Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on December 16, 2022, which recorded a 109% increase in overdose deaths involving persons aged 10-19 years from July-December 2019 to July-December 2021. Over the same period, the same age group showed a 182% increase in deaths from illicitly manufactured fentanyl. […]

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The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) piloted a national data dashboard, called the Opioid Overdose Tracker, which tracks the rate of nonfatal opioid overdoses. The program utilizes emergency medical services (EMS) patient care reports and maps them across all 50 states, three territories (Virgin Islands, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands), and the District […]

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The information published in this column was provided by the Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) Pharmaceutical Cargo Security Coalition (PCSC). HDA PCSC is warning the pharmacy industry of a recall fraud incident involving the drug product oxycodone hydrochloride. PCSC notes that the emails/faxes that are claimed to originate from a legitimate pharmaceutical distributor state the following: […]

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When Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enacted the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) in 2013, it set a 10-year timeline for full implementation. November 2023 marks the end of that timeline. A significant portion of this last milestone requires the entire supply chain to become interoperable using secure and electronic means. One requirement that […]

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The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) has created a new Regulatory Compliance Certificate to provide technicians with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and proficiency regarding pharmacy laws, regulations, legal requirements, and practice standards to maintain compliance and quality assurance in various practice settings. Eligible candidates must hold an active PTCB Certified Pharmacy Technician certification […]

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Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched a new initiative, Supplement Your Knowledge, to help educate, inform, and broaden consumer, educator, and health care professionals’ understanding of dietary supplements. More than half of all Americans take dietary supplements daily or on occasion. The Supplement Your Knowledge resources will provide reliable information about the potential benefits and […]

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Gabapentin, a prescription drug approved by Food and Drug Administration to treat seizures and the pain of shingles, was a factor in about one in 10 United States overdose deaths between 2019 and 2020. Gabapentin is used by some consumers to maximize the effects of opioids but can lead to breathing difficulties when used with […]

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Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized emergency use of the Moderna coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children as young as six months old. The agency determined that the known and potential benefits of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the known and potential risks in the pediatric populations […]

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To help pharmacists navigate certain social determinants of health (SDOH) that patients may face, the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) created a resource guide that outlines real-world services that address these issues affecting patients’ abilities to access or manage their medications. Examples of SDOH affecting patients during pharmacy encounters may include: cost of medications; cultural or […]

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released their second publication of Medicaid data to help policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders better target substance use disorder (SUD) prevention and treatment efforts. The publication, the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) based Medicaid Substance Use Disorder Data Book, includes 2018 data on Medicaid beneficiaries treated for […]

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