Drug Topics

09/23/2026

With over 30 states empowering pharmacists to directly initiate and manage clinical maternal health services, patient-pharmacist interactions are playing a crucial role in closing care gaps. Delivering high-quality, personalized medication counseling ensures women receive the vital health guidance they might otherwise miss across the health care continuum.

See the full podcast here: https://hubs.li/Q04xTxgT0

09/23/2026

Advancing pharmacist provider status through landmark federal legislation: Chad Worz, PharmD, BCGP, FASCP, breaks down the Main Street Pharmacy Access Act (H.R. 3164) and its potential to establish a permanent Medicare Part B test, treat, and vaccinate framework for respiratory illnesses.

If enacted, these potential changes mark a historic shift toward formal provider recognition, expanding clinical billing opportunities and embedding neighborhood pharmacies as primary care access points.

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Chad Worz, PharmD, BCGP, FASCP, discusses the Main Street Pharmacy Access Act, a revolutionary pharmacy-focused bill moving through Congress.

09/22/2026

Phase 3 trial results show that oveporexton, a novel oral orexin receptor 2 agonist, significantly improves wakefulness, cataplexy, and overall quality of life by targeting the underlying pathophysiology of narcolepsy type 1. As the first disease-modifying therapy for NT1 enters practice, pharmacists will play a central role in guiding CYP3A drug-interaction screening and setting expectations around common, self-limiting early side effects like transient insomnia and urinary frequency.

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Results show consistent improvements in wakefulness, cataplexy, and quality of life with oveporexton for patients with narcolepsy.

09/22/2026

Celebrating 20 years of interprofessional education, PAINWeek 2026 highlights how connecting diverse clinical specialties is essential for modern pain management. By weaving together multimodal care, advanced opioid stewardship, and non-opioid innovations, health care teams can move beyond single-modality treatments to optimize real-world patient outcomes.

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Practical takeaways to improve real‑world clinic outcomes for PAINWeek 2026.

09/22/2026

By closing all pharmacy locations for a state legislative day and rallying community support through direct grassroots action, these pharmacy leaders delivered hundreds of constituent messages directly to lawmakers. Their unprecedented stand demonstrated the power of community advocacy, ultimately securing overwhelming legislative support to safeguard local pharmacy practice in Illinois.

Check out the full interview here: https://hubs.li/Q04xTvYt0

09/22/2026

New research reveals that aggregate patient out-of-pocket spending on generic medications now exceeds brand-name drug costs, driven largely by high-volume polypharmacy among older adults and Medicare beneficiaries. Addressing this hidden financial burden requires targeted benefit design reforms and real-time pricing transparency at the pharmacy counter to prevent cost-related medication nonadherence.

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Researchers assess the differences in out-of-pocket spending on brand name compared with generic medication.

09/21/2026

Evaluating extended nirmatrelvir-ritonavir therapy in long COVID management: Results from the NIH-sponsored RECOVER-VITAL trial demonstrate that extended courses (15 or 25 days) of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) provided no significant clinical benefit over placebo across cognitive, autonomic, or exercise-intolerance long COVID phenotypes. These findings provide crucial evidence to counsel patients against off-label antiviral use for long COVID while reinforcing the pharmacist's primary role in managing acute SARS-CoV-2 treatment, drug-interaction screening, and renal dose adjustments.

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The trial found that up to 25 days of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir did not improve cognitive, autonomic, or exercise-related symptoms compared with placebo.

09/21/2026

Integrating digital technology and clinical trust in modern pharmacy practice: In last week's episode of the Over the Counter podcast, TelyRx CEO Vanessa Slowey discusses how AI, automation, and remote care models are transitioning pharmacy from reactive dispensing to proactive patient engagement. Balancing these digital efficiencies with transparent provider oversight and strong patient rapport is essential in reducing clinician burnout while safeguarding quality care.

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Digital innovation and proactive patient care are converging to transform clinical practice while preserving essential safeguards.

09/21/2026

Empowering pharmacists to manage evidence-based, protocol-driven therapies can significantly reduce adverse drug events, improve patient outcomes, and yield substantial cost savings across the health care system.

Listen to the full episode here: https://hubs.li/Q04xTsXc0

09/21/2026

Navigating expanded 340B claims reporting mandates: Under a new policy effective September 15, 2026, Johnson & Johnson becomes the latest major manufacturer to require covered entities to submit detailed in-house claims data to the 340B ESP platform within strict 45-to-60-day windows, or face pricing suspensions. For health-system pharmacists and pharmacy administrators, these evolving transparency requirements demand immediate operational adjustments, cross-system EHR reconciliation, and proactive legal strategies to preserve 340B eligibility and safeguard safety-net funding.

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Starting with Exelixis’ condition on in-house dispensing data, manufacturers are introducing a new approach to 340B claims focused on transparency.