Drug Topics - March 24, 2008 - (Page 7) 7 NEWS Roundup gress is set to vote on. The MAGIC Foundation, a nonprofit group devoted to growth disorders in children, is against Senate Bill S877/House Bill 4911, claiming that they could hurt children’s health, such as by affecting their frequency of doctor visits or the cost of copays. The National Community Pharmacists Association has issued a comment on Senate Bill S877/House Bill 4911. The statement said, “NCPA is concerned about patient safety and reports of abuse of human growth hormone (HGH). The current drug distribution system has safeguards for controlled drug substances and we are following this development closely.” State and federal agencies scrutinize DeSoto Pharmacy Desoto Hospital pharmacy in Mansfield, La., is being investigated by a group of state and federal officials, according to a report in the Shreveport Times. Officials from the Louisiana State Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH), Louisiana Board of Pharmacy, Drug Enforcement Administration, and FBI were all reportedly part of the investigation. DHH officials confirmed that the pharmacy is under investigation and expect to issue a report later this month. The pharmacy petitioned Cardinal Health, which had previously managed the pharmacy, last May for damages related to violations of state and federal laws. The hospital and the pharmacy is also the target of a wrongful termination lawsuit by a former pharmacy manager who claimed that he was fired after pointing out fraud that had been going on at the hospital for more than six years. The pharmacy is currently managed by Comprehensive Pharmacy Services. Internet companies marketing STD drugs receive warning from FDA The Food & Drug Administration issued warning letters to six U.S. companies and one foreign individual for marketing unapproved and misbranded drugs over the Internet to U.S. consumers for the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. Some of these products falsely claim to have “FDA approval” and some claim to be “more effective” than conventional medicine. The products are sold as Tetrasil, Genisil, Aviralex, OXi-MED, Imulux, Beta-mannan, Micronutrient, Qina, and SlicPlus. The products claim to prevent or treat a variety of STDs, including herpes, chlamydia, human papilloma virus, cervical dysplasia, and HIV/AIDS. Consumers and healthcare professionals should notify the FDA of any complaints or problems associated with these products by calling 800-FDA-1088 or visiting www.fda. gov/medwatch/ report.htm. Aspire36 and Aspire Lite recalled by Palo Alto Labs Palo Alto Labs and the Food & Drug Administration notified consumers and healthcare professionals of a voluntary nationwide recall of two dietary supplements, Aspire36 and Aspire Lite. The products were recalled because they were found to contain aildenafil in trace amounts and dimethyl sildenafil thione, an analog of sildenafil, a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction. The presence of these ingredients in the dietary supplements may pose a threat to consumers because the analogue may interact with nitrates found in some prescription drugs (such as nitroglycerin) and may lower blood pressure to dangerous levels. Consumers who have Aspire36 and Aspire Lite in their possession should stop using the products and return any unused product to the place of purchase. DT CMS finds discrepancy between NPI and IRS records The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services continues to find significant errors in National Provider Identification (NPI) records. According to CMS, in many instances the legal business name (LBN) and employer identification number (EIN) provided by healthcare providers do not match Internal Revenue Service (IRS) records. In some cases, this is caused by individuals who erroneously applied for NPIs as organizations and who reported their social security numbers in the EIN field. CMS is asking organization health care providers to verify their LBN and EIN in the NPI database. CMS warned that the discrepancy may result in Medicare claims processing problems. http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Drug Topics - March 24, 2008 Drug Topics - March 24, 2008 Contents Medical Communication: Pharmacy's Best Kept Secret Pharmacies Bemoan Generics' Shrinking Margins More Groups Demand Pathway For Biogenerics Latest News Roundup Drug Topics - March 24, 2008 Drug Topics - March 24, 2008 - Contents (Page 1) Drug Topics - March 24, 2008 - Contents (Page 2) Drug Topics - March 24, 2008 - Medical Communication: Pharmacy's Best Kept Secret (Page 3) Drug Topics - March 24, 2008 - Pharmacies Bemoan Generics' Shrinking Margins (Page 4) Drug Topics - March 24, 2008 - More Groups Demand Pathway For Biogenerics (Page 5) Drug Topics - March 24, 2008 - Latest News Roundup (Page 6) Drug Topics - March 24, 2008 - Latest News Roundup (Page 7)
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