INS 11th World Congress Meeting (Berlin): Dr. Michael Saulino: A Review
I recently returned from the INS 11th World Congress Meeting in Berlin Germany, which I felt very fortunate to attend and assembled an abundance of new information. Previously, I had attended the 10th World Congress Meeting in London, and I [...]
IACP’s Response to Washington Post Article
In February 2013, Washington Post published that IACP's Executive Vice President David G. Miller stated, "We want to enable and clarify for the FDA that those businesses that are involved in the manufacturing of compounded drugs, regardless of size, be [...]
FDA Conducts Surprise Inspections at Compounding Pharmacies
The FDA has begun surprise inspections at compounding pharmacies that, so far, have included four national compounding pharmacies: 1) AnazaoHealth Corp., 2) Central Admixture Pharmacy Services (CAPS), 3) Lee Pharmacy, and 4) PharMEDium Services. According to reports, quality and safety [...]
Performing Due Diligence: Site Visits at Hartley Medical
Dr. Chiu (Left) and William Stuart Hartley Medical has written on this topic many times in the past, but today I would like to share two interesting events that occurred over the past two months at Hartley Medical. In November [...]
Pharmacology, A Review: Clonidine
Synthesized in 1962 as a derivative of the known alpha sympathomimetic drug Naphazoline, clonidine hydrochloride acts centrally to inhibit sympathetic tone on systemic blood vessels, thereby reducing mild to severe hypertension. Marketed under the brand name of Catapres, it is [...]
A Message from the President: Regulatory Updates
In an ongoing effort to keep you updated with regulatory news that may affect your practice, I present the following information. In light of last year's NECC tragedy, compounding pharmacies across the United States have been affected on many fronts. [...]
Did You Know? Regulatory Changes for Compounding Pharmacies
Did You Know that some states are making regulatory changes in an attempt to lessen the possibility of another compounding pharmacy-related tragedy similar to the recent fungal outbreak that sickened 693 people and killed 45? In California, the Board of [...]
Prialt Navigator & BioScript “Put My Patient’s Health At Risk”: A Letter from a Physician
The following letter has been published with approval by the author. Per the author's request, names of the Patient and Prialt Representative have been removed to preserve anonymity. January 2, 2013 Dear William, When the Prialt Rep came to visit [...]
ASHP’s Outsourcing Sterile Products Assessment
The process of outsourcing to compounding pharmacies plays a vital role in the medical community because compounding pharmacies: Can help alleviate drug shortages, which have increased in number and duration; Can provide specialized, tailored medications for individual patients; Can resolve [...]
ASHP’s MIDYEAR MEETING: A REVIEW
My Las Vegas end-of-the-year conference week continued with my attendance at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Midyear Meeting & Exhibition December 5-6, 2012, at the Mandalay Bay Resort. Approximately 26,000 people attended this meeting, and many great presentations were [...]