Survey

Last month's survey results:

With several proton pump inhibitors now available OTC, what do you believe is the most appropriate coverage for this class of agents within managed care drug benefit programs?

* No coverage should be provided for OTC or prescription products under the drug benefit. 14%

* Coverage of prescription products only under the drug benefit without restriction. 9%

* Coverage of prescription products only under the drug benefits with restrictions (eg, step therapy). 20%

* Coverage of both prescription and OTC products under the drug benefit without restriction. 21%

* Coverage of both prescription and OTC products under the drug benefit with restriction (eg, step therapy). 36%

With the recent introduction of 2 new protease inhibitors as adjunctive therapies for the management of hepatitis C, what do you envision your organization's approach will be to managing the use of these products?

a) Selection of one preferred product only

b) Maintain both agents on formulary and allow providers to choose

c) Employ prior authorization to validate clinical appropriateness before coverage

d) a & c

e) b & c

Digital Edition

FDA revises labels, recommends limiting simvastatin dosing

Higher-dose antiepileptics increase risk of congenital malformations

FDA alerts pharmacists to risperidone, ropinirole mix-ups

FDA announced reports of medication errors involving risperidone and ropinirole in which some patients who took the wrong medication needed to be hospitalized. Read full article.

FDA warns of adverse cardiovascular events associated with varenicline, notes label change

Safety information regarding varenicline will be added to the Warnings and Precautions section of the label and to the patient Medication Guide because smoking cessation aid varenicline may be associated with an increased risk of certain cardiovascular adverse events in patients who have cardiovascular disease. Read full article.

Crizotinib shows early promise as treatment for ALK+ NSCLC

Crizotinib demonstrated an association with a sharp increase in survival rates for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer with an anaplastic lymphoma kinase positive genetic alteration, according to the results of a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Read full article.