Drug Formulary Review Archives – June 1, 2005
June 1, 2005
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How safe is your pharmacy? Be on the lookout
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations recently sent out an alarm about three instances in which impostors posing as surveyors tried to gain access to different hospitals. The impostors left the hospitals when questioned or pressed for identification. -
Get a jump-start on improving your informatics
If you look at the ability for integrated information systems to allow the power that can be brought on by both information technology and automation to make people more efficient and effective, pharmacists like every other health care provider are struggling to bring their practice into fully supported digital workflow and workload, says Bill G. Felkey, MS, professor of pharmacy care systems at Auburn (AL) University. -
Take a closer look when assessing renal function
Two men are admitted to the hospital. One is a bodybuilder and looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger. The other is obese and describes himself as a couch potato. They have the same body weight. What is the best way to predict their creatinine clearance? -
Research News: Investigators release data on unexpected ADRs
In 1998, a multidisciplinary team of investigators initiated RADAR (Research on Adverse Drug events And Reports), a clinically based postmarketing surveillance program that is funded independently of the pharmaceutical industry. RADAR systematically investigates and disseminates information describing serious and previously unrecognized adverse drug and device reactions (ADRs). -
News Briefs
Researchers have closed a randomized clinical trial comparing gefitinib (Iressa) vs. placebo following chemotherapy and radiation for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that had spread only to nearby tissues or lymph nodes. Review of interim data indicated that gefitinib would not improve survival. -
Drug Criteria & Outcomes: Poractant alfa (Curosurf) Formulary Evaluation
Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS), also known as hyaline membrane disease, is one of the leading causes of infant mortality in the United States. The incidence of RDS is approximately 1% of live births. -
In the Pipeline
Millennium Pharmaceuticals has initiated EVEREST (Evaluation of Velcade [bortezomib] Employed as Retreatment for Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability). This is a multicenter Phase IV clinical trial of bortezomib in multiple myeloma patients who have previously responded to bortezomib and relapsed following a treatment-free remission. -
New FDA Approvals
Entecavir (Baraclude) by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. The FDA has announced the approval of entecavir (Baraclude) tablets and oral solution for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B in adults. Entecavir slows the progression of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) by interfering with viral reproduction.