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Most employers have been using multi-tier prescription drug plans for many years, but new data…significant increase in the use of 4-tier plans, which typically cover the highest cost drugs, as well as major increases in corresponding median copays a trend that is expected to continue,..general competitive pressure will demand that employees contribute more for the highest tiers...

More than one-third of Americans are currently obese,…pharmacists may be in a position to encourage obese patients to lose weight. Here are 5 counseling points pharmacists should consider:

1. Daily weigh-ins can help patients not only lose weight, but also keep the pounds off.
2. Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers can produce significant weight loss with long-term efficacy.
3. Some parents may be reluctant to acknowledge their child’s obesity.
4. Losing weight can help reduce the burden of obesity’s comorbidities.
5. Patients on weight-loss medications are successful if they lose around 5% to 10% of their body weight.　

Institute for Safe Medicine Practices....outlined safe practices for certain error-prone medications.."One thing I’d love to see pharmacists do more of is…not just educating patients about the drug, but also how to use the drug safely...and make follow-up calls to patients," …."I don’t think [pharmacists] do that enough."The following high-alert medications are considered safe and effective treatments, but their potential for error could cause serious harm:

1. Warfarin
2. Enoxaparin (Lovenox)
3. Fentanyl patch
4. Methotrexate (Trexall)
5. Hydrocodone and acetaminophen
6. Oxycodone and acetaminophen
7. Insulin lispro (Humalog) and insulin aspart (NovoLog)
8. Insulin glargine (Lantus)
9. Insulin glusine (Apidra)
10. Insulin detemir (Levemir)

Pharmacy automation provider TCGRx has released the ATP 2, a next-generation automated tablet packaging system….enables pharmacies to run leaner…by reducing labor and operating costs…system provides continuous operation while focusing on redundancy and uptime…

Moses Lake Professional Pharmacy is voluntarily recalling human and veterinary sterile compounded drugs which are unexpired to the consumer level due to lack of sterility assurance….has not received any reports of product contamination or adverse events to date, and is issuing this voluntary recall out of an abundance of caution..

David D'Altorio, PharmD, senior vice president of health services at MedImpact Healthcare Systems, Inc, discusses takeaways from the impact of high cost drug launches on specialty pharmacy. (video)

biosimilars….pharmacists will soon have new factors to consider when selecting and dispensing ….potential interchangeability…allowing it to be substituted for the reference biologic at the point of dispensing without the prescriber’s involvement… biosimilars …are ideal candidates for pharmacist substitution akin to generics...

e-prescribing…full potential for improving the safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of prescription drug delivery, important work remains...ultimate goal…a clear, complete, and unambiguous e-prescription order that can be seamlessly received, processed, and fulfilled…without the need for additional clarification… new e-prescription transaction …NCPDP SCRIPT Standard…. move the industry closer to achieving this vision...

And you thought the fight over prices of cancer and hepatitis drugs was hot….new cholesterol drugs is setting the stage for a battle over the high prices of those specialty medications and the possibility that millions of people will end up using them each year.

Sam Stolpe, PharmD, senior director of Quality Strategies and Business Development at Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA),...Pharmacy Times Perspectives...video editorial series featuring in-depth reports