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Chris Hatwig, MS, FASHP of Apexus discusses what HRSA policy updates, including 340B "mega guidance," are poised to affect health-system pharmacists.  (video)

Bruce Berger, PhD, president of Berger Consulting LLC, discusses the behavioral patterns that contribute to a patient’s propensity to be more or less adherent to their medications. (video)

(Mario DeSanctis) director of the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center has been fired, becoming the second top official ousted amid reports of over-medication practices at the facility…. reports of excessive opioid prescriptions being written there… patients at Tomah facility were more likely than patients at other VA hospitals to receive high doses of pain killers.

An independent pharmacy will pay a $46,000 settlement over an alleged lack of break times for its employees…Three former employees,..filed small claims lawsuits with California’s labor commissioner against Point Reyes Station-based West Marin Pharmacy…Deputy Labor Commissioner…ruled that the pharmacy owed the 3 ex-employees rest-period premium wages and waiting-time penalties.

QS1 announced…that it would be partnering with…FDS to brings(bring) its customers… business intelligence software myDataMart...pharmacy owners can receive detailed analytics into the state of their business operations and potentially increase their Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Star ratings,..aid in monitoring adherence among patients,..

Chris Hatwig, MS, FASHP of Apexus discusses what health-system pharmacists need to know about the potential for HRSA audits to review 340B program compliance requirements. (video)

CVS Health Corp said..its decision to stop selling tobacco products last year led to a 1 percent decrease in cigarette sales...The September 2014 decision hurt sales, with general merchandise revenue at CVS pharmacies open at least a year falling 7.8 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier,.., CVS said it benefited in others ways…nicotine patch purchases rose 4 percent…visits to its retail clinics for smoking cessation counseling nearly doubled.

Hy-Vee announced…that it would be placing retail clinics in two new Twin Cities-area stores opening in September…in the New Hope and Oakdale stores, Hy-Vee has teamed with North Memorial Health Care, whose physician assistants and nurses will staff the North Memorial Express Clinics…customers will not only have access to our in-store dietitians and pharmacists, but now they will be able to seek health, wellness and preventive care services all in one stop,..

'We've started by pairing the oldest and the newest tools in the medical toolkit – the stethoscope and the smartphone.'…The FDA has cleared Eko Core, a digital stethoscope designed by medical devices startup Eko Devices..."a next-generation" stethoscope – billed as the only one on the market to wirelessly stream heart sounds to a HIPAA-compliant smartphone app. It is also the first to integrate heart sounds directly into the patient's EHR.

precision medicine is more complicated than portrayed by politicians and even some top health officials. Contrary to its name, precision medicine is often inexact, which means that for some patients, it will offer false hope rather than a cure…