Free Webinar Today - "Quality in Compounding: QA, QC, CQI with USP and Practical Applications" with Thomas Kupiec, PharmD - Wednesday, February 22, 2011, 12:00 PM Eastern. Reserve your seat now.
Here is your daily news to keep you well-informed:
California rates health plans on quality measures California's largest health plans have improved their care for diabetic patients, but many need to do better at treating children with throat infections, testing for lung disease and helping people overcome drug and alcohol addictions. San Jose Mercury News
Dirty surgical tools: Gross, dangerous -- and more common? A new report from the Center for Public Integrity suggests there may be unseen perils lurking in the surgery suite: the very instruments used in the operation may be contaminated with dangerous pathogens. MSNBC
Mercy Medical Center Chooses Wolters Kluwer Health Clinical Solutions Sentri7® for Clinical Surveillance "Sentri7 has changed the way our pharmacists practice at Mercy Medical Center," said Desmond Waters, Pharmacy Director at Mercy Medical Center. "This tool puts the needed clinical information at the pharmacist's fingertips, saving countless hours of research. It ultimately provides a higher level of pharmacy service, which in turn translates into better patient outcomes." Pharmacy OneSource
Home visits for asthma patients cut hospitalizations House calls for low-income families with asthma helped save Children's Hospital Boston $1.46 for every dollar it invested into its home visits program, according to a study in the March issue of Pediatrics. Fierce Healthcare
Antibiotic-Resistant MRSA in Livestock May Spread to Humans Livestock in the United States may be building resistance to deadly bacterial infections, and those superbugs may be easily transferrable to humans, according to a new study published in the journal, mBio. ABC News
New Hospital Cuisine: Dishes Made to Order Pnina Peled, executive chef at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, recently faced an unusual culinary challenge: A teenage cancer patient wanted pizza, but chemotherapy treatments had dulled the girl's taste buds and she could only taste lemon. The Wall Street Journal
Drugs, FDA and Pharma
Anticholinergic Works in COPD, FDA Staff Says The anticholinergic drug aclidinium bromide appears to be effective in treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but a small patient database and cardiovascular events raise concerns, an FDA staff review found. MedPage Today
Childhood vaccine slightly increases seizure risk An injection for children that combines the vaccines for several major infectious disease causes a small increase in fever-related seizures in children, according to new research. However, fever-related seizures do not cause brain damage or lead to an increased risk of epilepsy. The Los Angeles Times
Study Examines Cost-Effectiveness of Adult Pneumococcal Vaccines A computer-based cost-effectiveness analysis suggests that use of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) might prevent more pneumococcal disease compared with the current 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) vaccination recommendations, while remaining economically reasonable. Infection Control Today
Community Pharmacy
Battle Over Drug Bill Begins A fight is shaping up in Albany over state legislation proposed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman that would create an online database of prescriptions for addictive drugs. The Wall Street Journal
