TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -03/04/12)- With Pharmacy Awareness Week(1) kicking off, a new Nielsen survey commissioned by the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores (CACDS) highlights that patients from coast to coast are tapping into the health-care knowledge, expertise and services available at their local pharmacy. In fact, 72% of almost 6,000 respondents indicated that they have talked to their pharmacist about health issues, beyond their prescribed medication.(2) "Pharmacists are highly trained health-care professionals whose expertise is still under-utilized by our health-care system in Canada, and indeed around the world. That's all starting to change," explains Nadine Saby, CACDS President and Chief Executive Officer. "Governments recognize the valuable role pharmacy plays in ensuring patients get the right medication and are able to take it correctly. Now, by enabling and providing funding for new services like medication reviews, injections and immunizations, and prescription renewals without a doctor's visit, patients are reaping the benefits in more convenient and timely access to professional health advice and guidance," says Saby. It's no longer enough for a pharmacy to be a place where medication and advice are dispensed - 96% of respondents surveyed believe that it's important for their pharmacist to play an increased role and work … Continue reading →

EDWARDS, Colorado Opening a small shop takes a lot of work if you're in the pharmacy business the paperwork alone could fill a phone booth. For the past nine months or so, Larry Nisonoff and Kent and Courtney Lambrecht have spent most of their waking hours working to open the new Vail Valley Pharmacy. Besides finding financing and working through the piles of paperwork required to sell controlled substances, the partners also have been on a mission to put as many local residents to work as possible. That mission was a success. Nisonoff, the managing partner in the business, said more than 95 percent of the work done on the new pharmacy space near the Gore Range Brewery was performed by local companies and their employees. A lot of those people are former pharmacy clients of Nisonoff and the Lambrechts. Nisonoff and Courtney Lambrecht are veterans of the City Market pharmacy in Vail, while Kent Lambrecht worked at the City Market pharmacy in Eagle. Thanks to those connections, the three knew just about everybody who walked through the doors. With the pharmacy just about ready to open, the result of all that work is a combination of warm, dark wood … Continue reading →

Published: March. 4, 2012 at 7:49 PM CHATHAM, N.J., March 4 (UPI) -- Some Chatham, N.J., parents say when they picked up a prescription from a CVS pharmacy for fluoride pills, they were accidentally given a powerful cancer drug. The fluoride pills, meant for children's teeth, were switched for tamoxifen, a medication used to treat breast cancer. The mix-up went unnoticed for at least two months. ABC News reported area parents are outraged and concerned, though no illnesses have been reported as a result of the swapped pills. The number of families affected wasn't reported. CVS issued a statement saying it is investigating the mistake. "Beginning last week, we have contacted or have left messages for every family whose child was dispensed a 0.5 mg fluoride prescription from our Chatham location within the past 60 days," the company's statement said. "Fortunately, most of the families we have spoken to did not indicate that their children received any incorrect pills. We will continue to follow up with families who believe that their children may have ingested incorrect medication." See original here: Pharmacy mix-up gave kids cancer meds … Continue reading →