Daniel Weiss, Senior Editor

As of Tuesday, October 16, 2012, contaminated steroids produced by a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy have been linked to 233 cases in 15 states and a total of 15 deaths.

The FDA's enforcement action against online pharmacies led to the shutdown of more than 18,000 illegal pharmacy websites and the seizure of $10.5 million worth of pharmaceuticals around the world.

Extending the expiration dates of medications to better reflect the durability of their active ingredients could potentially yield significant savings on prescription drug costs.

A review of 2 recent studies finds statistically significant advantages of antibiotics in terms of initial resolution of symptoms and clinical failure rate.

The American Association of Pediatrics recommends that all children older than 6 months receive the seasonal flu vaccine and has updated vaccine dosage guidelines for young children.

Since 2010, the CDC has recommended that all Americans older than 6 months receive the annual influenza vaccine, but coverage rates have so far fallen short of goals.

The development of improved flu vaccines, antivirals, and antibacterials are among the recommendations in a report from the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

The 2011-2012 flu season saw relatively low rates of hospitalization for influenza and a low rate of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza.

Pregnant women who received the H1N1 vaccine were less likely to experience stillbirth, give birth very early, or have an infant that was severely underweight, a study found.

The decline of independent pharmacies and rise of retail chains have been key factors in making pharmacy unusually egalitarian in terms of pay and opportunity for women, argue a pair of Harvard economists.

Patients with high cholesterol who took tablets with plant sterols and stanols had reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in a randomized crossover study.

An alert from the Joint Commission includes a number of ways to ensure safe administration of opioids in hospitals, several of which emphasize the role of pharmacists.

Researchers believe that their program, tested at Johns Hopkins Hospital, has the potential to dramatically reduce the risk of adverse drug events.

At hospitals around the country, pharmacists are helping to increase scores on the medication and pain management sections of the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey.

Antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and the sleeping pills known as Z-drugs are all associated with a significantly increased risk of car accidents, according to a new study.

A meta-analysis including 20 studies and more than 68,000 patients finds that the popular supplements do not improve major cardiovascular outcomes.

A new study finds that after prescription drugs are made available OTC, their ads downplay adverse effects that may be associated with them.

This year's outbreak of West Nile virus has been particularly severe in Texas, which has been host to almost half of all cases.

A review of adverse drug events reported to the FDA suggests that more powerful statins come with a greater risk of myopathy.

Despite attention to improving the quality of prescription, 1 in 5 prescriptions to elderly patients in primary care settings is inappropriate.

The United States is on track to have the most cases of whooping cough in 5 decades--and waning vaccine effectiveness may be to blame.

Numerous studies have quantified the widespread practice of prescribing drugs off-label, but many patients are unaware that it is allowed, according to a new analysis.

The sensors would allow health care providers to track precisely when patients take their pills, with the goal of improving medication adherence.

In response to a congressional committee report holding it largely responsible for drug shortages, the FDA counters that the shortages are beyond its control.

Researchers note that increasing the influenza vaccination rate could help reduce overprescription of some antibiotics and combat antibiotic resistance.

The country's largest pharmacy chain and its largest pharmacy benefit manager have come to a new agreement, which will go into effect on September 15.

A randomized controlled study found that pharmacist counseling failed to reduce clinically important medication errors and adverse drug events in patients recently discharged from the hospital.

The country's largest association of medical doctors has come out against expanding the role of pharmacists in prescribing medications.