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A large majority of American adults prefer to get their prescription drugs from a local pharmacist instead of a mail order service, mainly because of the personal relationship, according to a new national survey released today by the National Community Pharmacists Association...“Most Americans clearly are not willing to substitute personal care for the perception of convenience,”...When asked why, 36 percent say their pharmacist knows them better than a mail order company. Thirty-two percent say their pharmacist answers questions and provides counsel on how to use the drugs. Another 15 percent worry their drugs will get lost in the mail, exposed to the elements, or stolen...READ MORE

CPI, one of the founding partners in the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre, has announced the signing of an agreement with PwC, making the company the latest partner in the collaborative effort. The Centre (established via a partnership among CPI, the University of Strathclyde, UK Research and Innovation, Scottish Enterprise and founding industry partners AstraZeneca and GSK) seeks to promote more innovative drug manufacturing processes and enable a more agile supply chain...PwC and the existing partners will work to maximize technological opportunities across the pharma supply chain. Efforts include...projects, intended to advance emergent and disruptive technologies. The program is partially funded by Innovate UK through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and Scottish Enterprise via the Scottish Government...READ MORE

Walgreens is establishing a tech-enabled healthcare startup with the goal of creating a new patient platform that blends physical and digital tools...The decision is part of a larger trend in the pharmacy space of retail chains aiming to expand their digital offerings...“We see an extremely complex healthcare system in the U.S. where the patients are confused,” said Walgreens Chief Financial Officer James Kehoe on the need for the startup. “Somebody with multiple conditions getting calls from three advisers.”...He added that “everybody has a point of view on how they manage their health. We believe we can, because of our assets, provide a unique interface between patients and partners to create an ecosystem of healthcare.”...READ MORE

Nevada launched an updated COVID-19 data dashboard...providing the public with more local data about the impact of the coronavirus...The dashboard contains county-level data about testing, cases, hospitalizations and deaths. For the first time, the data on the page can be downloaded...The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services compiles and updates the data daily. It can be accessed at nvhealthresponse.nv.gov...READ MORE

Alexa, show me the future of drug advertising? Bayer Consumer Health's first-ever Alexa interactive ad allows consumers to buy an OTC product by talking to the Amazon device—and may foreshadow broader trends in the industry...The U.K. ad for Bayer’s Berocca Boost, a vitamin and caffeine tablet, is running as a trial during programming streamed by Global...Launching the app brings up voice options to either order the product or hear more information about it. If the listener chooses to order, Alexa asks whether they’d like to use a default payment method and address. One yes later, Berrocca Boost is on its way and the original radio program returns...While dropping an OTC product into an Amazon cart via voice app is a long way from fulfilling a physician-ordered prescription medicine the same way, the Bayer trial foreshadows what's possible even in the more regulated pharma world...READ MORE

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised the profile of mRNA vaccines in a dramatic way in about a year. Looking forward, the technology holds more promise and could displace traditional shots in some diseases, experts said, but it's not time to give up on well-known vaccine platforms, either...researchers at Moderna...reached human testing for their mRNA vaccine in record time. And separately, in under a year of development, testing and manufacturing, Pfizer and its mRNA partner BioNTech were able to score an FDA emergency use authorization last December...In addition to being able to rapidly advance new vaccines in response to emerging threats, the “beauty” of the platform is that the production process is “universal,"...Still, it’s not time to go all-in on mRNA... While experts are clearly enthusiastic about the platform, that “doesn’t guarantee that mRNA will immediately work against all pathogens,"...READ MORE

Within the past two months, the online pharmacy marketplace has experienced some market-shifting dynamics that could alter the scope and direction of the industry. Within the span of approximately two weeks, e-commerce behemoth Amazon announced the launch of its NABP-accredited pharmacy website against the backdrop of Food and Drug Administration’s Importation of Prescription Drugs final rule becoming effective...The two updates highlight the growing chasm in the online pharmacy environment and continued threat to public health and patient safety by those who solely seek profit. With the entrance of Amazon Pharmacy comes a safe and legitimate source of prescription drugs via the internet, and an opportunity to raise the visibility of accredited pharmacies operating legitimately and within the confines of the law...READ MORE

CVS, Walgreens and Walmart are enrolling customers in patient systems in order for them to book vaccine appointments...Perk of data allows these chains to use information to promote their stores and services, which includes coupons and promotions, and tailor marketing...After customers create profiles for Walgreens, they get marketing emails and agree to let Walgreens 'automatically collect information about you'...READ MORE

The Trump administration finalized a rule...that will grant faster Medicare coverage decisions on new breakthrough medical devices...The rule will tackle the lag time between when a new device is approved or cleared by the Food and Drug Administration and when it gets covered by Medicare, a time the administration refers to as the “valley of death” for innovative products, officials have said. The rule creates an accelerated Medicare coverage pathway for "breakthrough" devices, or those which the FDA approves on an expedited basis...READ MORE

• ...one of the biggest trends in 2021 will be a focus on the safe use of medications...Reasons for this shift are many. For one, dispensing margins continue to shrink, which will reduce a pharmacist’s involvement and increase the responsibilities of pharmacy technicians. Additionally, society, via government mandates, is moving the industry to value-based payment versus fee-for-service health care models...
• ...continued adoption of virtual, telehealth, and digital health services and the electronic health record becoming more accessible digitally to pharmacies, nontraditional sites, and patients...“Additionally, the ongoing shortage of primary care physicians and the fact that many patients have not been seen by providers due to COVID-19 for their chronic medical conditions that most often require medications and dosage adjustment to achieve goals, presents a unique opportunity for pharmacists to be reimagined"...
• ...helping patients with medication adherence. Because comorbidities are risk factors for COVID-19, it is important that patients be adherent to their medications, especially for chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and COPD. Other priorities will include pharmacists taking on more responsibilities such as ordering and administering COVID-19 vaccines, making medication therapy recommendations to optimize patients’ drug regimens, and making drug substitutions when drug shortages occur...
• ...pharmacies turning over to a more advanced click and collect system in 2021, where patients will book in to collect medicine at specific time slots, rather than just show up...“This is likely to stop masses of people arriving at the same time, helping to keep a more controlled environment for prescription pick-ups,”... “Secondly, and slightly more difficult, will be a more common move towards delivery. Dealing with prescription drugs is a lot more sensitive than delivering somebody’s meal...READ MORE