Modifying Pharmacy Enrollments by Employment Realities.

: The objective of this commentary is to consider the fluctuations in pharmacy school enrollments and to review some of the strategies employed in other health care professions, as well as to consider policies that might lead to a closer balance between admissions to PharmD programs and employment opportunities. This balance provides job stability, decreased underemployment, and greater attractiveness to study pharmacy. : Pharmacy school entry requirements have been relaxed to enroll as many students as possible due to current declining applicant numbers.

Factors that Influence Healthcare Professionals' Intentions towards Biosimilars.

: Physicians often prescribe original biologic products to patients who have not used them before and are reluctant to switch to biosimilars. Biosimilars are highly similar versions of already-approved biologics, but healthcare professionals typically hesitate to transition patients from the original products to biosimilars. This study aims to investigate the factors that influence U.

A qualitative study on female executive pharmacists with convergent roles.

Background: Although women's participation is relatively high in the pharmacist workforce, women remain underrepresented in executive positions. The rate of executive female pharmacists in diversified pharmaceutical areas, from education and research to politics, is recognized as being disproportionately low.

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to explore female executive pharmacists' roles and identify reasons for their being underrepresented in such executive positions in Turkey.

Comparison of Drug Withdrawal Processes in the U.S. and Other Nations.

Medications have been withdrawn from as early as the 1900's in several countries due to a variety of reasons. Most drugs have been withdrawn due to safety, efficacy, manufacturing issues, or the toxicities they address. While safety and efficacy of each new drug is taken into account, so is the process of drug withdrawal.

History, status, and politicization of the FDA.

The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) performs an essential role in public health by ensuring, evaluating, and monitoring the safety and efficacy of drugs before they are sold in the US. Before approving new drug applications, CDER ensures that therapeutic benefits of both prescription and over-the-counter drugs (brand name and generic) provide more health benefits than the potential risks. First passed by Congress in 1992, the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) allowed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to collect fees from drug manufacturers to fund new drug approvals.

Training Community Pharmacy Staff How to Help Manage Urgent Mental Health Crises.

Nearly 44 million Americans are affected by mental illness every year. Many individuals, however, are not diagnosed and/or do not receive treatment. The present manuscript reviews the incidence of mental illness, the continuum from mental wellness to mental illness, and the role of the pharmacy staff in helping individuals manage different mental health needs.

The Effect of Zero Copayments on Medication Adherence in a Community Pharmacy Setting.

Background: Prescription medication copayments can be a financial burden to many patients. When patients cannot afford their medications, they may become nonadherent, and as a result, this can lead to an increase in chronic disease complications and healthcare costs.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine if zero copayments have an effect on medication adherence in a community pharmacy.

A Review of the Pharmacist as Vaccinator.

Objective: The aim of this study is to review literature about how the pharmacist's role as vaccination providers has been financially and clinically measured.

Methods: A broad literature search was conducted up to May 2016 to identify economic or clinical data on pharmacy vaccinations. MEDLINE® and PUBMED databases were searched for publications useful or potentially useful for this review.

An Overview of the Orphan Medicines Market in Turkey.

Background: The health policies of many countries and regions have already defined orphan drugs for rare diseases. Although there is no official definition of orphan drugs in Turkey, all orphan drugs are covered by reimbursement, regardless of their market authorization status. Thus, a pharmacoeconomic analysis does not have to be presented to the Social Security Institution (Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu) for reimbursement decisions on orphan drugs.

A revised estimate of the burden of illness of gout.

Background: Gout is a chronic, inflammatory arthritis characterized by painful and debilitating acute/episodic flares. Until recently, gout has been regarded as a minor medical problem, in part because the associated economic burden has not been appreciated. Previous literature on this subject focused on the costs associated with acute episodes of gout rather than on the long-term medical and economic implications of this chronic disorder.

What determines the duration of patient medication compliance in patients with chronic disease: are we looking in the wrong place?

Objectives: The objective of this study was to do a pilot inquiry, to determine whether physicians with similar practices in the same neighborhood demonstrated any difference in the duration of compliance among their patients.

Methods: Through a cooperating urban community pharmacy, patients with prescriptions for hypertension and type II diabetes were identified for this pilot study. Patients refill medication records were searched to determine the average number of months of drug regimen compliance.

Can we reduce the cost of illness with more compliant patients? An estimation of the effect of 100% compliance with hypertension treatment.

Introduction: The current study was designed to calculate the direct cost of noncompliance of hypertensive patients to the US health system. Understanding these expenses can inform screening and education budget policy regarding expenditure levels that can be calculated to be cost-beneficial.

Method: The study was conducted in 3 parts.

A new perspective on the pharmacoeconomics of colchicine.

Background: Gout is a common inflammatory arthritis that affects ∼4% of the US population. Most patients with gout are >50 years of age and have multiple comorbidities. Gout is caused by the deposition of monosodium urate crystals in joints secondary to hyperuricemia.

Off-label prescribing of drugs for children.

Under normal circumstances, children are excluded from clinical trials of new drug candidates. Yet, when the drug product is approved for marketing by the authorities, it is only a matter of time before physicians use that drug on pediatric patients. We do know that the practice of prescribing drugs for off-label conditions is found in approximately 50% of all physician prescribing.

The economic burden.

Not only is chemo fog a troublesome medical problem for the sufferers, but in addition it is the source of nearly $300 million in direct and indirect expense in the United States alone each year. And since it often persists for extended periods of time, the indirect costs, which stem mainly from lost productivity, continue to accumulate with another nearly $250 million added to the overall cost each year. This is not the highest economic burden for common diseases, but it is a significant amount that could be mostly avoided if biomedical scientists were to find a means to employ safer chemotherapeutic agents.