Daniel Weiss, Senior Editor

A number of speakers at the American Pharmacists Association 2014 Annual Meeting in Orlando emphasized the importance of winning provider status for pharmacists.

Associations representing pharmacists expressed overwhelming support for a bill introduced in the House of Representatives that would define pharmacists as health care providers under Medicare.

Pharmacists slip to fifth place from third place in the U.S. News ranking of the country's best professions, but continue to place highly thanks to relatively good pay and the promise of job growth due to the changing health care system.

Following the urging of many health care and public health organizations, CVS Caremark will become the first national pharmacy chain to stop selling cigarettes and tobacco products.

An expert debate on whether hydrocodone combination products should be made Schedule II drugs, as the FDA has recommended.

Our review of the year's most popular and important stories in pharmacy-from the push for pharmacist provider status to the ongoing fight against prescription drug abuse.

Speakers at the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting ranging from ASHP President Gerald Meyer, PharmD, to Michael Lee, PharmD, of the Indian Health Service, argued that pharmacists are closer than ever before to achieving their goal of attaining provider status.

Retired general and former secretary of state Colin Powell discussed his thoughts on the US health care system and the role pharmacists play within it during his keynote address at the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting.

Pharmacy Times, the American Journal of Managed Care, and the Convenient Care Association presented a panel discussion on how the Affordable Care Act is affecting the health care landscape and opportunities it is offering to retail clinics.

New guidelines from the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology eliminate strict LDL cholesterol targets and include stroke risk in determining whether patients should take statins.

Opioid painkillers were given to more than half of nonsurgical US hospital patients, a study finds, with wide variations in prescribing rates among hospitals and notable variations based on region.

Having expanded from traditional hospitals to serve as the medication expert in a range of other settings, health-system pharmacists are poised to play an important role in the health care system of the future.

The FDA announced that the last 2 asthma inhalers containing chlorofluorocarbon propellants will be phased out by the end of 2013 to comply with a treaty designed to protect the ozone layer.

In an attempt to stem the abuse of hydrocodone combination products, the agency will recommend that they be reclassified as Schedule II drugs from their current status as Schedule III drugs.

In a keynote address at the NCPA annual convention, Bill Clinton praised pharmacists for their practical approach to serving patients and argued that health care reform will help curb costs and improve care.

The Affordable Care Act's health insurance marketplaces launched on October 1, and the nation's pharmacies are among those helping to inform Americans of their options.

In her keynote address at the NACDS Total Store Expo, Hillary Clinton lauded pharmacists for the important role they play in our nation's health care system.

CVS Caremark and Walgreens each recently announced plans to inform customers about their options for getting health insurance through exchanges established by the health care reform law.

Pharmacist ranked third among all professions for the second year in a row based on strong job growth prospects and good pay.

Patients taking prescription drugs for chronic conditions received an average medication adherence grade of just C+, according to a report released by the National Community Pharmacists Association.

Jason Koury is making a difference through patient outreach.

The court's decision makes it more likely that generic versions of medications will be made available before their patents expire and will likely lead to reduced drug costs for consumers.

A federal judge grudgingly accepted the Obama administration's proposal to make Plan B One-Step available without restrictions and urged it to do the same for all levonorgestrel-based emergency contraceptives.

At a town hall event at the ASHP Summer Meeting in Minneapolis, CEO Paul Abramowitz updated the membership on the movement to attain pharmacist provider status.

Survey results from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit suggest that an inpatient pharmacist-directed anticoagulation service increases patient satisfaction and may boost Medicare reimbursement as well.

Urban elementary school students with poorly controlled asthma tend to produce poorer schoolwork and sleep less well than those whose asthma is well-controlled.

Almost three-quarters of college students say sharing prescription drugs is common among their acquaintances, and less than a fifth say their schools have established programs to deal with the problem.

The agency rejected a request from the painkiller's manufacturer to outlaw generic versions lacking tamper-resistant features just weeks after deciding the opposite way for generic versions of OxyContin.