For Medication Disposal, New Advice Is Trash Beats Take-Back - Returning extra medicine to the pharmacy for disposal might not be worth the extra time, money or greenhouse gas emissions, according to a University of Michigan study that is the first to look at the net effects of so-called take-back programs...      |      Blood Pressure Control Improved With Home Telemonitoring By Pharmacists - Patients receiving telemonitoring along with high blood pressure management support from a pharmacist were more likely to lower their blood pressure than those not receiving extra support, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2012...      |      Natural Does Not Equal Safe: The Risks Of Mixing Drugs And Herbal Supplements - Herbal, dietary, and energy or nutritional supplements may offer specific health benefits, but they can also have harmful and even life-threatening effects when combined with commonly used medications. Clinicians need to be aware of and educate their patients about the potential risks of mixing supplements and therapeutic agents, since their interaction can diminish or increase drug levels...      |      Recent History Of A Mystery In Canadian Drug Shortages - The shortage of prescription generic drugs in Canada is not a recent event, dating back to the fall of 2010 or earlier, states a recent history of the shortage in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Hematologist and medical historian Dr. Jacalyn Duffin first noticed the shortage of an old, reliable drug in November 2010...      |      Many Grandparents Store Prescription Medicines Where Children Can Easily Find Them - Two-thirds of adults support single-dose packaging to avoid accidental poisoning, according to U-M's National Poll on Children's Health Unintentional poisonings from medicines cause more emergency room visits for young children each year than do car accidents...      |      China Halts Several Drugs - With infant formula scandals, mine collapses and pollution and contamination problems, China is not well regarded for its industrial safety record, and today the story continues with 13 different drugs produced in China being pulled from the market by the Government regulator...      |      Off-Label Drug Prescribing Common, New Study Found - A report published Archives of Internal Medicine, as part of the Health Care Reform series, reveals that in Canada, prescribing off-label medications in a primary care network appears to be common practice, even though it varies depending on the medication, physician and patient characteristics...      |      Scant Evidence That Insect Bite Remedies Work - A UK review in the April Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) says there is scant evidence that over-the-counter remedies for simple insect bites work, suggesting that in most cases, no treatment at all is enough. The DTB concludes: "There is little evidence for the efficacy of treatments for simple insect bites...      |      Improving Medication Alerts In Electronic Medical Record Systems - A study by Regenstrief Institute and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs investigators provides the first in-depth look at how health care providers react to medication alerts generated by electronic medical record systems...      |      Some Surprising Findings In Drug Coverage Of Medicare Beneficiaries With Kidney Failure - The majority of Medicare beneficiaries with kidney failure participate in Medicare's Part D prescription drug coverage program, and most of these receive a low-income subsidy from the program, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN)...      |      Rosemary Essential Oil May Boost Brain Performance - Hailed since ancient times for its medicinal properties, we still have a lot to learn about the effects of rosemary. Now researchers writing in Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology, published by SAGE, have shown for the first time that blood levels of a rosemary oil component correlate with improved cognitive performance...      |      Pricing of Generics Should Be Reviewed, Australia - A report published in the February 20 issue of the Medical Journal of Australia, reveals that if the pricing system for generic medications was improved and they were prescribed more often, Australia could save hundreds of millions of dollars in Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) subsides. The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association...      |      Fake Drugs Increasing On The Net And Finding Their Way Into Legitimate Supplies - Fake drugs are increasingly being sold on the Internet in a global counterfeit medicines market that has doubled in the last five years to more than $75 million...      |      Prescribing Errors By GPs Reduced By Up To 50 Percent By In-House Pharmacists - Medication errors are common in primary care but the number of mistakes could be reduced significantly if GPs introduced an in-house pharmacist-led intervention scheme. These are the findings of a comprehensive study into sustainable ways of preventing patients from being harmed as a result of prescribing errors...      |      Fake Avastin (Bevacizumab) Found In USA - Fake cancer drug, Avastin (bevacizumab) has been distributed in the USA, according to statement issued by Roche, Genentech and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) today. Roche warns that the counterfeit medication does not have the active ingredient - bevacizumab - and should not be used or taken. Roche says it was told about the fake Avastin from a non-US health authorities...      |      Childhood Leukemia Drug, Methotrexate, In Short Supply - Methotrexate, a drug used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common childhood leukemia, is now also in short supply in the USA, along with several other lifesaving drugs. According to the FDA, vital lifesaving hospital drugs have not been so scarce in ten years. Methotrexate works by slowing down the rate at which cancer cells grow...      |      Drug Costs, Not Volume, Cause Regional Differences In Medicare Drug Spending - The cost of medications through Medicare's subsidized prescription drug program varies from region to region across the United States largely due to the use of more expensive brand-name drugs and not because of the amount of drugs prescribed, according to a study led by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH)...      |      Although The Financial Burden Of Prescription Drugs Is Dropping, Costs Remain A Challenge For Many - The financial burden Americans face paying out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs has declined, although prescription costs remain a significant challenge for people with lower incomes and those with public insurance, according to a new RAND Corporation study...      |      Medication Errors In Hospitals Reduced By e-Prescribing - A study published in this week's PLoS Medicine shows that commercial electronic prescribing systems (commonly known as e-prescribing, in which prescribers use a computer to order medications for their patients through a system with the help of prompts, aids, and alerts) could substantially reduce prescribing error rates in hospital in-patients...      |      Drug Compliance Undermined By Affordability, Canada - According to an investigation by researchers from the University of British Columbia, University of Toronto and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), the cost of prescription medication affects 1 in 10 Canadians, and 1 in 4 individuals without medication insurance cannot afford to have their prescriptions filled...      |      Antidepressants Tied To Higher Risk Of Falls In Nursing Home Residents With Dementia - Compared to similar people who don't take them, nursing home residents with dementia who take average doses of a class of drugs used to treat depression are three times more likely to have an injurious fall. These are the findings of a new study from The Netherlands published online in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology on Wednesday...      |      Fake Antimalarial Medications Undermine Africa Malaria Drive - Fraudulent and substandard antimalarial drugs could be wrecking the chances of winning the war against malaria in Africa, researchers from the Wellcome Trust-Mahosot Hospital-Oxford University Tropical Medicine Research Collaboration reported in the Malaria Journal...      |      Study Reveals 1 In 10 Canadians Cannot Afford Prescription Drugs - One in ten Canadians cannot afford to take their prescription drugs as directed, according to an analysis by researchers from the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto. The study, published in the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) is the first to examine the relationship between drug insurance and the use of prescription drugs in Canada...      |      Novartis' Troubles With Packaging Continue - Novartis Consumer Health announced earlier today a recall on certain OTC medicines that were badly packaged and might have broken or chipped pills, as well as incorrect product mixed into bottles of pills. Rather worrying for consumers with risks of possible wrong or overdoses of their medicine...      |      Novartis Recalls OTC Products Excedrin And NoDoz - Complaints of chipped and broken pills as well as inconsistent packaging have promoted Novartis Consumer Health Inc. (NCH) to recall certain lots of its products. Whilst there have been no reports of adverse effects to patients so far, Novartis has also warned of possible mixing of product. They have asked consumers to dispose of the product or return unused bottles...      |