Intrexon that developed the mosquito.

A popular smartphone app that measures blood pressure is inaccurate, missing high blood pressure readings in four out of every five patients tested, according to a research letter published online March 2 in JAMA Internal Medicine...The investigators found that, on average, the app was 12 points off for systolic and 10 points off for diastolic blood pressure. The team also found that 77.5 percent of patients with hypertensive blood pressure, defined as 140/90 mm Hg, showed normal blood pressure with the app...If someone with high blood pressure is using Instant Blood Pressure to follow their blood pressure at home, more times than not it's going to tell them they're fine...

Ritzman Pharmacy and Northeast Ohio Medical Center’s ‘Pharmacy of the Future" collaboration is about to be open to the public. The Ritzman Pharmacy at NEOMED’s grand opening will take place March 7 at the...Education and Wellness Center...The new pharmacy is driven by an interest in creating a pharmacy experience that takes a holistic approach to wellness where the pharmacist is at the center of a patient’s care. It will offer fitness facility membership, primary care services, medication management and physical therapy in addition to standard pharmacy services...I am proud to be at the forefront of this effort to promote community-oriented, whole-person health. The pharmacy experience can be so much more than an errand to check off a list...