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Inside This Issue - News
Traditionally, advancements in the practice and professionalism of community pharmacy have come incrementally, one small step at a time. Often, minor gains have been offset by narrowly conceived restrictive barriers advocated or put in place by health care constituencies less interested in advancements in the relevance of pharmacy than in influencing and manipulating the larger health care community. As the investigation continues into the Massachusetts compounding center identified as responsible for the meningitis outbreak that, at presstime, left at least two dozen individuals dead, defenders of the longtime practice are attempting to convince the public that compounding has a history of being safe if properly conducted. Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews was the first patient to get a flu shot from a Rexall Pharma Plus pharmacist as the drug chain kicked off its annual Ontario flu vaccination campaign last month. CVS Caremark Corp. has appointed Dr. Alan Lotvin executive vice president of specialty pharmacy. A hearing on the proposed $7.2 billion settlement between merchants and credit card companies has been set for November 9. The National Association of Chain Drug Stores and several other heath care groups are continuing their efforts to block the state of California from cutting Medi-Cal reimbursement rates. Kerr Drug and Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy have both teamed up with mobile pharmacy solutions provider mscripts to offer their patients the ability to manage their prescriptions from a mobile phone. Bartell Drugs has launched a rewards program encouraging customers to pursue healthy lifestyles. A recent study showing that long-term multivitamin use may lower cancer risk among men has the nation’s two largest drug chains promoting the role they can play in helping men ensure they take the right supplements.
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