Fourteen-day supplies of the seven drugs, among the most commonly prescribed, will be available at all 684 of the chain’s pharmacies in five states. Publix said it is not limiting the number of prescriptions that customers may fill for free.
Pharma Medicine
Publix Offers 7 Types Of Antibiotics For Free
By 8.7.07
Avandia Stays On The Market
By 8.1.07
Since the study was published, Consumer Reports has come out in favor of older drugs:
Diabetes drugs received wide attention last spring when research found a possible link between rosiglitazone (Avandia) and a higher risk of heart attacks. While those risks remain unclear, the CR Best Buy Drug report cites other reasons that rosiglitazone and the related drug pioglitazone (Actos) are not wise first choices for most people with diabetes, including their higher risk of heart failure compared with other diabetes drugs.
Consumer Reports that patients should first ask their doctors about metformin (Glucophage and generic), claiming that the effectiveness of the older drugs are equivalent to the newer ones, but with less potential risk.
Roadside Blasphemy: Walgreens Replacing Chicagoland Icon
By 7.23.07
“The Spindle,” sometimes known as the Car-Kabob, a giant sculpture in the parking lot of the Cermak Plaza strip mall in Berwyn, Illinois, is set to be destroyed as part of a strip mall reconstruction. Instead, drugstore megachain Walgreens, apparently not content with its near-complete saturation of the Chicagoland landscape, will replace the legendary sculpture. Goodbye, quirky art, hello, homogeneity! (You might remember the 1989 sculpture by artist Dustin Shuler from the movie “Wayne’s World.”) But fans of the art and the citizens of the Chicago suburb of Berwyn aren’t sitting still: The website SaveTheSpindle.com has launched, and there’s a resolution in the Illinois House decrying the teardown. Will the sculpture survive? Hit the supporters’ site and show ’em your love.
By 7.17.07
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Now this is what you call a “higher” level of customer service… [Pizdas]
Get Your $100 Paxil Refund
By 7.12.07
US Citizens have until August 31 to claim a $100 refund if you bought Paxil for someone under the age of 18.
People Are Stealing Alli, The OTC Weight Loss Drug
By 7.11.07
Walmart blog “Behind the Counter” has some interesting anecdotal evidence to present to the internet: People are stealing the new weight-loss drug, Alli, like crazy. BTC wants his Walmart to lock up the drug, but they refuse…claiming that they’ll lose sales if people can only buy it during pharmacy hours.
FDA Bans Import Of Chinese Seafood
By 6.29.07
The FDA is detaining all farm-raised catfish, basa, shrimp, dace, and eel from China over concerns that the fish may be on drugs. Tests since last October repeatedly revealed the presence nitrofuran, malachite green, and gentian violet – antibiotics that are not approved for human consumption in the United States. Though no general recall has been issued, the “FDA is concerned about long term exposure as well as the possible development of antibiotic resistance.” Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Wang Xinpei responded in classic form, saying:
Hospitals: Staph Infections Are Rampant
By 6.28.07
The Chicago Tribune reports that 1.2 million hospital patients are infected with dangerous drug-resistant staph infections every year—10 times more than previously estimated according to a new study. The paper also reported that 48,000 to 119,000 hospital patients a year may be dying from methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, far more than previously thought. Great!
The Tribune obtained the results during the weekend from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control & Epidemiology (APIC), which is releasing the report publicly on Monday. The author is Dr. William Jarvis, former acting director of the hospital infections program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Transition In Coverage" Was Transition To Insurance Hell For Seizure Patient Running Out Of Pills
By 6.27.07
I recently had a change in health benefits and Pacificare was the provider. I am using the corporate names because it is unconscionable what they have done and I do not wish to protect the guilty. To be brief my wife suffered a stroke 3 years ago and takes seizure medication 5 times daily.
Senate Proposal To Allow Generic Versions Of Biotech Drugs After 12 Years
By 6.25.07
A Senate proposal would strip biotech drugs of their patent-protected status after twelve years, opening the door to competition from generic drug makers. Patent protection determines how long obnoxious pharmaceutical CEOs can spend outside their competitor’s offices dancing with their drugs to MC Hammer’s 1990 hit, “U Can’t Touch This.” Unlike regular drugs made by chemical synthesis, biotech drugs are derived from human proteins.
Should Crack Pipes Be Sold At Convenience Stores?
By 6.5.07
The Boston City Council has proposed a ban on the sale of “four-inch glass tubes featuring fake mini-roses” commonly sold at convenience stores, because they’re actually crack pipes. From BostonNow:
They look like novelty items, but they’re not. For sale at convenience stores in Boston, four-inch glass tubes featuring fake mini-roses inside of them are actually crack pipes.
Air Traveler With Drug Resistant TB Quarantined By CDC
By 5.30.07
Drug-resistant TB is both extremely contagious and potentially fatal, and the CDC would like to speak with anyone who sat near a passenger who has since been quarantined with the illness. The passenger was on a May 13, Atlanta to Paris, Air France 385 flight and another Czech Air 0104 from Prague to Canada on May 23.
Drug Company VP Admits New Diet Drug Made Him Crap His Pants
By 5.24.07
“You may feel an urgent need to go to the bathroom. Until you have a sense of your treatment effects, it’s probably a smart idea to wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work. “
There’s nothing to be ashamed about. Even GSK VP Steve Burton admitted to having “one experience like that.” Oily rectal spotting, you are just the price we must pay for thinness. Well, that… and $1 a day. —MEGHANN MARCO
FDA Approves Birth Control That Eliminates Periods
By 5.23.07
The FDA has just approved a new type of birth control pill that totally eliminates your period, according to the WSJ. Trouble is, that idea freaks some consumers out. According to the WSJ Health Blog about half of women polled “agreed with the statement that their period comforts them because ‘it lets me know I am not pregnant.'” Poppycock, we say! Buy a pregnancy test.
FDA Knew About Potentially Lethal Diabetes Drug Since Last August, Said Nothing
By 5.22.07
The study was outed yesterday on the New England Journal of Medicine’s website. The editors of the journal and the study’s lead author both warned that the research methodology left the “findings open to interpretation.”
Get Ready To Show ID When Buying Cough Syrup
By 5.17.07
In a move that we still haven’t processed the logic behind, Stop and Shop will now require young people to prove they are 18 by showing ID before buying cough medicines that contain Dextromethorphan. Cough syrups, for example Robitussin, will produce a hallucinogenic experience if, say, one was to drink the entire bottle. Also, you might die.
McDonald's Employee Hides Pot Stash In Happy Meal Box, Gives Happy Meal To Child
By 5.16.07
“Daddy, I got two toys in my happy meal!”
Duane Reade Sucks As A Pharmacy, Target Is Pretty Good
By 4.19.07
According to JD Power and associates survey of pharmacies, that blight on New York City, Duane Reade, placed last in the rankings of chain pharmacies. From the WSJ Health Blog:The results are based on an online survey of 6,543 U.S. consumers conducted last fall.
