Community/Retail

in the midst of all the discussion on how to reduce opioid prescribing and abuse, there seems to be awkward silence when it comes to the largest group of opioid users: nonabusers.

Compliance and adherence are key factors for modern pharmacists to know because they're in an important position to encourage patients to follow their prescribed treatment regimens and to help modify behaviors in support of those regimens.

John Fanikos, RPh, MBA, director of pharmacy at Brigham and Women's Hospital, provides some key takeaways for pharmacists on atrial fibrillation management.

With many independent community pharmacists reporting financial losses filling Medicare prescriptions, the National Community Pharmacists Association has written to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and asked the agency to take action to prompt Part D plans and/or their pharmacy benefit managers to comply with a federal requirement that Medicare prescription drug reimbursement reflect "the market price of acquiring the drug."

Eric Christianson CGP, BCPS, is the founder and primary contributing author of MedEd101, a blog about clinical pharmacy education expertise for fellow pharmacists, students, nurses, and our health care provider communities.