Editorial: 2009 NCPA Program Sessions on Compounding in New Orleans

The NCPA meeting begins this weekend in New Orleans (October 17-21). There are a number of sessions on compounding that will be presented throughout the meeting.

The titles of the sessions include the following:

• Compounding: Emerging Regulatory Trends
• Successful Marketing of Your Compounding Niche Services
• Compounding: Skin Care and Cosmeceuticals
• Colleagues in Consultation:
  • Effective Marketing Techniques for Compounding Pharmacies
  • Cosmeceuticals: A True Story and Adventure
• Consulting Services as a Revenue Stream in Your Pharmacy

A great lineup of speakers with years of practical experience will provide a wealth of information for all those attending. Also, there will be numerous exhibitors that support compounding with supplies, services, etc. Please drop by and visit with them.


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

Tragic waste of money! Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration: How Medicare Pays!

The new special reimbursement code for Avastin, which is to be in effect soon, is $7.20 per dose. This is below cost for pharmacists and physicians. If Avastin is used, health professionals lose money. If ophthalmologists use Lucentis, Medicare pays for it all and YOU lose money!

This new policy�

1. �gives ophthalmologists a financial incentive to switch to Lucentis for which they will be fully reimbursed.
2. �provides a lot more money for Genentech (the manufacturer).
3. �involves about one million injections per year.
4. �will cost about $1.2 billion per year if treated with Lucentis.
5. �will cost about $60 million per year if treated with Avastin.

FDA Panel Votes for Fampridine SR for MS
The FDA announced that Acorda Therapeutics Inc.'s experimental multiple sclerosis drug, Fampridine (4-aminopyridine), appears to be safe and effective. The FDA panel voted in favor of the company's Fampridine-SR as a treatment to improve patients' ability to walk.

The FDA is scheduled to make a decision about this drug by October 22.

(Editors Note: This drug has been widely compounded over the past 20 years)

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/10/14/business-health-care-providers-us-fda-panel-acorda-therapeutics_7002479.html

The current RxTriad contains the CDC information about the H1N1 Flu in a very "easy-to-read" format with highlighted lists that can be used for patient education. (See the insert below.)

Highlighted Boxes:

• Symptoms of the 2009 H1N1 Flu
• What to do to stay healthy and prevent the spread of the flu
• What people being cared for at home should do
• Target groups to get H1N1 flu vaccine
• What the caregiver should do
• Warning signs that emergency medical care should be sought
• Emergency warning signs in adults requiring urgent medical attention
• Emergency warning signs in children requiring urgent medical attention

Get your H1N1 RxTriads Now!
Call Deb at 1-800-757-4572 to order the H1N1 Flu RxTriad for distribution to your physicians, as well as for your patients.