Pharmacists can help increase confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines
Developing three vaccines against COVID-19 in a relatively short amount of time was monumental. But what might end up being equally Herculean: convincing everyone to get vaccinated. Studies show that Americans have varying levels of hesitancy about receiving a COVID-19 shot depending upon their ethnic background, geographical location, and political affiliation, among other factors. Add […]
Read More ›Internet Platform Accountability and Why it Matters to Public Health
On March 25, 2021, chief executive officers (CEOs) from internet giants, including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, testified before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on the rise of extremism and misinformation plaguing their online platforms. Although the impetus for this hearing is the lack of action taken by […]
Read More ›Some dietary supplements are risky, but pharmacists can help educate patients
During the last weeks of 2020, FDA released a list of nearly 50 tainted dietary supplements, all of them male enhancement or weight loss products. In early 2021, FDA published a voluntary recall regarding two additional tainted sexual enhancement supplements. Only a few days later, FDA published 10 warning letters to supplement companies who market […]
Read More ›FDA Actions Related to Online Drug and Vaccine Sales
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) emergency use authorization of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in late December 2020 represented a major positive shift in the tide of the pandemic. Unfortunately, criminals now also have another way to take advantage of patients. As of late January 2021, over 20 million Americans […]
Read More ›The Online Pharmacy Marketplace Will Look Different in 2021 – Here’s How
Within the past two months, the online pharmacy marketplace has experienced some market-shifting dynamics that could alter the scope and direction of the industry. Within the span of approximately two weeks, e-commerce behemoth Amazon announced the launch of its NABP-accredited pharmacy website against the backdrop of Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Importation of Prescription Drugs […]
Read More ›NABP PMP InterConnect Is the Answer the Government Is Looking For
Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) help physicians, pharmacists, and other health care providers make informed decisions about prescribing and dispensing controlled substances, and research shows that robust state programs lead to fewer opioid-related overdose deaths. Congress and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agree, and have continued to make bolstering PDMPs a priority. […]
Read More ›Pharmacists Are Key to Expanding Access to Medication-Assisted Treatment
The opioid crisis continues to assault our nation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2018, an average of 41 people died each day from overdoses involving prescription opioids. Roughly 21% to 29% of patients who are prescribed an opioid will misuse them, and between 8% and 12% of patients will develop […]
Read More ›Rogue Websites Use Fake COVID-19 Drugs to Lure New Victims
In the Spring 2020 edition of our Rogue Rx Activity Report, NABP research showed that illegal online “pharmacies” prey upon unstable situations for financial gain. In this era, they are wielding COVID-19 fears to peddle fake or unproven treatments, particularly drugs that have been talked about in the media. Some of these websites even sell […]
Read More ›Increasing Access to Naloxone Can Be a Lifeline in the Community
If it weren’t for naloxone, many Americans would not be alive today. From 1996 to June 2014, at least 26,000 opioid overdoses were reversed with naloxone provided by community-based organizations. Naloxone access laws correlate with a 9 to 11 percent reduction in opioid-related deaths by state. In 2017, 70,237 Americans died from drug overdoses, and […]
Read More ›NABP Calls on Internet Stakeholders to Take Additional Steps to Halt the Online Sale of Opioids
The opioid crisis is far from over. To help combat illicit internet drug sales, we call for enhanced action by internet stakeholders. Our recently released Rogue Rx: Activity Report takes a hard look at illegal online drug sales. During the first half of 2019, we identified more than 1,500 websites operating out of compliance with […]
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