- The future of community pharmacy in the United Kingdom (chaindrugreview.com)
Pharmacy is one of the foundational pillars of modern medicine,..community pharmacy is now at a crossroads…revenues are capped, competition is more intense and pharmacies are increasingly expected to play a stronger role in managing chronic conditions…The debate on the sustainability of community pharmacy is not a new one… Five forces will profoundly shape the future of community pharmacy…
- Squeeze on health care budgets
- Intensifying competition
- Transformation of the supply chain
- Emergence of new alternative channels
- Demand for convenience and expertise
To survive…consider these two strategies:
- Improve efficiency of supply
- Become the first port of call in the health care system
- First of 5 MetroHealth walk-in clinics opens in Discount Drug Mart (drugstorenews.com)
Discount Drug Mart has opened the first.. .MetroHealth walk-in clinics… expanding access to health services… clinic will be staffed by a nurse practitioner, who can assess…basic medical needs, administer vaccinations and prescribe medications. Evening and weekend hours will be offered and walk-in appointments are accepted. Providing these services…is the first step to delivering services where, when, and how patients want care."
- Voices of Pharmacy: Job Satisfaction Among Pharmacists (pharmacytimes.com)
…work gives satisfaction. What gives pharmacists satisfaction in the workforce? That depends on a number of factors.
- Pharmacies to begin prescribing birth control under new state law (sacbee.com)
California women who have long had to schedule a doctor’s appointment for a birth control prescription will be able to go straight to the pharmacy for the contraception… state law, passed in 2013 with plans to be implemented in October, gives licensed pharmacists authorization to prescribe self-administered hormonal contraceptives,...SB 493, also allows pharmacists to prescribe nicotine replacement products,…travel medication, and gives pharmacists status as health care providers.
- Top 4 technologies for community pharmacists to watch (drugtopics.modernmedicine.com)
future of community pharmacy is a high-tech, connected world, where teleprescribing is common and pharmacists share information with patients via smart lenses. At least that is the vision of Dan Benamoz, RPh,..Pharmacy Development Services, a pharmacist training, consulting, and mentoring firm.
- Information sharing via "smart" lens
- Telepharmacy
- Pharmacogenomics
- Radio frequency technology
- CVS Health Launches ScriptSync(TM) to Make Medication Adherence Easier for Patients who Have Multiple Prescriptions (waff.com)
CVS Health… announced the launch of ScriptSync™, a new pharmacy service that enables patients with multiple medications to pick up their eligible maintenance prescriptions in a monthly…visit…patients…can manage their ScriptSync prescriptions 24/7 using…online support tools…aims to make it easier and more convenient for patients to take their medications as prescribed...
- The Value of DOT Medical Examiners in Retail Pharmacy (pharmacytimes.com)
Mary Jo Goolsby, EdD, MSN, NP-C, FAANP, FAAN, owner of the Institute for NP Excellence, discusses what DOT medical examiners provide to retail pharmacies. (video)
- N.Y. hospital retail pharmacy aims to cut readmission rates (drugtopics.modernmedicine.com)
Richmond University Medical Center, Staten Island, N.Y., recently opened the first fully-functioning retail pharmacy… new 750-square-foot Richmond Pharmacy, which operates independently of the hospital, is expected to decrease the hospital’s readmission rates and improve medication adherence.
- Pharmacists Refusing to Fill Spark National Controversy (pharmacytimes.com)
Pharmacists’ refusal to fill prescriptions for birth control and emergency contraception has sparked national controversy…reports have surfaced in at least 25 states, according to the National Women’s Law Center, a legal advocacy group focused on women’s issues. Many of these refusals are based on personal beliefs, rather than medical or professional concerns.
- Prevention and Control of Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, United States, 2015–16 Influenza Season (cdc.gov)
This report updates the 2014 recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices regarding the use of seasonal influenza vaccines. Updated information for the 2015–16 season includes
- antigenic composition of U.S. seasonal influenza vaccines;
- information on influenza vaccine products expected to be available for the 2015–16 season;
- an updated algorithm for determining the appropriate number of doses for children aged 6 months through 8 years; and
- recommendations for the use of live attenuated influenza vaccine and inactivated influenza vaccine when either is available,…