The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy^® (NABP^®) today issued a report emphasizing that the global distribution of counterfeit and substandard medications, fueled by illegal online sellers, demands an international response.

The next opportunity to dispose of any unneeded or unwanted medications at a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day collection site will be Saturday, April 27, 2013.

In Florida, a bill that would increase the number of pharmacy technicians that a pharmacist may supervise has passed the state’s House of Representatives. 

Legislation requiring pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in North Dakota to notify pharmacies about how reimbursements for most prescription drugs are calculated was signed into law by Governor Jack Dalrymple.

United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) has a developed a new logo representing the organization’s updated mission statement. 

In a meeting last week, members of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee stressed that Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could have done more to prevent the fungal meningitis outbreak that killed 53 people and sickened hundreds in late 2012.

FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, reported in a recent FDA blog article that agency inspectors encountered “objectionable conditions” at 30 of the 31 sterile compounding pharmacies they recently examined.

FDA is warning health care providers to quarantine and cease use of sterile drug products from ApotheCure, Inc, and NuVision Pharmacy, two Dallas, TX, facilities.

Clinical pharmacists play a key role in preventing adverse drug events and ensuring medication reconciliation in hospitals, reports the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Consumer Concepts, distributor of ROCK-It MAN Male Enhancement Capsules, has issued a voluntary recall of its product after FDA testing revealed an undeclared active ingredient, hydroxythiohomosildenafil, making it an unapproved new drug. 

Tennessee lawmakers are considering legislation that would enable compounding pharmacies to create medicines without patient-specific prescriptions during drug shortages and other times when a product is not commercially available.

A report released by US Representative Ed Markey (D-MA) highlights the challenges states face in regulating compounding pharmacies and examines how the pharmacies are tracked and inspected.

Nevada-based Green Valley Drugs has issued a voluntary recall of all lots of all its compounded, repackaged drugs because of a lack of sterility assurance. 

The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) will provide a free, live Webcast Thursday, April 18, 2013, from its Annual Meeting in Boston, MA, of a panel discussion on current trends in multi-state licensure in health care. 

By ensuring that only legitimate Internet pharmacies will be able to use its proposed .PHARMACY domain suffix, National Association of Boards of Pharmacy^® (NABP^®) intends to create a secure and trustworthy online space for consumers around the world.

Now available online, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day collection site locator allows consumers to search for a nearby location to dispose of unneeded medications on Saturday, April 27, 2013. 

Use of e-prescribing has continued to rise, with 788 million prescriptions routed electronically in 2012 compared with 570 million in 2011, a 38% increase according to the latest National Progress Report on E-Prescribing and Safe-Rx Rankings.

NABP extends its thanks to the 968 attendees who came by its booth at the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Annual Meeting and Exposition, March 1-4, 2013, in Los Angeles, CA. 

The emergency pharmacy status reporting tool operated by Rx Response now goes by an easy-to-remember name, Rx Open, with a matching URL, www.RxOpen.org.

Fentanyl patches should be securely stored out of the sight and reach of children and disposed of properly, advises Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy^® (NABP^®) is offering attendees the opportunity to earn up to nine contact hours (0.9 CEUs) of Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education-accredited continuing pharmacy education (CPE) credit at its 109^th Annual Meeting.

DEA is offering two regional one-day Pharmacy Diversion Awareness Conferences (PDAC) in Detroit, MI, one on Saturday, May 4, 2013, and another on Sunday, May 5, 2013. 

The Nevada Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) has executed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to participate in NABP PMP InterConnect^®, the system that facilitates securing sharing of PMP data across state lines.

To ensure patient safety, Pallimed Solutions, Inc, of Woburn, MA, has initiated a voluntary recall of all sterile compounded products dispensed since January 1, 2013. 

United Parcel Service (UPS) agreed to forfeit $40 million in payments received from online entities illegally selling and distributing prescription drug products.

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has called for the development of legislation to establish appropriate, minimum federal standards for entities engaged in the compounding of non-patient-specific sterile drugs for interstate distribution, states FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD.

With the aim of curbing prescription drug abuse, bipartisan legislation that would reclassify drug products containing hydrocodone as Schedule II controlled substances (CS) was introduced to Congress on March 20, 2013.