Aimed to protect public health, a bill introduced in the Oklahoma Legislature would bring pharmacy benefit managers under the regulation of the Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy. 

In the wake of Hurricane Isaac, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reminds consumers of safety tips for using medications after a natural disaster occurs. Storms, flooding, wildfires, and other natural disasters can expose medications to unsafe water or excessive heat,...

Aimed to increase patient safety, a new law in New York State will require many pharmacies to provide patient counseling and drug information in a language spoken by the patient, if the patient has limited proficiency in English. The law...

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) encourages pharmacists to educate parents and caregivers on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) risk reduction. NICHD provides a free, online educational opportunity that presents to pharmacists the latest SIDS research...

US Surgeon General Regina Benjamin called upon pharmacists, physicians, nurses, and other health care providers to talk with their patients about the importance of taking medications as directed to help prevent serious health complications at the recent launch of the...

Reprinted from the April 2009 Nevada State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. Your patients need to hear and understand what you are saying and you need to hear what the patient is both saying and not saying. Breakdown of communication between...

Published in the August 2008 Oregon State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter Another topic demanding much discussion among Board members and staff over the past year is the topic of pharmacy technicians and clerks regarding their interactions with patients. It has...

Published in the May 2008 Oregon State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter The most common consumer complaints received by the Board are complaints about medication errors. In many cases, the error could have been prevented with appropriate and effective patient counseling...

Reprinted from the July 2007 Minnesota Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. Upon receipt of a new prescription or a new drug order, following a review of the patient’s record, a pharmacist must personally initiate discussion of matters, which in the professional...

Reprinted from the January 2007 Nevada State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. 1. We have reports of instances involving the sig “take ½ tab” being misread by patients as “take 1 to 2 tabs.” This once again demonstrates the importance of...

Published in the January 2006 Alaska Board of Pharmacy Newsletter 12 Alaska Administrative Code (AAC) 52.585(a) states that “With each new prescription dispensed, the pharmacist shall verbally provide counseling to the patient or the patient’s agent. . . .” The...

Published in the April 2006 Washington State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter In October 2004, the Washington State Board of Pharmacy authorized rulemaking to consider new patient counseling regulations. The process was initiated due to a lack of compliance with the...

Reprinted from the April 2006 Nevada State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. Based on a review of spontaneous reports submitted to Food and Drug Administration, the World Health Organization, and the United States Pharmocopeia, prescriptions for Topamax® (topiramate) and Toprol-XL® (metoprolol...