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Editorial: Thanksgiving
From First Graders:
"Thanksgiving isn't all day. It comes suddenly at night for dinner. The Pilgrims ate for a living. They used turkey feathers to stuff pillows. I think they wore old-fashioned clothes."
"The Pilgrims started it. I never met a Pilgrim. They swam across the ocean with three boats, I think. You give thanks to God on Thanksgiving and you stuff yourself, too."
"I knew about the Pilgrims a long time ago-when I was five. They sailed in the Mayflower. The boat got its name because it was finished in May. Its last name was Flower."
"Now children", said the teacher, "tell me something you're thankful for." "I'm thankful," said one small boy, "that I'm not a turkey".
Governor William Bradford, Governor, November 29, 1623:
"To all ye Pilgrims:"
Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as he has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience; now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November ye 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty-three, and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all his blessings."
The Day:
Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November and has been an annual tradition in the U.S. since 1863. It became a federal holiday in 1941. Thanksgiving was historically a religious observation to give thanks to God, and is still celebrated as such by many families, but is now also considered a secular holiday.
The First Thanksgiving was celebrated to give thanks to God and the Native Americans for helping the pilgrims survive the brutal winter. Although half of the pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower had already died, many more would have died had it not been for the Native Americans teaching the pilgrims to harvest foods. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three whole days providing enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 Indians.
Loyd V. Allen, Jr., PhD, RPh
Editor-in-Chief
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To further clarify the beyond-use dates "direct from the original literature," the following is presented:
| Preferred Vehicles | Refrigerator | Room |
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| Cherry Syrup (Humco) | 35 days | 5 days |
| Ora-Sweet SF | 35 days | 35 days |
The first priority is to dispense the manufactured suspension, if available; second would be to compound it using the preferred vehicles since they are part of the official labeling; last would be to compound it using the alternate vehicles if the preferred vehicles are not available. It is always best to use more conservative beyond-use dates if possible, especially in these cases where administration should begin soon after dispensing.
Source: Winiarski AP, Infeld MH, Tscherne R et al. Preparation and stability of extemporaneous oral liquid formulations of oseltamivir using commercially available capsules. J Am Pharm Assoc 2007; 47(6): 747-755.
If the above vehicles are not available, the following alternates can be used if necessary to meet patients' needs:
| Alternate Vehicles | Refrigerator | Room |
|
| PCCA-Plus | 90 days | 90 days |
| Acacia Syrup | 90 days | 90 days |
| Methylcellulose 1% Solution | 90 days | 90 days |
Source: Ford SM, Kloesel LG, Grabenstein JD. Stability of oseltamivir in various extemporaneous liquid preparations. IJPC 2007; 11(2): 164-167.
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Prices Increased 9% by Pharmaceutical Industry
Industry analysts have stated that pharmaceutical manufacturers have been raising their prices this year at the fastest clip since 1992. Wholesale prices for brand name prescription drugs have increased by about 9 percent during 2009, even though the industry agreed to support the Obama administration healthcare reforms that would cut the nation's drug costs by $8 billion.
The companies say they need to raise prices to invest money back into research and development to find new drugs, and that they need to replace popular drugs whose patents will soon expire. Critics say, however, that the manufacturers are trying to raise the price bar before Congress passes reform measures aimed at curbing future drug spending. Whenever major legislation is anticipated, there tends to be a pattern of price increases.
Merck spokesman Ron Rogers stated "Price adjustments for our products have no connection to healthcare reform."
http://pharmalive.com/news/index.cfm?articleID=667153&categoryid=9&newsletter=1
Omnicare Agrees to Pay $100 Million to Settle Allegations of Kickbacks.
While we observe members of Congress debating healthcare reform, most would agree there needs to be a crackdown on cheating. There has now been a staggering fraud settlement involving healthcare giant Omnicare. Omnicare agreed to pay nearly $100 million to settle a series of complaints with the Justice Department for paying and receiving kickbacks.
Also alleged is that the company accepted kickbacks from Johnson & Johnson for recommending that physicians prescribe its antipsychotic Risperdal. Omnicare asked for, and received, $8 million in kickbacks from Ivax Pharmaceuticals, and, in return, Omnicare bought $50 million in drugs from Ivax. The government is continuing to investigate two nursing home chains, Mariner Health Care and SavaSeniorCare Administrative Services.
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthcareSector/idUSN0350746820091103
Revised PCAB Standards
Please use this link to find a draft version of the revised PCAB Standards. Please submit your comments on this revision to:
contact@pcab.org
The public comment period is open until Friday, January 29, 2010.
http://www.pcab.info/downloads/pcab_standards_revised.pdf
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