- October 25 Week in Review (pharmacytimes.com)
Laura Joszt, PTNN, Pharmacy Week in Review, this weekly video program provides our readers with an in-depth review of the latest news, product approvals, FDA rulings and more.
- Study: Local pharmacies pushed to brink by pharmacy benefit “monopolies” (chaindrugreview.com)NCPA SURVEY: Health of Independent Pharmacy (ncpa.co)
A substantial majority of independent pharmacies say they may close their doors in the next two years, and the main culprits are multi-billion-dollar corporate middlemen who are shaking them down for fees on medicines long after the point of sale, according to a new survey by the National Community Pharmacists Association...“Neighborhood pharmacies are being mugged in broad daylight and no one in Washington is doing anything about it,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey. “If Congress or the administration don’t act soon, we’re going to see a wave of layoffs and store closures that will leave many patients stranded without access to a local pharmacist.”...READ MORE
- J&J recalls 33,000 bottles of baby powder as FDA finds asbestos in sample (reuters.com)
Johnson & Johnson said...it is recalling around 33,000 bottles of baby powder in the United States after U.S. health regulators found trace amounts of asbestos in samples taken from a bottle purchased online...The move marks the first time the company has recalled its iconic baby powder for possible asbestos contamination, and the first time U.S. regulators have announced a finding of asbestos in the product. Asbestos is a known carcinogen that has been linked to deadly mesothelioma...READ MORE
- This Week in Managed Care: October 18, 2019 (ajmc.com)
Laura Joszt, Managing Editor at The American Journal of Managed Care. Welcome to This Week in Managed Care from the Managed Markets News Network
- Valley Health System opens emergency room in growing Enterprise (reviewjournal.com)
The Valley Health System has a new freestanding emergency department — its second in the Las Vegas Valley...ER at Blue Diamond opened...Sept. 30...“Really, this area of the community didn’t have anything with this level of care,” said Kevin Scott, manager of ER at Blue Diamond...Freestanding emergency departments can improve access to care and are more likely to be in affluent areas...In May, the Clark County Commission adopted a new rule related to freestanding emergency rooms as a result of concerns about facilities unaffiliated with existing hospital systems...Effective June 1, freestanding emergency rooms seeking a business license must accept Medicare and Medicaid, and be in compliance with federal law that requires emergency departments to treat patients regardless of ability to pay...READ MORE
- Sierra Medical Center: First new Reno full-service hospital in a century breaks ground (msn.com)
Reno is getting its first new full-service hospital in more than a century as Northern Nevada Health System officially broke ground Friday for its new medical center...The Northern Nevada Sierra Medical Center will be built in south Reno, boasting 350,000 square feet of hospital and medical office space as well as 200 private patient rooms...The medical center adds another key piece to Northern Nevada Health System’s portfolio. The company just invested $11.8 million to expand the Northern Nevada Medical Center in Sparks. It is also opening a new ER facility on North McCarran Boulevard in 2020...READ MORE
- Top 9 Drugs With the Biggest Price Increases Over 2 Years (pharmacytimes.com)
Nine widely-used medications have experienced substantial price surges over the past 2 years, adding $5.1 billion to overall drug spending during this time period...7 of these 9 drugs were found by the Institute of Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) to be lacking sufficient clinical evidence to support such price increases. Not only did adalimumab top the list of best-selling drugs last year, but the anti-inflammatory medication ranked first in terms of the most substantial price hikes from 2016 to 2018...READ MORE
- Canadian election clears path for universal drug plan (reuters.com)A Prescription for Canada: Achieving Pharmacare for All (canada.ca)Trump urges quicker action to allow imported drugs from Canada (reuters.com)
Canada’s Liberal government is more likely to pass a universal prescription drug plan after losing its majority in Monday’s election, setting the stage for what would be the biggest shakeup of the country’s public healthcare system since it was created in the 1960s...Universal drug coverage would shake up the country’s C$39.8 billion ($30.4 billion) prescription drug market, and cut drugmakers’ revenue by some C$4.8 billion a year by 2027. It may draw opposition from drugmakers, and from private insurers, who could also lose revenue, as well as deficit hawks...READ MORE
- Opioid settlement talks fail, landmark trial expected Monday (reuters.com)Drug firms avert landmark opioid trial as talks on $48-billion settlement set to resume (reuters.com)Teva, three U.S. drug distributors reach opioid settlement - source (reuters.com)
A landmark trial over the U.S. opioid epidemic is on track to begin on Monday after drug companies and local governments failed to agree on a settlement on Friday that had been expected to be valued at around $50 billion...Top executives of the largest U.S. drug distributors and drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd left a Cleveland courthouse on Friday and lawyers for states and thousands of local governments said there was no agreement...After nearly 11 hours of negotiations...it was “profoundly disappointing” that local governments would not go along with a settlement he valued at $48 billion, including $22 billion in cash and $26 billion in products and services...READ MORE
- October 18 Pharmacy Week in Review (pharmacytimes.com)
Nicole Grassano, PTNN, Pharmacy Week in Review, this weekly video program provides our readers with an in-depth review of the latest news, product approvals, FDA rulings and more.