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Treatment by Food and Fast

Food is a method of treatment. There is not a better method than it, but you have to know what food to eat and when.

During illness and after the recovery one needs a specific food. For example, one, who has had fever, wants to eat sour food; one needs sweet food at another disease.

One thing shall be known: each Divine fruit has its great purpose. Therefore, if you eat apples, you will gain one quality; if you eat plums, you will gain another quality. One becomes what he eats.

Generally, oblong fruits represent intelligence, and knobby, round ones – life and feelings. Fruits are nothing else, but a combination of energies that operate in those forms.

Potatoes give only one quality to man – they make him happy and be satisfied by little. Apples give the following qualities to the human character: they make it soft, gentle, indulgent to people. One gains freshness. If you want to be sweet and gentle, eat grapes. In general, food affects one’s character.

If you want to improve your blood circulation, eat cherries. What is there in cherries? Deep feelings are hidden there. The law of liberty is hidden in cherries. Canadian health&care mall

What do cornels give? If you are spineless and slack and if you eat cornels, you gain stability and strength. They provide iron to the blood.

If the child is anemic, give him more pears; if he is a little bad, give him apples, if he lacks noble feelings, give him cherries, which simultaneously become a regulator of the stomach. Watermelons, cornels, and pumpkins also regulate the stomach. In general, fruits develop noble feelings. One shall just not overeat and overload his stomach.

Someone says: I have neurasthenia! Eat peas! Someone else says: I suffer from hypochondria. Eat wheat! They say for someone that he has a quick temper.

Give him to eat corn! Someone is not persistent in the fulfillment of his duties. Give him to eat rye! There is something perfect in rye. It grows high up. When it comes in one, it develops supreme ideal.

Certain colors prevail in some fruits and in others they are less. For example, take the cherry – red prevails in it. And therefore, if someone is anemic and if he understands the law, while eating cherries, he will get, by no means, all that is necessary for his organism.

Apples originated in the astral world, and pears and lemons – in the mental one. If you look at the shape and color of a tomato, you will find out that it is behind in its development. It has not gone farther than the life of the stomach. Materialists are similar to tomatoes.

The cherry is a symbol in Nature. Red cherry, as well as all red fruits came out of Eden. Cherry is laxative to the organism.

For anemia – eat cucumbers.

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When It Won’t Stay Up – Erectile Dysfunction (Impotence)

The inability to achieve and maintain an adequate erection for satisfactory sexual performance is extremely common and probably affects most men at some stage in their lives.

This important men’s health issue is called erectile dysfunction (ED). The word ‘impotence’ is derived from the Latin for ‘loss of power’ and implies a complete inability to get an erection. The term ‘erectile dysfunction’ cheap priligy australia is preferred because there is a whole variety of erection-related problems. For some men this is only a temporary effect, perhaps when they are under stress, tired or have drunk too much alcohol; for others it can be a more long-lasting problem. However, ED can be an early sign of damage to the blood vessels elsewhere in the body, for example, the heart, the brain or the legs. It can have a significant impact on the quality of life for a man, his partner and their relationship.

What Is the Cause of Erectile Dysfunction?

There is no easy answer to this as there may be several different factors involved. We do know that many men still suffer needlessly in silence, as they either feel too embarrassed to raise the issue or they feel it is part of ‘normal ageing’. Fortunately, these types of issues are no longer taboo and have benefited from a great deal of media exposure in recent years. This has been helped enormously by the arrival of effective medical treatments for this condition, such as Viagra. As a result, men should have the confidence to discuss this important health issue with their family doctor and get appropriate help and treatment.

How Common Is Erectile Dysfunction?

It can occur at any age but is more common as a man gets older. About 50 per cent of all men aged between 40 and 70 and about 70 per cent of men aged over 70 are affected by erectile dysfunction issues.

How Normal Erections Work

Knowledge of how an erection works can be helpful in understanding the causes of erectile dysfunction (ED) as well as the treatment options. Normal erections require healthy arteries, veins and nerves, a mind that is ‘tuned in’, enough testosterone in the system and a chemical called nitric oxide. It is a complex process that starts with physical arousal or erotic thoughts. Penile erection is usually triggered by one of two main mechanisms: direct stimulation of the genitalia or stimuli coming from the brain (fantasy, smell, etc.). This causes messages in the form of chemicals (nitric oxide) to go from the brain down the spinal cord to the penis. The penis is an organ with spongy erectile tissue composed predominantly of muscle. These chemicals then cause the penis to enlarge by increasing its blood supply. This increased blood flow into and storage of blood within the spongy erectile tissue of the penis leads to an increase in its pressure and the development of rigidity (hardness). The increased pressure of blood in the penis helps to prevent blood from escaping out of the penis. Ongoing sexual arousal results in more chemicals going from the brain via the spinal cord into the nerve endings of the penis. Both of these processes help to maintain the erection.

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Heart Disease – The Silent Killer

What Can I Do to Prevent Heart Disease?

  • Keep your total cholesterol level under 5, your LDL (bad) cholesterol level under 3 and your HDL (good) cholesterol level over 1.
  • Eat a heart-healthy diet, focusing on fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, plenty of fibre, oats, oily fish, and eating plenty of foods rich in antioxidants (mainly fruit and vegetables, seeds and pulses). Reduce your dietary salt intake and minimise your saturated fat intake.
  • Develop an active lifestyle and exercise regularly – at least 210 minutes a week (30 minutes a day).
  • Monitor your stress levels – look at your work-life balance, learn to destress and give yourself enough down time.
  • Moderate your alcohol intake – less is more. For most people, who are otherwise not addicted or allergic to alcohol, 1 or 2 units of alcohol per day may have a cardio-protective effect. This is partly due to the benefits of alcohol on HDL cholesterol as well helping the blood to clot.

However, more than two drinks per day increases your risk of heart disease. Be aware of your safe limits.

What about Supplements to Prevent Heart Disease?

Folic acid and the B vitamins can lower homocysteine levels, which tend to be high in Celtic males. Homocysteine is an amino acid implicated in the hardening of the arteries and high levels are a factor in heart disease. Folic acid, either taken through diet or in supplementary form, lowers homocysteine levels and can be a useful addition in the fight against heart disease and stroke. In addition, niacin (Vitamin B3) is very helpful at raising HDL (good) cholesterol levels.

Omega-3 fish oil, particularly that found in cold water fish (such as salmon, tuna and sardines) or else in supplement form, is beneficial for the heart.

Coenzyme Q is produced by the human body and is necessary for the basic working of cells. It is thought that coenzyme Q levels can be low in patients with some chronic diseases, such as heart conditions and high blood pressure. Some without prescription drugs, such as statins for cholesterol, may also lower coenzyme Q levels. Therefore a coenzyme Q supplement may reduce some of the potential side effects of statin treatment for raised cholesterol and may also help to lower blood pressure. This area is the subject of ongoing research.

What About Aspirin?

Aspirin can prevent clotting occurring at the site of narrowed arteries by thinning the blood. Because platelets (the cells in the blood that are involved in blood clotting) are made on a continuous basis by the bone marrow, aspirin must be taken on a regular basis, either daily or every second day, to have its maximum effect.

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The impact of infertility (part 2)

The perspective from adult women mid-thirties to sixties

Four particularly described the fear as a young woman of telling a future boyfriend, as Orten and Orten had found in their study:

  • How will he take me out (4 ft 8 in) when there are girls who are 6 ft, blonde and gorgeous?

And:

  • Once you have a serious relationship, it hits home. The rubber hits the bitumen.

And also:

  • Sometimes one thinks I’m not even going to bother approaching that person.

These words link fertility with sexuality and also seem to suggest that these women saw themselves, perhaps earlier, as diminished in some way by the fact of their syndrome-induced infertility.

Other people were cited as helpful in adjusting to their infertility:

  • My aunt.
  • Having a baby sister.
  • Nieces and nephews. (Echoing Shauna’s reliance on relationships with her very young relatives)
  • Meeting someone really disabled.
  • Joining the Association and talking to others.
  • Friends and new friends.

The women also said they had relied on themselves and their own strengths:

  • Telling myself: ‘Don’t let it overtake your life, there are other things to do.’

And:

  • It’s a private matter, ultimately you have to work through it and deal with it in your own way.

Earlier medical advisors were remembered largely as ‘not helpful’, although all the women Female Viagra Australia were pleased with their current gynaecologists. They said that when they were younger, there was a stigma about counselling. Adoption had been suggested as an alternative route to motherhood for the married older women (when they were younger), and now IVF for the two women in their thirties. One woman referred to a childfree life as an alternative:

  • I’ve travelled my own road… I have been a free agent to go anywhere.

Fostering and inter-country adoption were not mentioned in this discussion and neither were the considerable risks in pregnancy for those with serious heart problems, although they are thoroughly discussed in the scientific literature.

Even though age and experience seemed to ameliorate the effect of infertility, the women’s statements suggested a depth of feeling that was still present from an earlier age. On a one to ten scale of difficulty, with ten the most difficult, fertility was an issue for all five women when they were in the 18–20 age group. Now in the present, one woman in her thirties rated it at four and the second woman in her thirties rated it at nine. The three women 40+ rated infertility at six to eight in their thirties but at one in their forties. This clearly indicates the significant place (as with other women) of fertility difficulties in the child-bearing years of women with TS. One woman’s response resonated with all the other women:

Infertility is one of the cruellest things of Turner Syndrome, the choice was taken from me.

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The impact of infertility

The views of young women late adolescence to mid-twenties

Vignette 1: Shauna, age 19

Shauna is a confident university student, engaged to be married. Diagnosed at birth, she learned about TS early on:

  • I can’t separate ‘Shauna’ from Turner Syndrome as I’ve known Turner’s all my life.

In her early childhood she was cared for by others when her mother was often hospitalized with illness. The family moved around a lot and she frequently changed schools. She had repeated hospital stays for facial surgery and other surgery connected with her condition. Shauna always felt supported by her female endocrinologist and other doctors; she gained strength from her parents’ acceptance of her condition and their desire to help her to accept her condition. On the subject of fertility, she feels that:

  • Some people with TS blow fertility out of proportion. We already know, so we have a chance to come to terms with it. We have to get on with it.

Nevertheless her infertility has a distinct presence in her life: Female viagra Canada

  • It was hard for my parents and me when I had my ovaries removed and they had to tell me that I couldn’t have children… I love playing with children and it would be fantastic if I could have children but that’s an impractical want…some things are just meant to be… I am very fortunate that I’ve got nieces and nephews to play with and I love them as if they were my own.

Nevertheless, the sadness of infertility and the efforts to be positive influence her life as a young woman:

  • I am not just the energetic happy-go-lucky person. I feel I’m treading on a tightrope.

In the next vignette Kate, 26, has a different experience of both her syn-drome and the impact of infertility on her life.

Vignette 2: Kate, age 26

Kate is a well-educated, articulate young woman with a smart appearance that covers her struggle to control a body that she distrusts and that she feels lets her down. At times she is physically unwell. Kate was diagnosed at age seven and her parents told her ‘everything’ at age ten. She felt her experience of TS was negatively influenced by having ongoing medical reviews and by the constant pressure to ‘measure up’ to a height increase that her doctor and parents wanted. At school there were always reminders of her different height and body shape. She described the contradiction between being short and infertile yet attaining physical development and periods through female hormone medication, and also the contradiction between her chronological age and her younger physical appearance. Contradictions extended to social behaviour:

  • There’s a struggle between how I am naturally, what I want to be and what I think society expects from someone of my physique.

As a young woman she placed infertility, along with the body and sexuality, in a metaphorical ‘box’ in her mind in order to control and contain her feelings about her physical self. Kate did not find the new developments of IVF encouraging and expressed her viewpoint strongly:

  • I had fertility taken away from me. If the IVF does not work, it will be taken away from me all over again.

Kate thought she could not identify with infertility as a separate issue:

  • The bottom line is Turner’s, its effects and its consequences – it’s not the shortness per se, it’s not the infertility per se, it’s the whole package.
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Etiology and Risk Factors of ERD – Online Pharmacy News

Etiology and Risk Factors of ERD

Vascular disease is the most common etiology of ERD in elderly men. The risk of vascular ERD increases with smoking, hyper-cholesterolemia, and diabetes. In addition, many diseases, such as diabetes, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease, can cause autonomic dysfunction. This can impair the penile arterial vasodilatation, maintaining the vascular constriction, and therefore preventing erection. Furthermore, a number of medications have been associated with ERD. Medications with anticholinergic properties, such as antidepressants, anti-psychotics, and antihistamines, block parasympathetic-mediated penile artery vasodilatation and trabecular smooth muscle relaxation.8 Causes contributing to ERD may be related to a number of disorders, which are listed in Table 2.

ERD is clearly a symptom of many conditions, and certain risk factors have been identified, some of which may be preventable. Diabetes mellitus, hypogonadism, hypertension, vascular disease, high cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, alcohol ingestion, depression, lack of sexual knowledge, poor sexual techniques, and many chronic diseases have all been identified as risk factors. In addition, age is a strong indirect risk factor because it may be associated with increased likelihood of direct risk factors. Smoking is another indirect risk factor that may increase the effects of other risk factors, such as hypertension or vascular disease. Knowledge of the risk factors can guide patients to prevention strategies.

 

Diagnosis of ERD

ERD may be associated with several abnormalities of the endocrine, neurological, and vascular system. Thus, an appropriate evaluation of all men with ERD should include a medical and sexual history, physical exam, psychosocial evaluation, and appropriate laboratory studies.3

Endocrine evaluation includes hemoglobin A1C, a morning serum testosterone, prolactin, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels. Other tests, such as complete blood count, urinalysis, creatinine, lipid profile, fasting blood sugar, and thyroid function may be indicated to exclude an unrecognized underlying systemic disease. Neurologic causes may be associated with a history of diabetes, spinal injury, or cerebrovascular accident; a detailed medical history will be essential to identify them. In addition, nocturnal penile tumescence testing may be useful when a primary psychogenic ERD is suspected. An erectile response to an intracavernosal injection of pharmacological test dose of a vasodilatory agent, such as papaverine or PGE1, indicates adequate arterial and veno-occlusive function. For patients who favor noninvasive treatments, such as the oral PDE5 inhibitors, pharmacological injection, intraurethral suppository, or vacuum constrictor devices, no further diagnostic tests are necessary. On the other hand, for patients with unsatisfactory response, penile implant surgery or further diagnostic tests may be appropriate.3

■■ III. Pharmacology/Pharmacodynamics

FDA-Approved Therapy

Alprostadil (Caverject, Edex, and MUSE)

Prostaglandin E1 (alprostadil) is one of the prostaglandins, naturally occurring acidic lipids with a variety of pharmacological effects, including vasodilatation, inhibition of platelet aggregation, and stimulation of intestinal and uterine smooth muscle. It acts by relaxing the trabecular smooth muscles of the corpus cavernosum and increasing the diameter of cavernous arteries, and this leads to erection. In animal studies, the degree and duration of cavernous smooth muscle relaxation appears to be dose dependent.11-13

TABLE 3 Selectivity Ratios for PDE5 Inhibitors Versus Other PDE Isoenzymes14-18

 

PDE Isoenzymes
Tissue Localization Vardenafil Tadalafil
PDE1
Brain, heart, kidney, liver, skeletal muscle,
vascular and visceral smooth muscle

>80

>130

> 10,000

PDE2
Adrenal cortex, brain, corpus cavernosum,
heart, kidney, liver, visceral smooth muscle,
and skeletal muscle

>700

>1,000

> 10,000

PDE3
Corpus cavernosum, heart, platelets,
vascular and visceral smooth muscle,
liver, kidney, and adipose tissue

>700

>1,000

> 10,000

PDE4
Kidney, lung, mast cells, brain, heart,
skeletal muscle, vascular and visceral
smooth muscle, thyroid, testis, neural tissue

>700

>1,000

> 10,000

PDE5
Corpus cavernosum, platelets, vascular
and visceral smooth muscle

1

1

1

PDE6
Retina

10

>15

700

PDE7
Skeletal muscle, heart, lymphocytes

>700

>1,000

>10,000

PDE8
Widely distributed; most abundant in
testes, ovaries, small intestine, and colon

>700

>1,000

>9,000

PDE9
Widely distributed; most abundant in
spleen, small intestine, and brain

>700

>1,000

>9,000

PDE10
Putamen and caudate nucleus, testes, thyroid

>700

>1,000

>9,000

PDE11
Corpus cavernosum, penile vasculature,
vascular smooth muscle, testes, pituitary,
liver, kidney, skeletal muscle

>700

>300

14

PDE5 Inhibitors ( Viagra for sale myviagrainaustralia.com, Vardenafil, and Tadalafil)

 

The mechanism of penile erection involves relaxation of the corpus cavernosal smooth muscle. This occurs through release of nitric oxide during sexual stimulation, which results in increased concentrations of cGMP. Sildenafil, vardenafil, and tadalafil are all competitive inhibitors of the type 5 cGMP-specific PDE5 enzyme.14-16 The result is an enhancement of the effect of nitric oxide secondary to a decrease in degradation of cGMP. PDE5 inhibitors have no effect in the absence of sexual stimulation.

There are 11 families of phosphodiesterase isoenzymes that have been identified in mammalian tissue. While PDE1 through 6 have been extensively studied, PDE7 through 11 have been recently discovered, and thus less is known regarding their distribution and function in the human body.

Sildenafil, vardenafil, and cialis australia are all more selective for the PDE5 isoenzyme than for all other PDE isoenzymes. However, degrees of selectivity vary among the agents, depending on the isoenzyme in question. As illustrated in Table 3, sildenafil is 80 times more selective for PDE5 than for PDE1, but greater than 80 times more selective for PDE6, an isoenzyme heavily concentrated in the retina of the eye.17,18 In contrast, tadalafil is greater than 700 times more selective for PDE5 than for the PDE6 isoenzyme. This selectivity ratio pattern may explain why the side effect of blue-tinged vision or changes in blue-green color discrimination is reported with sildenafil canadian pharmacy but is not expected to occur with tadalafil use. On the other hand, tadalafil is only 14 times more selective for the PDE5 than the PDE11 isoenzyme than sildenafil and vardenafil, which have much higher selectivity ratios. The low selectivity ratio of tadalafil for PDE11, an isoenzyme heavily concentrated in the testes and skeletal muscle, led investigators to conduct safety studies to ascertain what effect tadalafil would have on sper-matogenesis. However, 6-month, daily-dosing, placebo-controlled studies with 10 and 20 mg/day of tadalafil produced no clinically relevant effect on spermatogenesis as measured by sperm count and sperm morphology and motility. Additionally, no effect was observed on hormones related to spermatogenesis (luteinizing hormone, FSH, testosterone) with chronic tadalafil use.19

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Pharmacy News Online: Choosing the Best Canadian Pharmacy- 3 Tips to Follow

Choosing the Best Canadian Pharmacy- 3 Tips to Follow

he recent years, the Canadian Pharmacies online have gained tremendous popularity. Affordable price as well as easy availability makes online Canadian pharmacies a much more convenient option for customers all over the world. The availability of various drugs at a reduced rate has created a great demand for the Canadian pharmacies to meet various needs of not only their own customers but from all over the world. Therefore, it’s important to select the best Canadian pharmacy online.

According to reports, more than 2 million people in the United States consider Canadian pharmacies for meeting their drugs requirements. If you’re cautious about the mail order prescriptions, then you’ve to consider few important tips when buying Canadian prescription drugs online.

First of all, you should make sure that you’re buying drugs or medicines from any licensed Canadian pharmacy. Pharmacies based in British Columbia, Canada usually comes accredited by College of Pharmacists of British Columbia. Hence, you must look for the license number of the pharmacy and the contact information including the phone number, the physical address and name of pharmacy manager.

For any concern or question related to the legitimacy of any British Columbian pharmacy, you may contact College 2001765 West, located at West 8th Avenue in Vancouver, British Columbia, BC, V6J 5CG. You must also look whether the Canadian pharmacy is accredited by Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA).

CIPA is a licensing organization located in Canada. It provides licensing program which certifies online Canadian pharmacies to offer prescription medicines and drugs to the customers based worldwide. The CIPA certification makes sure that the pharmacy is reputable, licensed and even adheres to all strict safety protocols. The CIPA member pharmacies have offered more than 1 million patients all over the world annually with the Canadian prescription medicines.

Last but not the least, when you visit the website of a Canadian pharmacy, you would be able to get a fair picture of the professionals of a Canadian pharmacy. A website must always focus on offering you the relevant information rather then just filing up with different marketing efforts. There must be a section for newsletter. An authentic website will also include the facilities to interact with the pharmacist empanelled or employed with them. All of these will hint you whether you’re actually going to deal with the right professionals or not.

BioPlus Specialty Pharmacy Releases New Corporate Video Highlighting Individualized Care Plans To Maximize Patient Adherence

BioPlus Specialty Pharmacy (BioPlus), one of the nation’s leading specialty pharmacies, today announces that it posted a new corporate presentation video. The video shares the operations of this specialty pharmacy so viewers can understand how top patient outcomes are achieved by BioPlus. In short, viewers will learn who we are, what we do, and how we exceed industry standards as a specialty pharmacy providing individualized care plans that maximize patient adherence.

At seven minutes long, the film uses a mix of one-on-one interviews with key executives, along with graphics, clips, and commentary to share the company’s origins, its growth to the national level, technological advances, on-going training, and how BioPlus works directly with physicians, patients, the pharmaceutical industry, and insurance payers to provide high quality care for complex chronic conditions.

“With our 20 year history, BioPlus has an important story to share. We want viewers to know that we aren’t just a company dispensing medications; we treat each patient with an individual pharmaceutical care plan to make sure that their biologic specialty medicines have the intended results,” shares Dr. Stephen Vogt, president and CEO of BioPlus. “Our team of pharmacists, nurses, and technicians work together to get patients the medications they need and make sure they understand the treatment process. Our frequent patient communication allows us to address any issues so that patients complete what can be a difficult therapy. All the while, keeping true to our core values of competence, accountability, respect, and trust,” he adds.

The latest compliance statistics from a sampling of the treatment programs at BioPlus, which includes more than 19,700 BioPlus patients being treated for HCV, oncology, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, and other conditions, shows that BioPlus achieves a 91 percent compliance rate at discharge. By comparison, the compliance rate for retail and mail-order pharmacies is only 50 percent. Clearly, all of our high-touch patient focus as a specialty pharmacy achieves our goal of ensuring treatment and improving outcomes.

New UQ pharmacy program enhances student internships

University of Queensland pharmacy students are being given the opportunity to build on their internship experience, thanks to a new UQ training program.

The Australian Pharmacy Council has accredited UQ’s School of Pharmacy to deliver the National Alliance for Pharmacy Education’s (NAPE) Pharmacy Intern Training Program.

The program offers students the opportunity to enhance their internship year by completing a further year of part-time study and obtain a formal postgraduate qualification from UQ, the Graduate Certificate in Pharmacy Practice.

Head of the UQ School of Pharmacy Professor Nick Shaw said the program would provide students with further opportunities to gain valuable postgraduate qualification.

“Our intern training program will provide a case-based learning experience that will enhance the transition from internships to cutting-edge professions,” he said.

“We have experienced educators and pharmacy experts, practising in a variety of settings, who will assist the interns on their journey to becoming competent pharmacists.”

The program uses online, face-to-face and self-directed modes of education, and allows pharmacy interns to easily access their coursework, irrespective of their location.

Formed in 2010 by UQ, Monash University, University of South Australia and The University of Sydney, NAPE aims to support the ongoing advancement of the pharmacy profession as a key contributor to the healthcare team.

The NAPE Intern Training Program offers cutting-edge education from universities at the forefront of pharmacy education and research in Australia.

Minimum entrance requirements are a degree or equivalent qualification in pharmacy from Australia or New Zealand. All applicants must be registered as an intern pharmacist with the Pharmacy Board of Australia.

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Pharmacy News Online: NCPA Digest Finds Independent Community Pharmacies Reducing Health Costs Through Generic Drug Use, Patient Counseling

NCPA Digest Finds Independent Community Pharmacies Reducing Health Costs Through Generic Drug Use, Patient Counseling

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) today announced the availability of the 2011 NCPA Digest, sponsored by Cardinal Health, a comprehensive survey of the current state of independent community pharmacies. It finds that independent community pharmacies continue evolving to meet patient health needs, reduce costs, and remain a viable small business model amid a tough economic landscape, declining prescription drug reimbursements by public and private health plans, and rising expenses, such as employee salaries.

“The 2011 NCPA Digest, sponsored by Cardinal Health, offers further proof of the adaptability and innovation of independent community pharmacists as they try to overcome significant challenges to keep serving patients,” said B. Douglas Hoey, RPh, MBA, NCPA executive vice president and CEO. “By offering a variety of patient-friendly niches to complement the prescription drugs they dispense, independent community pharmacies continue to distinguish themselves from their competitors and win kudos from patients.”

“Community pharmacists continue to play a vital role in improving health outcomes while reducing costs,” Hoey added. “First, the Digest indicates that community pharmacists reached new highs in promoting the appropriate use of lower-cost generic drugs. Second, they are providing critical, face-to-face patient counseling on the proper use of medications, and on combating diabetes and other common conditions. These clinically trained, small business health care providers stand ready to reduce costs further, such as through coordinated care models, so long as the unsustainable rate of reimbursement cuts ceases.”

Now in its 79th year, the NCPA Digest provides these noteworthy 2010 findings:

Fueled by declining reimbursement rates and rising business costs, the number of total independent community pharmacies decreased slightly from 23,117 to 23,064.

The average independent community pharmacy’s pretax net profit margin fell from 3.2 percent to 3.0 percent,

Approximately 92 percent of revenue is derived from the sale of prescription drugs.

Continuing to fill the void in underserved areas, the number of independent community pharmacies in areas of 20,000 people or less, remained constant at 52 percent.

There was a small decline in the average amount of prescription drugs dispensed from 64,635 to 64,169, although the number of refills increased slightly.

Independent community pharmacies set a new high in generic drug utilization, increasing their “generic dispensing rate” from 69 percent to 72 percent.

The number of prescription drugs dispensed under the Medicare Part D program remains at 30 percent. In a sign of the tough economy, the number of Medicaid prescription drugs dispensed rose from 14 percent to 16 percent.

Home delivery (76 percent of pharmacies offer it free of charge) and compounding (66 percent) remained among the most common niche services offered by independent community pharmacies.

Disease state management services (immunization, blood pressure monitoring, diabetes training, etc.) or medication therapy management (MTM) service were offered by 78 percent of pharmacies.

In terms of cutting-edge advancements, 90 percent of independents are connected for e-prescribing and 72 percent use point-of-sale technology.

“Cardinal Health is proud to sponsor the NCPA Digest, which provides vital demographic, business, and financial information about independent community pharmacies,” said Jay Williams, vice president of marketing management for Cardinal Health’s Retail Pharmacy business. “This important industry resource helps NCPA identify how they can better assist members in providing quality, personalized care to patients and helps pharmacy owners improve their businesses by benchmarking their performance against their peers.”

In light of the Digest findings, NCPA reiterated its support for policies to support the patient’s choice of pharmacy and to promote pharmacy competition:

Rejecting the proposed merger of two of the three largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) Express Scripts and Medco – opposed by consumer groups, questioned by members of Congress, and currently under Federal Trade Commission review;

U.S. Senate and House bills the Pharmacy Competition and Consumer Choice Act of 2011(S. 1058 / H.R. 1971), which seek to promote patient choice and address unreasonable pharmacy audits; and

The Preserving Our Hometown Independent Pharmacies Act (H.R. 1946) to allow independent community pharmacies to collectively bargain for fairer contracts with PBMs, which administer many prescription drug plans and also operate competing mail order pharmacies.

“When 89 percent of prescriptions are covered by third party contracts, which are dominated by PBMs, there should be a focus on achieving a fairer and more competitive pharmacy marketplace,” said Robert J. Greenwood, RPh, NCPA president and pharmacy owner in Waterloo, Iowa. “That is why we continue to press our case at every opportunity for these pro-patient, pro-pharmacist policies. We will also continue to work with policymakers and stakeholders on forward-looking issues such as the development of accountable care organizations and state health insurance exchanges.”

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA®) represents the interests of America’s community pharmacists, including the owners of more than 23,000 independent community pharmacies. Together they represent a $93 billion health care marketplace, dispense over 37% of all retail prescriptions, and employ more than 315,000 people, including 62,400 pharmacists. Independent community pharmacists are readily accessible medication experts who can help lower health care spending. They are committed to maximizing the appropriate use of lower-cost generic drugs and reducing the estimated $290 billion that is wasted annually by improper medication use.

Choosing the Best Canadian Pharmacy- 3 Tips to Follow

In the recent years, the Canadian Pharmacies online have gained tremendous popularity. Affordable price as well as easy availability makes online Canadian pharmacies a much more convenient option for customers all over the world. The availability of various drugs at a reduced rate has created a great demand for the Canadian pharmacies to meet various needs of not only their own customers but from all over the world. Therefore, it’s important to select the best Canadian pharmacy online.

According to reports, more than 2 million people in the United States consider Canadian pharmacies for meeting their drugs requirements. If you’re cautious about the mail order prescriptions, then you’ve to consider few important tips when buying Canadian prescription drugs online.

First of all, you should make sure that you’re buying drugs or medicines from any licensed Canadian pharmacy. Pharmacies based in British Columbia, Canada usually comes accredited by College of Pharmacists of British Columbia. Hence, you must look for the license number of the pharmacy and the contact information including the phone number, the physical address and name of pharmacy manager.

For any concern or question related to the legitimacy of any British Columbian pharmacy, you may contact College 2001765 West, located at West 8th Avenue in Vancouver, British Columbia, BC, V6J 5CG. You must also look whether the Canadian pharmacy is accredited by Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA).

CIPA is a licensing organization located in Canada. It provides licensing program which certifies online Canadian pharmacies to offer prescription medicines and drugs to the customers based worldwide. The CIPA certification makes sure that the pharmacy is reputable, licensed and even adheres to all strict safety protocols. The CIPA member pharmacies have offered more than 1 million patients all over the world annually with the Canadian prescription medicines.

Last but not the least, when you visit the website of a Canadian pharmacy, you would be able to get a fair picture of the professionals of a Canadian pharmacy. A website must always focus on offering you the relevant information rather then just filing up with different marketing efforts. There must be a section for newsletter. An authentic website will also include the facilities to interact with the pharmacist empanelled or employed with them. All of these will hint you whether you’re actually going to deal with the right professionals or not.

Dispensing more than medicine

A national pharmacy chain is rolling out a new, free program addressing the specific needs of the more than 26 million Americans living with diabetes that could become an important tool in San Joaquin County’s fight to stem the costly – and deadly – epidemic.

“Diabetes can be an overwhelming condition. Information is all over the place,” said Jolene Doty, a graduate of University of the Pacific’s Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and Rite Aid’s pharmacy district manager, who oversees 25 stores in the region.

Rite Aid, with eight pharmacies in San Joaquin County among its 4,700 stores in 31 states, has launched “wellness+ for diabetes,” which includes an exclusive collaboration with online medical resource WebMD, telephone and online access to specially trained pharmacists who can answer diabetes-medication questions, and discounts on diabetes-related products.

Diabetes patients can create a personal plan that features a daily glucose tracker, a weekly workout log, recipes and meal planning tips, and monthly lifestyle summary reports. WebMD’s Diabetes head2toe program provides comprehensive health and wellness information about living with diabetes as well as inspirational stories from people who live healthy, balanced lives with diabetes.

“New diabetic patients are usually very concerned and overwhelmed by all the information they receive at one time,” Doty said. “Our role as pharmacists is shifting.”

As more pharmacists come out from behind the counter to provide outreach education and training for consumers, Doty said “all good pharmacists” should show patients how to use their blood-glucose monitors and spend time showing them how to properly inject insulin.

For long-term patients, the pharmacist can be a resource to “help them be compliant with their medications and help them tear down any barriers to help them stay compliant and afford medications,” she said.

Doty said Rite Aid’s “wellness+ for diabetes” program is the first nationwide pharmacy loyalty program to include a health and wellness component, focusing on a specific disease.

“Pharmacists are the most accessible health care providers, not only in person, but by phone. This is very important going forward, whether the patients are insured or not, that they get pointed in the right direction,” Doty said.

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Pharmacy News Online: Would You Invest in This Drug Retailer?

Would You Invest in This Drug Retailer?

Pharmacy retailer-cum-benefits manager CVS Caremark has struggled to cope with rising costs. Though the top line increased by double digits in its most recent quarter, its bottom line struggled. Let’s take a closer look at whether CVS deserves a place in your portfolio.

CVS has tried to boost flagging front-end sales by opening new stores, which should add to the top line. In addition to recently opening 41 new stores, taking its total store count up to 7,266, it also recently entered a deal to provide mail-order pharmacy services to more than 5 million U.S. federal employees, retirees, and dependents.

Is the price right?
Let’s see how the company is valued compared with its industry peers.

Pfizer joins with NABP to fight counterfeit medicine menace

Pfizer and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy in the USA have launched a new effort to draw attention to the risks associated with counterfeit medicines and help patients to safely buy drugs online.

As part of the exercise, Pfizer has carried out an online sampling exercise in which it bought its erectile dysfunction (ED) product Viagra (sildenafil) from 26 pharmacy websites that appeared among the top results when “buy Viagra” was entered into two search engines.

All the pharmacies examined were found to be operating illegally, and 81 per cent of them were selling counterfeit Viagra.

Those results reinforce a recent review by the NABP of more than 8,000 websites selling prescription medicines, which found that 96 per cent appeared to be operating in conflict with pharmacy laws and practice standards, putting patients at risk of receiving counterfeit or adulterated medicines.

Adding to the danger, patients who buy medicines from illegitimate online pharmacies are at risk of financial fraud and identity theft when they share their credit card and other personal information with criminal counterfeiting networks.

A new Harris Interactive survey carried out by Pfizer reveals that men with ED showed considerable confusion when asked whether ED medicines bought online – and the pharmacies selling them – were likely to be authentic or not.

Around 6 per cent of men polled said they considered themselves knowledgeable about determining the legitimacy of an online pharmacy, but many were adopting risky buying behaviours, such as buying ED medicines from Internet pharmacies advertised by spam (27 per cent) or based on an online search (36 per cent).

Moreover, while the men were more likely to trust a website claiming to be based in Canada, Pfizer’s analysis found that none of the four websites identifying themselves as Canadian actually shipped their products from Canada, sourcing them mainly from Hong Kong, India and the USA.

Most worryingly, the survey found that even though 23 per cent of men did not believe that online pharmacies claiming to be based in Canada were selling real brand-name products, nearly half of respondents (46 per cent) would still consider buying ED medicines from them.

To help raise awareness of the problem of counterfeit drugs, Pfizer and the NABP have set up a YouTube channel and various other online resources to provide easy-to-understand information about the dangers of buying medicines online.

“Online advertising will reach patients at the critical moment when they are searching for popular keywords, such as ‘buy Viagra’ and ‘cheap Viagra’,” said Pfizer in a statement.

When users click on the ads, they will be taken to the Viagra YouTube channel to view educational videos about the dangers of counterfeit medicines and how to safely buy prescription medicines online.

Pfizer, pharmacy group warn on counterfeit drugs

Pfizer Inc. and a pharmacy standards group are teaming to warn consumers about the risks of counterfeit prescription medicines, which endanger the public and take money from both pharmacies and legitimate drugmakers.

Pfizer Inc., whose impotence pill Viagra is widely counterfeited, and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy on Thursday announced the start of an educational campaign to explain the dangers of counterfeit drugs and help people find legitimate pharmacies online.

Counterfeit drugs can be very dangerous, containing toxic substances such as rat poison or lead, or they can have the wrong amount of the real drug’s active ingredient. In addition, people who buy medicines from illegal online pharmacies risk financial fraud and identity theft if they provide credit card or other personal information.

New York-based Pfizer, the world’s biggest drug maker by revenue, said counterfeit versions of its medicines have been sold in at least 101 countries. Sham versions of at least 40 Pfizer products have been detected in those countries, including Alzheimer’s treatment Aricept, painkiller Celebrex, cholesterol fighter Lipitor, blood-pressure drug Norvasc, antidepressant Zoloft and Viagra.

Estimated worldwide sales of counterfeit medicines topped $75 billion last year, up 90 percent since 2005, according to the World Health Organization. Meanwhile, one in six Americans bought medicines on the Internet last year.

“Counterfeit medicines are often produced in unsanitary conditions by people without any medical or scientific background,” Patrick Ford, Pfizer’s head of global security in the Americas, said in a statement.