Drug Cost Management Report

View more issues:

Articles in June, 2003 issue of Drug Cost Management Report

• Returning injectable drug risks to payers: implications and application of new California law - risk management for injectable medications
  by Chris Nee
• A recent survey reveals that 83% of Cleveland-area physicians believe it will take seven years before half of all prescriptions are communicated electronically - Brief Article
• Coming in July
• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has sent a letter to state Medicaid programs, advising them to use National Drug Codes to identify all Medicaid drugs - CMS - NDC - Brief Article
• Legislation awaiting the governor's signature in Illinois combines the purchasing power of state agencies with that of individual citizens - Brief Article
• Missing only a few days of medication can greatly increase the risk of hospitalization for schizophrenia patients - Brief Article
• Option Care, Inc., parent of specialty pharmacy company OptionMed, reported a 27% increase in total revenues - Brief Article
• Specialty and biotech drugs, and other injectable products, are now a major cost driver for health plans - Brief Article
• Colorado Medicaid instituted a limit of eight prescriptions per patient at any given time - Brief Article
• PBM data reflect impact of recent market events in key therapeutic categories
• Arizona Prescription Discount Program - Brief Article
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has mailed another 5,000 generic drug coupons - Brief Article
• Seroquel is being examined as monotherapy for acute mania associated with bipolar disorder - Brief Article
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts has a new phone system to allow members to get answers to their questions regarding pharmacy benefits - Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts Inc - Brief Article
• Maine's plan to control prescription drug costs via bulk purchasing was largely upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court on May 19 - Brief Article
• Polypharmacy programs pay off for seniors and payers - prescribing of inappropriate, duplicative, or contrarily indicated products
• Chronimed, a preferred provider of injectable medications for Aetna members, has renewed its contract - Chronimed Inc - Aetna Inc - Brief Article
• Eli Lilly's new drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder , Strattera, may have trouble getting reimbursement from HMO formularies - ADHD - Eli Lilly and Co - health maintenance organizations - Brief Article
• In California, MCOs are fighting a court battle with the Department of Managed Health Care over authority to deny coverage of prescription drugs - managed care organizations - Brief Article
• PBMs push generic drugs to save their clients money, but what's in it for them? - Brief Article
• New data suggest that Lamictal, an anti-convulsant medication, protects against bipolar depression, or bipolar I disorder - Brief Article