U.S. Pharmacist Weekly News

January 9, 2019

Blood Glucose Test Strips Overused by Some
Diabetes Patients
Many of the diabetes test strips dispensed by pharmacists could be unnecessary, especially if patients don’t use insulin. That’s according to a new study suggesting that frequent blood-glucose testing by those patients is an example of costly “low-value” care. Here are more details.

Survey Questions Electronic Prescribing System Warnings
How seriously should warnings in electronic prescribing systems be taken? That’s the question raised by a new survey that found that prescribing clinicians consider many of those alerts to be incorrect. Learn about examples of when such warnings did not even reflect product-labeling information.

Benzodiazepine Use, Appropriate or Not, Rises Significantly in the United States
If pharmacists perceive they are filling a lot of prescriptions for benzodiazepines, they are correct. A new review finds dramatic increases in the use of those drugs in the last 5 years or so. Find out what percentage of that usage is by prescription, as well as the surprising proportion attributed to misuse.

Common Nausea Medication Appears to Have Little Effect
on Fetuses
Here’s some comforting news for pregnant women using ondansetron to treat nausea. A new study finds little evidence of risk to the fetus, except for a possible slight increase in oral-cleft cases. Here is more information on the study and what it found.

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