Archive for January 2018
Rural Colorado County Sues Top Pharmaceutical Companies and Distributors over Opioid Crisis
Huerfano County, a rural southern Colorado county, filed suit in federal court against the nation’s top pharmaceutical companies and drug manufacturers and distributors claiming that the companies are responsible for overdoes and death due to opioids. The lawsuit claims that Huerfano County residents were falsely induced to take highly addictive opioids for pain management and…
Read MoreNew York Pharmacists Allowed to Give Flu Shots to Children After Executive Order
Flu season typically runs from October through May with peaks seen in February. However, flu cases nationwide continue to increase at alarming rates. New York, like Florida, recently enacted legislation that addresses flu testing and administration by authorized pharmacists. Last week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state disaster emergency and issued an executive order intending…
Read MoreNorth Carolina STOP Act Looks to Address the Opioid Crisis
North Carolina’s Strengthen Opioid Misuse Prevention Act (STOP Act) sets limits on certain ‘targeted controlled substance” prescriptions for acute and post surgical pain and seeks to address the opioid abuse epidemic in North Carolina by changing the way certain controlled substances are prescribed. According the the STOP Act, practitioners, including physician assistants and nurse practitioners,…
Read MorePatient Choice of Pharmacy Bill Introduced in the Colorado Legislature
House Bill 18-1097 (HB 1097), also referred to as the Patient Choice of Pharmacy, is a bipartisan sponsored bill that focuses primarily on patient choices when filling prescription medications and is aimed at protecting small, rural pharmacies that may be closer to patients. HB 1097, in its current form, states that an insurance carrier or…
Read MoreFDA’s 2018 Priorities for Drug Compounding
After the fungal meningitis outbreak of 2012 that killed 76 patients and injured hundreds more, Congress passed the Drug Quality and Security Act (DQSA), which, in part, tried to bring more compounding pharmacies, traditionally overseen by state boards of pharmacy, under FDA oversight. The DQSA created a new entity, called ‘outsourcing facilities,’ that could register…
Read MoreWill Pharmacists be able to Test for the Flu?
With flu cases reportedly quadrupling this year as compared to 2017, Florida lawmakers proposed a bill that would give Florida pharmacists the ability to perform the rapid flu test and have a diagnosis in approximately 15 minutes. Florida House Bill 431, if passed, would take some of the burden off doctors as patients who suspect…
Read MoreFDA Revises Labeling to Limit Pediatric Use of Opioid Cough and Cold Medicines
Today, the FDA announced that it is requiring safety labeling changes to limit the use of prescription opioid cough and cold medicines containing codeine or hydrocodone in children younger than 18 years old. Once the labeling changes are made, these products will not be indicated to treat cough in any pediatric population and will be…
Read MoreDistribution of Compounded Prescription Drugs for Animal Use into Colorado
In late 2017, the Colorado Board of Pharmacy (Board) sent notice to all facilities registered with the Board as nonresident pharmacies. The notification addressed the distribution of medications into Colorado. The notification states, in part, the following: “Colorado law and Board rule (CRS 12-42.5-118.5 and Board Rules 21.00.20(d)) allow a nonresident pharmacy (“Pharmacy”) to distribute…
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