To help reduce abuse and overdoses of prescription pain medications, New York City public hospitals will begin following new voluntary guidelines on prescribing. Recommended by Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Task Force on Prescription Painkiller Abuse, the guidelines limit prescriptions for opioid painkillers written by emergency department providers to a three-day supply for the treatment of acute […]

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In an effort to improve oversight of compounding pharmacies in the state, the Florida Board of Pharmacy formed a committee of its colleagues to create a series of permits that compounders would be required to obtain before being allowed to create and sell specialized medicines. The Star-Banner reports that the permits would allow state health […]

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New legislation signed into law by President Obama on October 5, 2012, increases penalties for medical product cargo theft, a significant problem that threatens patient safety when these stolen products are reintroduced into the legitimate supply chain. The Strengthening and Focusing Enforcement to Deter Organized Stealing and Enhance Safety Act of 2012 (SAFE DOSES Act) […]

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New United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) standards for a universal approach to the format, appearance, content, and instructions for medicines in containers dispensed by pharmacists have been released. “Wide variability in prescription container labels exists today across individual prescriptions, pharmacies, retail chains and states. The USP standards provide specific direction on how to organize labels […]

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Operation Pangea V, with participation from the FDA and international law enforcement and regulatory agencies, brought about the shutdown of more than 18,000 Web sites illegally marketing and distributing drug products. As part of Operation Pangea V, FDA sent warning letters to 4,100 Internet drug outlets, including Canada Drugs, peddling unapproved and potentially dangerous drug […]

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Francis Ortiz Gonzalez of Puerto Rico has been convicted of federal charges relating to his involvement in the large scale distribution of counterfeit drugs throughout the United States and worldwide. Ortiz Gonzalez was convicted on one count of conspiracy and seven counts of trafficking in counterfeit pharmaceuticals following a six-day trial. An investigation by special […]

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Implementation of the Los Angeles City Council’s ordinance banning medical marijuana dispensaries has been delayed as dispensary operators have filed lawsuits and, along with activists, have taken on efforts to repeal the ordinance. The ordinance was intended to address issues related to the high number of dispensaries located in Los Angeles, CA, according to City […]

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Responding to the significant increase in deaths due to overdose of illicit or prescription drugs, federal legislators have introduced a bill that would fund programs to prevent overdose death and require additional tracking of overdose deaths. If it becomes law, the Stop Overdose Stat Act (S.O.S Act) (HR 6311) would allow the Centers for Disease […]

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Aimed to improve health care access for children in Illinois, a new law (SB 3513) will authorize pharmacists to administer influenza and Tdap vaccinations to children age 10 and older with a doctor’s prescription. Signed by Governor Pat Quinn on Tuesday, the new law is effective immediately. Prior to the law, pharmacists were authorized to […]

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Removing pharmacies’ ability to re-sell drug products to wholesalers would help to prevent medications from being leaked into the gray market, as highlighted in a recent Drug Topicsarticle. NABP Executive Director/Secretary Carmen A. Catizone, MS, RPh, DPh, explained that some pharmacies choosing to resell drugs to wholesalers may not necessarily be violating the law, rather […]

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