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I can’t recall ever seeing the leader of an ongoing trial express major doubts about the value of a drug or publicly differ with the sponsor about its potential significance. (And yet, somehow, so many of these promising breakthrough products have failed utterly.) ..... this doesn’t mean that the opinions of trial leaders should be ignored or that they have no value. But it does mean that the audience for these opinions should be fully aware of the full context of the remarks, and that additional sources should be sought.

The company wanted to offer local youngsters opportunities to learn about retail, hospital, and clinical pharmacy, and then provide them with summer internships working at local retail chains. CVS Health’s Pathways to Pharmacy program offered 28 to 30 students a real chance to experience the retail pharmacy environment and provided them the support of a pharmacist mentor, a stipend for their participation, and help with transportation and housing, if needed.

Facing resistance from Pacific trading partners, the Obama administration is no longer demanding protection for pharmaceutical prices under the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, according to a newly leaked section of the proposed trade accord. Public health professionals, generic-drug makers and activists opposed to the trade deal, which is still being negotiated, contend that it will empower big pharmaceutical firms to command higher reimbursement rates in the United States and abroad, at the expense of consumers.

The decision last week by experts at the Food and Drug Administration to endorse a pair of medicines aimed at combating heart disease brought on the latest round of hand-wringing over prescription drug costs. The drugs, which work to reduce cholesterol, are projected to cost anywhere from $7,000 to $12,000 annually once on the market.

Target plans to sell its pharmacy business to CVS Health for $1.9 billion and rebrand its nearly 1,700 prescription departments as CVS/pharmacy in a blockbuster deal that stunned the healthcare world.....CVS Health also will acquire Target’s 80 clinic locations and rebrand them as MinuteClinic,...

A new study published today in the American Journal of Public Health indicates that increased access to methadone or buprenorphine-based medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is critical to fully address the epidemic of opioid abuse and dependence in the United States. MAT is a comprehensive approach to address substance use disorders that combines the use of medication with counseling and behavioral therapies. Despite an increase in medication-assisted treatment capacity nationwide in the past decade, the rate of past-year opioid abuse or dependence significantly exceeded treatment capacity each year.

In the 1990s, it was the Internet. In the early 2000s, it was about mobility. Now, it's the era of "living services." ..... healthcare organizations – will be soon providing a "new wave of transformative digital services."And the one area where this wave will appear first? It's the healthcare industry, officials point out. Think quantified self-health tracking devices. Think wearables and mobile health platforms that are helping consumers manage myriad chronic diseases and wellness.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted down the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement on Friday, ensuring a continued debate between branded and generic pharmaceutical manufacturers over the trade pacts possible impact on the availability of generic drugs. That is because the intellectual property provisions in TPP are designed to give longer protection to patented drugs and postpone the entry of cost-saving generic medicines. ..That is because the intellectual property provisions in TPP are designed to give longer protection to patented drugs and postpone the entry of cost-saving generic medicines.

Various pharmacy segments have recently been focusing their attention on what they can do to reduce avoidable readmissions of patients to hospitals, including improving the discharge process. Preventable hospital readmissions currently cost the US health system an estimated $25 billion annually. Pharmacists in different settings can play an important role in reducing these avoidable readmissions, especially if they learn to coordinate their efforts and collaborate.