- Will ICD-10 conversion be worth the trouble? (modernhealthcare.com)
The required Oct. 1 conversion to the ICD-10 coding system will be worth the costs and headaches, supporters say….With up to seven alphanumeric characters in ICD-10 compared with a maximum of four numeric digits in ICD-9, there will be lots more room for the codes to accommodate new medical conditions and procedures. With ICD-9, "we've just run out of space," … Advocates also say ICD-10 will allow providers to keep better track of patient care and aggregate data to perform quality-improvement analysis. It also should give hospital and physician leaders sharper tools for analyzing the impact of new procedures and managing population health. They'll be better able to track individual pracces and identify inappropriate practice variation.
- Novartis tweaks Pinterest to create malaria-fighting graphic novel (fiercepharmamarketing.com)
Novartis is using an oft-overlooked social network in the pharma world--Pinterest--for one of its campaigns… using the image-oriented site to set up malaria-fighting stories in graphic-novel form…The…Swiss drugmaker designed three boards on Pinterest, including
- "Mosquito Gauntlet"…odyssey of malaria-carrying mosquitoes, through a battery of ruthless technology,..chapter headings such as "The Smack-Down" and "The Puddle of Doom"…tells the story of recent efforts to combat malaria and also mentions Novartis' malaria pipeline at the end.
- "Mosquito Mayhem"…asking viewers to use the company's pins to "build your own mosquito misadventure,"..
- "M-Force Trading Cards"…illustrated trading cards with a "task force" of malaria-fighting superheroes….For example, "Agent Sparrow"
- Xerox tackles opioid abuse in Mo. (drugstorenews.com)
Xerox announced…that it would be continuing its partnership with MO HealthNet, Missouri’s Medicaid division, to help combat prescription drug abuse by coordinating patient care between providers, MO HealthNet and pharmacists…Xerox’s prescription clinical authorization tool, pharmacists can investigate whether a patient recently received an opioid prescription and will receive a notice to acquire prior authorization before dispensing it…Missouri does not have a statewide, electronic prescription drug monitoring program, so physicians and pharmacists have limited visibility into other medications a patient has...
- Low Level Mercury In Drugs Safe but EU needs to set limits say Polish Reaserchers (in-pharmatechnologist.com)
EU needs to better define mercury limits for drugs and dietary supplements say Polish researchers who want pharmaceuticals in Europe to be tested more regularly….because patients are also exposed to environmental sources of the metal those taking pills regularly could build up harmful accumulations of the metal…. Low-quality raw materials, inadequate control during the production and drug counterfeiting can lead to high concentrations of mercury in the final product, which can pose a health threat to consumers, poisoning and even death.
- U.S. task force narrows recommendation for aspirin use (reuters.com)U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (09/14/2015) (uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org)
People between the ages of 50 and 59 years at an increased risk of heart disease and stroke should take daily low-dose aspirin,…In addition to preventing heart attacks and strokes,…may reduce their risk of colon cancer if they take aspirin for at least 10 years, according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force,...Under the Affordable Care Act, the task force's recommendations are used to help set health insurance reimbursement policies.
- Medical Marijuana: Analysis Says Not Effective for Pain, Doctor Says Prescribe Anyway (specialtypharmacytimes.com)Efficacy and adverse effects of medical marijuana for chronic noncancer pain (cfp.ca)Prescribing marijuana for chronic pain (cfp.ca)
An analysis in Canadian Family Physician casts further doubt on the ability of marijuana to provide pain relief for patients with chronic noncancer pain. Yet,..in the same issue, Roger Ladouceur,...suggests that pain management specialists continue to prescribe it… While acknowledging that the clinical evidence in support of prescribing marijuana is limited, the editorial makes the case that physician involvement in prescribing it avoids a situation in which patients who say that the drug offers them relief are forced to get it wherever and however they can.
- Egalet introduces first IR oxycodone designed to discourage abuse (drugstorenews.com)
Egalet Corporation…launched…An immediate-release oral formulation, Oxaydo (oxycodone HCI) is intended to manage acute and chronic moderate to severe pain where the use of an opioid analgesic is appropriate,..it is one of the first immediate-release oxycodone tablets designed to discourage abuse by snorting…designed to discourage abuse with no food effect…
- 2015 survey results: Speaking out about EHRs (healthcareitnews.com)Infographic: 2015 EHR Satisfaction Survey overall results (healthcareitnews.com)2015 EHR Satisfaction Survey (healthcareitnews.com)
Managers of EHR systems share what they like – and what they'd like to see changed..When we set out to survey Healthcare IT News readers about their electronic health record platforms,..survey was limited to readers who were actively engaged in the management or use of an EHR…After asking them to rate the systems numerically, we posed two open-ended questions: "What do you like best?" and "What would you change?"...responses demonstrated a sense of passion about the importance EHRs continue to play in delivering clinical care – and a sincere desire for the systems' continued improvement.
Allscripts , Cerner , Epic , eClinicalWorks , GE Healthcare , McKesson , MEDITECH , NextGen ,Siemens
- Problems Associated with Automation in the Pharmacy Dispensing Process (pharmacytimes.com)
Pat Basu, MD, MBA, chief medical officer of Doctor on Demand, discusses problems associated with automation in the pharmacy dispensing process.
- NCPA rolls out online community lab testing platform (drugstorenews.com)
National Community Pharmacists Association…announced that it will collaborate with consumer-direct lab testing innovator, Ulta Lab Tests, to roll out an online community lab testing platform to participating community pharmacy members across the country. The arrangement will offer community pharmacy patients direct access to lab tests and health screenings...customers can order select low-priced lab tests without the need to obtain a prescription from a local physician…then can easily access lab test information…review and track their test results for each biomarker from their personal and secured dashboard at their convenience.