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❃ pharmacypracticenews.com
The Pharmacist’s News Source
Is Medical Publishing Due for an Exorcism?
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everal recent studies, including an influential Journal of the American Medical Association analysis last year, and a related study published just last month, underscore the need for some organizations and journals to continue to update their disclosure policies to more easily illuminate the ghosts lurking behind submitted manuscripts. The 2008 JAMA study (299:1800-1812) was startling enough to cause a surge of effort to enforce more authorship transparency. The researchers sifted through the paper trail related to the Merck drug rofecoxib (Vioxx). Although nearly all of the 24 clinical trial articles included in their analysis disclosed Merck’s financial support, only half of the 72 review articles contained such disclosures. And it was not uncommon for external experts to be recruited as authors and to receive honoraria for manuscripts written on their behalf. Rick Scheife, PharmD, FCCP, editor-in-chief of Pharmacotherapy, admitted that he was “absolutely sideswiped” by the JAMA findings. For journal editors, they constituted a bit of an earthquake, he said. “Given that wake up call, what you basically saw was
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see GHOSTWRITING, page 26
Nuclear Pharmacists Fret Over Tech-99m Shortage Cancer diagnosis, treatment may be impacted
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he continuing global shortage of an isotope used in medical imaging has cancer patients experiencing testing delays, clinicians worrying about degraded quality of care and members of the nuclear pharmacy community wondering if there is any relief in sight, given the chief source of the imaging agent— the world’s aging nuclear reactors. The shortage of the agent, technetium-99m (Tc-99m), was triggered this summer by the shutdown of two reactors—one in Chalk River, Ontario, and the other in Petten, The Netherlands. The Petten facility is scheduled for major repairs in March 2010. “If Chalk River can’t get back online this spring and relieve the pressure, we may be in for even worse shortages,” said Jeffrey Norenberg, PharmD, executive director of the National Association of Nuclear Pharmacies.
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see SHORTAGE, page 10
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Volume me 36 • Number 11 • December 2009 ❃
Printer-friendly versions available online
Ghostwriting blasted by editors, clinicians
ou bo r ot h
McMahon Publishing
in this issue Medication Storage Tops List Up Front Reader Survey
Of Joint Commission Citations
Price, quality emerge as key factors influencing generic drug purchasing
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Surveyor reveals 2009’s toughest challenges, offers tips for passing 2010 reviews
Clinical
Transplant Pharmacy The profession’s evolving role on patient-care team.
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Policy
NEW! Spotlight on: Generics A new way to save on nonbranded drugs, a look at key biosimilars legislation, a pharmacy director Q&A, and more.
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Q&A Exclusive interview with ASHP leadership.
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Operations & Mgmt
Guest Editorial ‘White Bagging’ brings more patient meds to hospitals; are you ready?
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Communications First of a three-part series on effective communication skills.
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Technology
Critical Care Software helps community hospital achieve tight glucose control in ICU.
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Educational Review Guidelines for the Management of Febrile Neutropenia See page
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he Joint Commission’s Medication Management Update has outlined a plethora of troublesome medication management standards and medication-related National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs), along with new recommendations for resolving these often-cited problems, to better prepare pharmacists for what lies ahead in 2010. Presented in a webinar by Darryl S. Rich, PharmD, a surveyor for the Joint Commission, the update highlighted two recent changes: those related to the 2009 Medication Management (MM) standards, which resulted from the group’s Standards Improvement Initiative (SII) project; and the MM standard changes that became effective in July 2009 for organizations seeking Medicare payments. The update also looked at more recent revi-
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see MED MANAGEMENT, page 29
Obama Administration Eyeing Comparative Research Funding
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he Obama administration has committed to spending $1.1 billion on comparative effectiveness research (CER), with funds expected to start flowing next spring. But the initiative is being met with mixed feelings by members of the medical community. Everyone agrees that, in the age of budget constraints, health care spending must be kept in check. But they also worry that it may be
impossible to sort through the huge volume of evidence to arrive at a completely accurate and impartial conclusion on any topic—with the task made even more difficult by the ambitious array of therapeutic areas to be tackled under very tight timelines—and that any conclusion favoring one treatment may well lead to other treatments being barred. John I. Allen, MD, MBA, councillor,
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see COMPARATIVE, page 37
New Products MediDose/EPS introduces free PCA warning labels.
Sotalol Hydrochloride Injection from Bioniche Pharma and Academic Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
AHP launches new unitdose products. See pages
40, 46
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