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Editorial: Fact vs Opinion

It's time that the media should be required to declare or indicate their stories as being "fact" or "opinion" (or even "fiction")!

When reading, listening, or watching the news, one sometimes has difficulty determining whether or not what was just presented is "fact," "opinion," or even "interpretation," and the issue is that it is not easy to tell. Some individuals then start quoting the story as "fact" when it was only one individual's "opinion."

This occurs not only in news but in politics. We need to be able to distinguish "fact" from "opinion" in speeches from our political leaders. Some media organizations now are involved in checking facts and, oftentimes, the facts have been exaggerated, distorted, or misrepresented.

It is doing the public a disservice when opinions are presented as facts and—as presented in last weeks Editorial on "lies and lying"—one doesn't know what to believe.

The time has come for the media and politicians to label their stories, talks, and presentations as either "fact" or "opinion." Otherwise, they have NO credibility, as we don't know what to believe! I don't care about "opinions" when I read, listen to, or watch the news! I want the "facts"! As Jack Webb of Dragnet used to say, "Just the facts, ma'am, just the facts."


Loyd V. Allen, Jr., Ph.D., R.Ph.
Editor-in-Chief

Label Changes for 50 Products
The FDA has announced that fifty products now have safety labeling changes. A Summary Page of the changes is available at:
www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/ucm261325.htm

Record Prescription Drug Deaths in Michigan
Michigan is experiencing a significant increase in prescription drug abuse, primarily involving pain, hyperactivity, and anxiety medications. This is triggering a rise in emergency hospital visits, overdose deaths, and treatment for addiction. In Michigan, more residents now die from prescription drug abuse than from heroin and cocaine combined. In 2009, the latest year data are available, 457 Michiganders died of overdoses from one or more prescription drugs, up from 409 deaths the year before.

The drugs are easier to obtain now; this increase mirrors larger numbers of prescriptions written by doctors and dentists. Some abusers raid parents' and grandparents' medicine cabinets for unused medications, or they trade or sell narcotics prescribed by dentists and doctors. Dentists and oral surgeons may prescribe as many as 20 tablet/capsule analgesics for each patient undergoing extensive work, when four or five may be sufficient.
www.pharmacistelink.com/index.php/drugstores/30765

Merck Job Cuts Accelerating
Merck's long-planned job cuts are set to accelerate. The company announced its intent to shed some 15,000 jobs by 2012 last year, but thousands of those jobs have yet to go. Sources say that Merck plans to increase its layoff process soon, probably early next month. Merck announced the cuts in the wake of its 2009 merger with Schering-Plough. The idea was to save some $3.5 billion by cutting the payroll by 10% and shuttering facilities. Merck's layoffs, while quite substantial, are still fewer than Pfizer's announced job cuts in association with its Wyeth merger. Other Big Pharma firms have cut back by the thousands as well.
www.fiercepharma.com/story/merck-job-cuts-set-accelerate/2011-07-14?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

Chinese Doctors Leave Practice for Jobs in Pharma Sales
China physicians are abandoning medical practice and taking jobs in drug sales, finding that they can earn more than their $300-a-month doctors' salary by marketing drugs rather than prescribing them. As many as 14,000 Chinese doctors will join foreign drugmakers over the next 5 years.

This occurrence is one unintended consequence of Big Pharma's Chinese gold rush. As drugmakers have laid off thousands of representatives in the U.S. and Europe, they have been hiring big-time in emerging markets, especially China. Also, the competition for drug reps in China is intense; turnover rates are high as major drugmakers such as Sanofi, Eli Lilly, Merck, and Bayer recruit one another's salespeople.

Losing doctors to the drug business could exacerbate an existing shortage of physicians. China has only one doctor per every 7,000 people, and the government has been offering incentives such as free training to attract more people into primary care. Doctors willing to work in villages can win even more perks, such as relocation fees.
www.fiercepharma.com/story/chinese-docs-trade-jobs-pharma-sales/2011-07-11?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

Teva Won't Sell Generic Vytorin Until 2017 Under Accord
Teva has agreed that it won't sell generic versions of Vytorin and Zetia until 2017, settling patent lawsuits with Merck. The agreement settles lawsuits that Merck's Schering unit filed in 2009 and 2010 to prevent Teva from selling generic versions of the drugs.
www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-08/teva-won-t-sell-generic-vytorin-until-2017-settling-merck-patent-lawsuit.html

Financial Analysis in Pharmacy Practice
Herist K, Rollins B, Perri M
July 2011
Paperback; 240 pages; $49.99

Finally, a great "how to do it" book on finances and pharmacy. This easy-to-read, introductory text covers the basics of accounting and financial management, as well as demonstrating the application of these principles to pharmacy practice. The nine chapters cover the guiding principles of accounting, financial statements, from detailed transactions to summary reports, basics of finance and financial analysis, budgeting and inventory management, pricing goods and services, and personal financial management. Case studies are provided that are based on realistic examples and are used to demonstrate how accounting and financial management principles apply to all areas of pharmacy practice.

This book, which was written by a team of accountants and pharmacists, is a great teaching tool about finances or to review your current knowledge on the topic.

�that many times electronic games, computers, cell phones, and other devices that appear to be "on the fritz" can be placed back into service by simply turning them off, waiting 5 minutes, and then turning them back on?

Air Conditioning
During long stretches of very hot weather, an air conditioner tends to run for an extended period of time. This may result in ice forming on the coils, preventing cooling and appearing as if the air conditioner is not working. If this occurs, and the compressor is still working, turn off the air conditioner for several hours to allow the built-up ice to melt and then turn it back on. It may work; if not, then it may be time to request a service call.