There is no doubt about it. Pharmacy audits can be time consuming and laborious for all parties involved. And as both government and commercial money gets tighter and tighter, all of health care is searching for the most effective means to manage the financial challenges associated with doing business. In addition to the clinical aspects, audits are used to identify genuinely fraudulent or erroneously paid healthcare claims. Nevertheless, a survey released in September 2012 by the National Community Pharmacists Association found that nearly 87% of those surveyed stated that reimbursement and auditing practices are “significantly” or “very significantly” affecting their ability to provide patient care and remain in business.

The Food and Drug Administration is creating a new task force to support the development of new drugs for bacterial infections, the agency said Monday.

People go to doctor offices for a variety of reasons — for annual physicals, for checkups after previous appointments, to figure out why something is acting up or if they just feel sick. Whatever the reasons, most of them walk out of the office with a prescription in hand, according to an exclusive survey of nearly 800 patients conducted by AccentHealth and DSN in late July and early August.

The interest in healthcare reform has reached a new high, especially in light of the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, yet there's no denying that consumers are still unclear as to the impact on their personal healthcare and insurance issues. That being said, Americans see a need for change as they battle rising costs and a lack of access to care, and many are saying "aye" to healthcare reform, according to the most recent Patient Views infographic. To be specific, two-thirds of respondents say they support healthcare reform, according to an exclusive survey of nearly 800 patients conducted by AccentHealth and DSN in late July and early August.

Over the last few years of DSN’s coverage of the impending patent cliff and how it would affect the generic drug industry, IMS Health VP industry relations Doug Long predicted that the gradual commoditization of primary care drugs — long the lifeblood of generic drug makers — would lead to consolidation of the industry.


Generic drug makers Hospira, Sagent Pharmaceuticals and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries have launched generic versions of a chemotherapy drug made by Sanofi, the three companies said last month.


For branded drug makers, the pharmaceutical patent cliff has never loomed higher or steeper. The exposure of so many of the world’s biggest-selling medicines to generic competition for the first time is redefining the pricing model for many of the most widely prescribed classes of pharmaceuticals.

The Food and Drug Administration has granted regulatory approval for a generic drug to treat tension headaches.

Pfizer has inked a deal with a Chinese drug maker to make branded-generic drugs for China and global markets, the companies said.

Most advertisements for over-the-counter versions of drugs did contain significantly less information about the risks of the medication, compared with the ads for the drug prior to its transition to OTC status, according to new research sponsored by CVS Caremark.

With Walgreens back in the Express Scripts network again and all of those millions of patients suddenly up for grabs, today's Patient Views infographic is an important reminder of how difficult it can be to get pharmacy patients to switch — that is, assuming things like cost and access are equal. Overall, 73% of patients said they were very satisfied with the their preferred pharmacy, according to an exclusive survey of nearly 800 patients conducted by AccentHealth and DSN in late July and early August. Interestingly enough, grocery stores finished at the top of the curve.

CVS Caremark announced that it has joined with a group of public and private sector partners and will sponsor the "The Medicine Abuse Project," a multiyear effort by The Partnership at Drugfree.org to raise awareness and curb the abuse of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines.