News & Features

July, 2007

July edition of M.D. Pharmacy's free newsletter. Several useful subjects in capsule form for your enjoyment, edification and safety. Please pass this on to your friends and neighbors.

Contact lens solution is withdrawn from the market.

Patients are advised to immediately stop using a contact lens solution called AMO Complete Moisture Plus Multi-Purpose Solution, due to a possible link to a rare but potentially blinding eye infection caused by an amoeba. All partially used or unopened bottles should be immediately discarded, and the patient should use alternative products. Also, they should throw out their current contact lenses and the lens storage case because they may harbor the infection-causing amoeba. The CDC advises people who have used the product to call their eye doctor to report any eye pain, redness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, feeling of something in the eye, or excessive tearing. The AMO product has never been sold by M.D. Pharmacy, but was available at several chain and big-box retailers.

Huge discussions regarding safety of diabetes drug Avandia.

A leading medical journal recently raised serious safety questions about pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)'s diabetes drug "Avandia. The journal's analysis, based on more than 40 clinical studies involving 28,000 patients showed that Avandia significantly raised the risk of heart attacks compared with other diabetes drugs. The drug's maker, GSK issued a news release defending Avandia's safety. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also under fire for apparently ignoring early warning signs of the potential danger. Some experts raised concerns that doctors were not getting the full picture about a drug's risks and benefits because they tended to hear about only those trials in which the medication showed a benefit. In explaining its delay, the FDA said the significance of the studies had not been confirmed and in fact was contraindicated by some other studies of the drug.

Under no circumstances should a patient stop taking Avandia without the knowledge and authorization of their physician. There are other drug options which the physician may choose to employ, and given the ambiguous and contradictory evidence, the physician may choose to continue treatment with Avandia. We have a handout sheet dealing with common questions for anyone who requests it.

Seniors make dangerous mistakes when managing medications.

Millions of seniors are not using their 7 day reminder pillboxes correctly, especially those taking multiple medications at different times during the day. Rather than use the common 7 day reminder box, we recommend that you obtain a 28 dose pillbox which groups the medications taken at the same time each day separately from those taken earlier or later. Depending on visual identification of the drugs can result in a patient taking the wrong drug, as colors and shapes of drugs change frequently. The patient should always keep a written checklist of the prescriptions while loading their pillboxes, (not just for themselves but for others to follow in case of emergencies) and then have someone double-check their work. Otherwise, a patient could end up taking double doses or miss a dose, which in turn could lead to dizziness and falls, confusion, or even a trip to the emergency room. Pill-reminders are a great help, but only if used properly. Let us demonstrate their use to you, so that you can derive their maximum benefit. Upon request M.D. Pharmacy will "blister-pack" your medications. Each 30 day "blister" card can be labeled AM, Noon, Mid-Afternoon, or Bedtime.

Drug company CEO says current pricing model is "unsustainable".

Elan CEO Kelly Martin has challenged the pharmaceutical industry to overhaul its commercial model by offering groundbreaking new treatments at lower cost, which he said his company is likely to follow for its Alzheimer's treatments. "The psychology of the industry is that if you are first, the price should be high" Martin told the Financial Times in London. "The economic structure is unsustainable. The tension will grow and something has to give".

New thoughts on treating chronic pain.

Chronic pain (pain lasting longer than 3-6 months) is often under-treated, and patients may be exposed to potentially toxic and/or addictive side effects. Recently physicians have been utilizing novel treatments using multiple drugs which can alleviate pain and improve quality of life. As we understand more about the mechanism of pain, we are seeing the use of antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and other drugs which work in concert with traditional pain relievers. Consult your physician if your chronic pain is not under control.

The pharmacists and staff at M.D. Pharmacy, your neighborhood pharmacy.

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