Aimee Simone, Assistant Editor

A pair of studies finds that when pharmacists take the lead in medication reconciliation, medication lists become more accurate, and medication errors decrease.

Non-influenza vaccine coverage for adults increased somewhat in 2012, but continued to lag behind goals, particularly for racial and ethnic minorities.

Women who take aspirin regularly may be at a reduced risk for ovarian cancer, the results of a new meta-analysis suggest.

Women and members of racial and ethnic minorities were generally less likely to be adherent to medications than were white men a year after having a heart attack, a new study finds.

A study found no significant association between use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs by pregnant women and miscarriage, but its authors noted the need for further research.

Perceptions of the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease after receiving the first dose of the HPV vaccine were not associated with rates of risky sexual activity among adolescent girls, a study finds.

Clinicians whose offices displayed a letter in which they committed to prescribing antibiotics appropriately reduced their rate of inappropriate prescribing, a study finds.

Post-myocardial infarction patients who had each of their preventive medications on hand at least 80% of the time had significantly lower rates of major vascular events or revascularization than controls.

A new study provides evidence that diabetes patients should receive the influenza vaccine, though its results are not as strong as those produced by previous studies.

A study finds that children who develop hyponatremia after surgery for intracranial tumors are at heightened risk for a range of negative outcomes.

A report from IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics finds that many pharmaceutical companies are lagging when it comes to engaging patients via social media.

Patients who consistently used an online portal to refill their statin prescriptions had significantly increased medication adherence and improved LDL cholesterol control.

A survey of pharmacy directors finds that they blame drug shortages for causing medication errors and adding to institutional costs.

The agency has asked prescribers not to prescribe medications containing more than 325 mg of acetaminophen per dose.

A recent study found that mild cognitive impairment was more likely in patients who had COPD, especially in those who had COPD for longer than 5 years.

Patients who received lower levels of opioid painkillers due to use of neuraxial analgesia along with general anesthesia had lower levels of systematic progression and overall death than those who received general anesthesia alone.

A CDC report finds that vaccination had a particularly profound effect on high-risk populations, but that higher rates of coverage would have prevented millions more cases of flu.

The results of a recent study indicate that Alzheimer's disease patients who took vitamin E had significantly slower disease progression than those who took placebo.

Medication adherence was higher among patients who received their medication from a specialty pharmacy than from other dispensing channels.

A program in which patients taking medication for multiple chronic conditions picked up all their medications on the same day of the month and regularly met with a pharmacist led to increased adherence.

Opioid abusers who prefer oxycodone cited the quality of the high as the primary reason behind their choice, while those who prefer hydrocodone were more likely to cite its accessibility, a new study finds.

Pharmacists tied for second in the annual poll of the public's trust in various professions, placing in the top 3 for the 11th year in a row.

A survey of physicians who prescribe specialty medications released by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association found that they were skeptical that all traditional pharmacies were capable of dispensing specialty medications.

Children hospitalized with severe cases of flu were more likely to survive if they received antivirals within 48 hours of symptom onset than if they received the medications later, a new study finds.

A new report from the CDC finds that almost 50% of asthma patients received a flu shot in the 2010-2011 season, compared with 36% of asthma patients in the 2005-2006 season.

A study comparing rates of contagious disease before and after the introduction of vaccines finds that vaccines have prevented more than 100 million disease cases in the United States over the past 90 years.

A reduction in pediatric health care visits related to otitis media between 2001 and 2011 appears to be due to uptake of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, according to the results of a new study.

A new poll from Gallup finds that young adults and those with low incomes report lower levels of familiarity with the Affordable Care Act than do older adults or those with higher incomes.

More than 1 in 5 pediatrician visits result in an antibiotic prescription, and a new report urges prescribers to carefully consider whether these prescriptions are warranted.

A systematic review of previous studies finds no evidence of decreased cognitive function associated with statin use.