Editorial: Let's make a deal!

Note: This editorial is not aimed at the hard working, sincere members of Congress that are doing the best job they can.

I really think it's about time to vote out many of our representatives and senators in Congress. They don't seem to be interested in what is best for America, but what is best for them and getting re-elected to their soft, cushy jobs with great retirement benefits and health care for the rest of their lives, as well as how much money they can make speaking and consulting! They seem to leave Congress with a lot more money than when they were initially elected, while their electorate seems to have less.

I don't know about you, but I am really disappointed to hear about the "deals" being made in Congress! We didn't elect "deal makers" to go and play "Let's make a deal!"; we elected senators and representatives to WORK FOR US! What does it say about an individual that will sell out their vote in return for a vote on something else or for a preferred committee assignment? It seems that bills are passed, not because members believe in them, but because of pride and making deals to tell folks back home how they worked really hard for them. Members end up voting for bills they don't really believe in because of "deal making."

Maybe it's about time we did the following with Congress:

1. Enact 2-term limits (8 years) on all members of Congress: If they can't get done what they want to do in 8 years, then they are not very effective. Also, this limits their ability to build a big power base in Congress and have undue influence over other members.
2. Put all members of Congress (and all other government employees) on social security, the same as everyone else is in the U.S. It seems they don't like discrimination unless it is to their benefit.
3. Remove their "special" health insurance and other benefits they have and only provide average benefits. They are to "serve us"�we are not here to "serve them." It seems they think that we are here to give them our tax money to do with as they please! What makes them so special to think they deserve better than those that elected them? Again, it seems they don't like discrimination unless they benefit.
4. No more "deals" and finagling. Anyone caught buying, trading, or selling their votes will be immediately discharged and barred from Congress. They need to vote according to their conscience and based on the desires of the people they represent.
5. No more lobbyists' influence on elected officials. The only role lobbyists should be allowed to play is providing straight, unbiased facts to educate the members about the details of bills they are voting on; this is a very important function.
6. Any money above and beyond their base salary, such as from speaking engagements or other consulting activities, should go straight to the lowering of the federal debt.
7. International trips should be curtailed and only used when necessary.
8. Members of Congress should be required to demonstrate their knowledge about a bill prior to voting on it! (Maybe by taking a test on the content of the bill the day before voting is to occur. They would only be allowed to vote on that bill if they demonstrated knowledge about what is in the bill.)

Okay�I guess I better wake up and stop dreaming now� but I wonder what the founding fathers of our nation would think about Washington, DC and our government now!


Loyd V. Allen, Jr., PhD, RPh
Editor-in-Chief

CompoundingToday.com now has over 2,000 documented formulas with references, beyond-use dates, and complete preparation instructions. Formulas may be found by ingredients, dosage form, or pharmaceutical use and then downloaded in an easy-to-print, standardized format. Check out the sample formulas and search the entire collection today at http://CompoundingToday.com/Formulation.

Court Decision: U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
The federal judge in Denver issued her opinion reaffirming her prior ruling that the definition of compounding is governed by State law. The government was arguing for a shorter definition that would have placed limitations on what is and what is not compounding. Both IACP and APhA were active with the attorneys involved in this case.
http://iacprx.convio.net/site/DocServer/BaderOpinionOrder_MotionforReconsideration.pdf?docID=6441

Automatic Dispensing Unit in Vermont
A federally funded pilot project at the Health Center in Plainfield, Vermont involves an automated dispensing unit (ADU), where the pharmacist holds patients' prescriptions from five different health centers. The automated "intelePharmacy" from PickPoint is a seven-foot-tall bulletproof cabinet that can hold up to 122 prescriptions. The ADU assists pharmacists and pharmacy technicians as they fill prescriptions in one location for patients from other clinics, essentially acting as a telepharmacy. The medications are stored in a locked machine similar to a vending machine where only a pharmacist has access to release medications from the ADU. A registered pharmacy technician runs the remote pharmacy while being observed by a pharmacist over a live video feed.

The Community Health Center plans to add the units at all locations through a pilot project with the Vermont Board of Pharmacy. Patients can choose to talk to a pharmacist by video phone. Thanks to video phones, pharmacists can be in more places at once and even might be overseeing the filling of a prescription from home.

While new to Vermont, the system is being used in more rural areas of the country with about 250 of these systems in the field, which are able to dispense the full course of the pharmacy and increase compliance.
http://drugtopics.modernmedicine.com/drugtopics/Modern+Medicine+Now/Automatic-dispensing-units-tested-in-Vermont/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/591695?contextCategoryId=5963

N.J. Pharmaceutical Company Ordered to Unseal Thousands of Ghostwriting Documents At the request of The New York Times and a medical journal, the unsealing of thousands of pages of documents pertaining to the ghostwriting practices of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, which is being sued over hormone replacement drugs, has been ordered by a federal judge.

The plaintiff's attorneys had presented the papers earlier at trial to show Wyeth routinely hired medical-writing firms to ghostwrite articles that appeared in seemingly objective medical journals but included only the name of a scientific researcher as the author.

This case involves about 8,000 lawsuits that have been combined and focus on whether Wyeth hormone therapy drugs Prempro and Premarin, used to treat symptoms of menopause, have caused breast cancer in some women.

Ghostwriting is described by plaintiffs as a situation where a drug company develops a concept for an article that will counteract criticism of a drug or embellish its benefits. A professional writing company is hired to draft a manuscript conveying the company's message, retains a physician to sign off as the author, and finds a publisher to unwittingly publish the work. The articles are disseminated by the companies via their sales representatives who present the articles to physicians as independent proof that the companies' drugs are safe and effective.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/morris_county_pharmaceutical_o.html

Biundo B. Hormone treatment options for males: What to do for men with low testosterone. IJPC 2009; 13(4): 276-279.

Within this article on page 277, first column, under the heading "Treatment Options without Testosterone Supplementation," second paragraph under that heading, a dosing error was mistakenly published. The correct verbiage for that sentence is as follows: "Oral dosing protocols ranging from 0.1 mg daily to 0.25 mg 3 times weekly to 0.5 mg twice weekly have been used successfully." The error was in the "0.5 mg" information, which was erroneously shown as "daily" instead of "weekly."

Handbook of Pharmaceutical Excipients
6th Edition
Rowe RC, Sheskey PJ, Quinn ME, eds.
London, UK: Pharmaceutical Press
July 2009; Price $399.95; 888 pages, Hardback

This book is the latest edition of one of the best references in pharmacy today for compounders and formulators. This edition, written by over 140 pharmaceutical scientists from around the world, now contains 340 fully referenced excipient monographs (40 of these monographs are new to this edition).

From acacia to zinc stearate, each monograph contains 22 sections of information. In addition to the different names and designations, information on formulation applications, description, specifications, typical properties, stability, incompatibilities, safety, regulator status, related substances, and many references are provided.

This is a great resource and is highly recommended.

Change just for the sake of change is foolish and irresponsible.

Comprehensive Reading
Hey!�Members of Congress! READ and UNDERSTAND every bill you vote on! As pharmacists, we need to meet with our representatives and senators over the August break and ask them specific questions about the healthcare bill�and let them know what needs to be done to ensure quality pharmaceutical services, including compounded medications, for patients.