A coalition of healthcare organizations held a training event in Providence, RI on June 6, 2015, on Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT).

I will be returning to posting on a monthly basis next month. Happy Shopping for post-Thanksgiving deals.

From newsmax, anonymous took down an isis re ad and put up a viagra and prozac ads in its place. Quoted text below:

"Enhance your calm," the message read "Too many people are into this ISIS-stuff. Please gaze upon this lovely ad so we can upgrade our infrastructure to give you ISIS content you all so desperately crave." 

From the Houston chronicle: the A.M.A. hates drug advertising, and as a physician association they want the world to know it. Here's the breakdown on spending of the  advertising dollars and indications of the top 10 drugs.
tv 3.2 B
magazine 1.2 B
paper 127 M
billboard 4 m
Indication of the top 10 advertised drugs include: ED, arthritis, mental illness, and stroke, fibroylagia and diabetic peripheral neuropathy

In marvel team up 63 [Spiderman]: After being punched Spiderman thought, "I'm a walking talking excedrin headache.'.

From the  New York Times

"Allergan agree to $150 billion merger

Pfizer and Allergan have reached a $150 million merger deal in one of the largest ever acquisitions in the health care industry. The boards of the two companies reportedly approved the deal on Sunday. The deal will likely be announced on Monday, according to sources. People briefed on the deal say that although Pfizer is much larger, with a market value of about $199 billion compared with Allergan's $123 billion, Allergan would be the technical buyer. Allergan's headquarters are in Dublin—though most of its operations are in Parsippany, NJ—the planned merger would avoid new Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service rules on corporate inversions. The new rules, which apply to American companies that acquire foreign firms, are meant to further crack down on the billions of dollars in corporate tax revenue lost from such deals. In adopting Ireland as its home base, Pfizer—whose tax rate last year was about 26.5%—would see significant savings. Pfizer would lead the merged company in most cases, and its CEO, Ian Read, will take the helm of the combined firm, according to sources."

From modern medicine:
EHRs have been on the market for about 20 years now, and in the last four years their manufacturers have received more than $30 billion in indirect government subsidies through the meaningful use program. Yet in the 2015Medical Economics Physician EHR Survey, doctors’ mean ratings of their EHRs was only 5.3 out of a possible 10.

This is how physicians must feel about them:

Who do you beleive: magazine or dental office staff? One says red wine stays teeth avoid. Another says it's ok....

the baltimore sun

http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/bs-md-hogan-cancer-20151003-story.html 

He's hosted pediatric and adult cancer patients for Ravens and Redskins games in the government-owned skyboxes. He's chatted in the Orioles dugout with manager Buck Showalter, and star outfielder Adam Jones lent the governor a batting glove so Hogan could shake 500 hands without completely compromising his immune system. It was the first time Hogan shook hands in two months. Afterward, he ached for days.

From breaking news.....

"Los Angeles Times

A San Francisco judge ruled today that frozen embryos that a woman wants to use over ex-husband’s objections must be “thawed and discarded.”

Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo, in an 83-page decision, upheld a consent form the couple signed shortly after their marriage in which they agreed to destroy the five frozen embryos in the event of a divorce."

typo online Sentaor Warren was identified as a Republican. I emailed the company about 20 minutes ago to correct this.


Other senators, including Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders, are opposing Califf's nomination, over concern about the work Califf has performed and the compensation he has received from pharmaceutical companies. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, R-Mass., asked Califf to explain whether some of his past criticisms of the FDA would lead him to lower safety standards in the agency.

From NCPA 1/5th of all pharmacies would be under the Wag-Rad ticker if Walgreens buys them.
A consumers group is concerned that with all the consolidation prices will go up. It says CVS has 8000 stores which is 4000 less than the RAD-Wag deal.  Quick based on that data how many pharmacies are in the country? :-)
The company claims it won't because RAD had a PBM and so this will make the prices go down by giving them leverage to force prices down.

From Facebook 10 tips on dealing with cancer include: crying, praying to god, having numbing cream prior to injections, and others.

https://m.facebook.com/larryhoganmd/photos/a.909053089139457.1073741828.907931509251615/1046756672035764/?type=3&source=48&__tn__=E this HTML class.

Looking over some older news from NBC news was a reference about possible autism & smog linkage. Then there was a reference to Beijing mayor saying tourism is down 10% .

National geographic highlighted this pharmaceutics faculty member.

Croyle, Maria A., Ph.D.
Glaxo Wellcome Professor
Professor of Pharmaceutics

While the cdc advises a yearly flu shot, some people object. FWIW, I get mine yearly.

From a website called stat:


When researchers followed 328 households during the 2010-11 flu season,they found — much to their surprise — that the only people who seemed to benefit from immunization were the ones who hadn't gotten a flu shot the year before. These "unexpected findings ... require further study," the researchers wrote in 2013.

A larger and more robust study,published last year in Clinical Infectious Diseases, added more evidence that the 2013 study was onto something important. Researchers followed more than 7,000 people for eight yearly flu seasons, and they learned that people got the strongest protection against the flu only when they were vaccinated for the current season — and at no other time during the previous five years

NUMBER 1 reason to update your resume from AMIA IT health professionals: to make yourself feel good.

I can see the day someone will sarcastically put on a list "so you can recall what you did."

Don't you love those articles that on first glance seem like "objective" news, with quotes from people only to later have claims and have a postscript this is paid content. This is after reading an article in the Canadian national post. I suppose the 97 to 100% cure rate or the phrase "super lice" in the article should've given it away. However, I have not tried the product and cannot say anything bad about it. In school I learned about one product that the French ban fearing toxicity.

Its silicone solution does the job so thoroughly that there is no risk of a recurring infestation, the company says.

"Even super lice do not develop immunity to the dimeticone-based solution in NYDA."

http://www.nationalpost.com/m/search/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/life/secret-to-getting-rid-of-head-lice-kill-their-eggs&q=pharmacist

 This content was produced by Postmedia Works on behalf of Pediapharm for commercial purposes. Postmedia’s editorial departments had no involvement in the creation of this content. Its silicone solution does the job so thoroughly that there is no risk of a recurring infestation, the company says.

Are your female patients taking TCAs or verapamil not wanting to take metformin for their DM? It may be the have OCT1 gene inhibition. This drug interaction theorized after a 92 sample study may explain why. Source medscape ce.

In the world of advertising being backed up by evidence the FTC is pressuring the FDA to make homeopathic products prove they are as efficacious as other non-homeopathic items.

Speaking more about the FTC Walgreens wants to buy Rite Aid. More to come....

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/overhaul-of-rules-for-homeopathic-drugs-wanted/article/2570637

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/10/08/Retired-firefighter-and-son-sentenced-in-pharmacy-robberies.html

"A retired Westerville firefighter and his son were sentenced to prison on Thursday for robbing three pharmacies to get prescription pills."

Meanwhile in CT 

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Wallingford-pharmacy-robbed-of-1-000-oxycodone-6567917.php

"After being given the pills, police say he ran from the store toward a nearby Dunkin' Donuts where police think he got into a car driven by an accomplice. The suspect is described by police as a Hispanic male with a beard, who was wearing a black hooded jacket and sunglasses."

Maybe that's why in GA the pharmacy became a diner.

"Coweta continues to embrace changes in the community, particularly in Newnan, as several memorable venues are "upcycled" to become new again. On Sep. 24, the city celebrated the grand opening of Boomers and the transformation of Hospital Discount Pharmacy into a new, hip eatery"
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Pharmacy-turned-diner-opens-up-in-Georgia-town-6548065.php

Eight month old California cow goliath was shown on tv news this am sitting on the family couch. The owning family claims it thinks it's a dog. Where's the veterinary anti-hallucinogenic medication for this poor dairy creature?

Just as the northeastern states in the us are dealing with heroin, pain management doctor get in trouble while mismanagement of patients leads to their deaths and a football coach is sent to retirement for health reasons.

Murder conviction: A Rowland Heights doctor was convicted of second-degree murder Friday for the overdose deaths of three patients. Dr. Hsiu-Ying "Lisa" Tseng was accused of missing red flags in patients who should not have received prescriptions. "She wrote them a prescription for the very thing they're addicted to. She shoved them over that cliff," a prosecutor said.Los Angeles Times

Cutting back: Citing health issues, USC Athletic Director Pat Haden said he has stepped down from the College Football Playoff committee. At the Oct. 17 game against Notre Dame, Haden became lightheaded and had to visit a hospital before flying back to Los Angeles. "I am reluctant to step down, but my doctors advised me to reduce my traveling," he said in a statement. Los Angeles"

While watching, "The problem of Tolstoy," I learned that he had a fondness of gambling and sexual activities.

There is a word in Spanish ungüento which is the same as ointment. One dictionary claimed ointment was the same as unguento or oilments.

The October 2015 issue of Woman's Day claims that having larger breasts do not increase the cancer risk, merely make it harder for the woman to find cancerous tissue during the self exam.

In other news while watching Kelly and Michael [the replacement of Regis & Kelly, and her predecessor], there was a man who proposed not with a diamond ring, but with a wisdom tooth ring. Supposedly it was because he was a bit quirky and he wanted to do a quirky proposal. Michael stated he would not do it because he didn't have any teeth to give away.

I read somewhere that claimed no kids were ever harmed by adulterated candy. A friend told me how in a part of Pasadena a woman tried to out sharp objects in brownies to hurt the trick or treaters.

From the Los Angeles Times...Breaking News: 30 taken to hospitals from Halloween raves in Pomona, San Bernardino

This reminds me of the rather silly British idiom "And Bob's my Uncle."

From the Washington Post:
According to a study in 1998 1 in 8 births start out with 2 fetuses, but only 1 child is born. The result occurred recently in the case of a Caucasian Washington couple who donated some sperm, and when the wife was impregnated the child did not have the blood type of either parent. It was assumed an other person gave it. However, there was only 1 white male sperm donor that day when the sperm was given. Geneticist Barry Starr explains: there is a 50-50 genetic relationship between parent and child. There is a 25% relationship between uncle and nephew/niece. As it happened this man had a brother in utero, but the brother's dna merged with him as the 9 months of birth occurred. The man's dna is 90% his and 10% his unborn brother. The result of the sperm test was that the brothers DNA was the source. Thus the child's father is the dead uncle, and the father is an uncle.