pharmacies

The Medical Group Management Association is encouraging its member physicians to adopt ePrescribing, noting that the technology can increase patient satisfaction and reduce costs and improve efficiency. Patients like to know that "providers are on top of things," MGMA President William F. Jessee said in a webcast earlier this week. CMS is pushing for greater use of electronic communications between doctors and pharmacies as an integral element of Part D. Article

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will spend $6 million on a pilot project to test the effectiveness of ePrescribing technologies during the first year of Medicare Part D. SureScripts, partnering with Brown University and five other vendors, gets $2 million to evaluate the effectiveness of programs that encourage physicians to send prescription information electronically to pharmacies. Individuals pilots are set to move forward in Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New …

Problems continued with the implementation of Medicare Part D, as more states said they are experiencing difficulties with the new prescription drug benefit's roll-out. At least six states are now offering recipients aid to help them to purchase needed medicines and others appear ready to launch similar programs. In Massachusetts, there were reports of patients being turned away from pharmacies, despite a pledge by state officials to cover the costs of all prescriptions. 

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The new prescription drug benefit went into effect last week with reports of some problems emerging. Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Vermont took action to make sure that elderly and low-income recipients are able to receive medicines until matters are sorted out. Vermont's legislature went perhaps the farthest, declaring a "public health emergency in response to the benefit." Maine said it spent $2 million covering the shortfall last week. There have been reports that some …

Johns Hopkins will use software developed by ForHealth Technologies to automatically prepare injectable medications. The IntelliFill system uses robots to precisely measure drug ingredients and prepare syringes, improving efficiency. Some critics are not entirely sold on the worth of robots. Supporters argue that, in theory, the technology will also cut down on medication errors. Robots are becoming increasingly common in the automatic filling of drugs in pill form in hospitals and pharmacies. Article

San Francisco-based pharmaceutical wholesaler McKesson appears to be finally righting itself after a difficult five years following its disastrous purchase of IT vendor HBO. The company reported earnings of $167 million for the second quarter, about twice what it earned in the same period last year. Analysts say much of McKesson's recent success has come as a result of its core business: the distribution of prescription drugs to hospitals and pharmacies. Sales for the company's …

The Senate is scheduled to vote this week on a budget package that includes cuts to both Medicare and Medicaid. The spending bill that is likely to pass is nowhere near as far-reaching as some observers had feared. Moderates led by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) appear to have prevailed and secured a compromise that will leave programs for beneficiaries largely untouched, instead channeling cuts toward pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies and insurers. The …

On Friday, a Florida appeals court ruled that pharmacies can be held liable for failing to warn patients of the potentially dangerous drug effects of the prescription drugs they dispense, even though they may simply be executing a doctor's written instructions. Judge Mark Polen wrote that the pharmacist represents the last line of defense standing between patients and potential harm, noting that "a strong policy basis already exists supporting a pharmacist's duty to warn customers of the …