Pharmacy - Newslocker

IV Workflow Management Systems Keep Pace With Expanding Ambulatory Infusion Market

Sat, 24 Oct 2026 02:00:00 +0200

By Gina ShawIV workflow management systems (IVWMS) have long been a fixture of inpatient sterile compounding, and their footprint is expanding rapidly. Health systems are now pushing these platforms into ambulatory infusion centers, 503B outsourcing facilities, and home infusion pharmacies, each of which carries its own safety demands, regulatory requirements, and operational constraints.“This is encouraging,” said Mark Neuenschwander, the founding director of the THRIV Coalition for IV Accu

The Value Case for Outpatient ID Pharmacy

Fri, 23 Oct 2026 20:00:00 +0200

By Gina ShawTodd Sorensen, PharmDWhen Todd Sorensen, PharmD, asked a room of infectious disease pharmacists at the newly combined Making a Difference in Infectious Diseases and Society of Infectious Disease Pharmacists 2026 meeting, in Orlando, Florida, how many were actively billing fee-for-service for their cognitive work, not a single hand went up. The same question in the previous session had yielded the same answer: none.Dr. Sorensen, the senior executive associate dean for strategic initia

ACHC Opens Simulated Cleanroom Suite for Hands-on Sterile Compounding Training

Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:00:00 +0200

By Gina ShawThe Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) has opened a fully functioning simulated cleanroom suite at its new headquarters in Cary, North Carolina, giving pharmacists and pharmacy technicians a place to practice and validate sterile compounding technique under USP General Chapter <797> and <800> conditions in a near-identical environment to a working pharmacy, without interrupting operations or creating any potential patient care issues.The facility, managed by

PN Use Survey Finds Continued Room for Improvement

Thu, 22 Oct 2026 17:00:00 +0200

By Karen BlumThe 2025 ASPEN Parenteral Nutrition (PN) Use Survey identified several encouraging trends, including a major shift toward multidisciplinary care, along with a few areas of concern, such as lagging use of standardized order forms that boost patient safety and macronutrient regimens that fall short of treatment guidelines.The quantitative cross-sectional survey of 1,160 clinicians was designed to address multiple steps in the PN use process and updates previous surveys from 2011 and 2

Expert Strategies for Surviving IVWMS Downtimes

Thu, 22 Oct 2026 02:00:00 +0200

By Gina ShawWhen an IV workflow management system (IVWMS) goes down, staff accustomed to relying on it must switch to manual procedures, often under pressure. Those skills can fade without practice, two sterile compounding experts told attendees at NHIA26, in Denver.“Training staff in manual processes is essential, and you need redundancy in place wherever possible, especially for equipment such as ACDs [automated compounding devices] and compounding pumps,” said Glen Gard, CPhT-Adv, CSPT, a

First mRNA Flu Vaccine Puts Pharmacists on Counseling Front Line

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 17:00:00 +0200

By Fran KritzThe FDA’s approval of the first mRNA influenza vaccine, Moderna’s mRNA-1010 (mFlusiva), is likely to prompt questions from patients and clinicians, and pharmacists should be prepared to answer them.Moderna said it plans to deliver supplies “to select retailers” in time for the 2026-2027 flu season, which typically begins in October.“When there’s a new vaccine, people are often unsure about whether it works and what their experience will be,” said Brigid Groves, PharmD,

AI Helpful in Patient Care, but Always Check Its Outputs

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 02:00:00 +0200

By Karen BlumArtificial intelligence can help with several administrative and clinical tasks in patient care, but clinicians are still needed to review, vet, and build on the responses generated by AI tools, speakers said during the ASPEN 2026 Nutrition Science & Practice Conference, in Long Beach, California.Summaries, Drafting, and DocumentationOn the administrative side, AI tools can be used to review and summarize emails and help draft responses, or to sort emails into categories and fla

FDA Compounding Panel Backs 6 of 7 Peptides Despite Safety Risks in Oversight and Production

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 15:00:00 +0200

By Gina Shaw Rita Jew, PharmDThe FDA Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee’s (PCAC’s) recommendation that six of seven peptides be added to the 503A bulk drug substances list has alarmed leading medication safety experts.The move departs from the evidence-based process the agency normally follows and leaves several unresolved safety questions in place, noted Rita Jew, PharmD, the president of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), part of ECRI. Demand for peptide produ

FDA Approves Zilucoplan Once-Daily Autoinjector for Generalized Myasthenia Gravis

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 13:39:00 +0200

By PPN StaffThe FDA has approved zilucoplan (Zilbrysq, UCB) for the treatment of generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) in adults who are anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody–positive.Zilucoplan is the first self-administered, once-daily autoinjector administration option for this form of gMG. The autoinjector is designed to automatically deliver a predetermined dose when activated against the skin to ease the self-administration process.“For a chronic condition like gMG, having differe

Does a Designated Pharmacist Improve OPAT Outcomes?

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 11:10:00 +0200

By Meaghan Lee Callaghan and Landon GrayDoes including a designated pharmacist in managing outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) improve patient outcomes?A new study presented at MAD-ID x SIDP 2026 suggests yes, but more research is needed.Study authors Meg Parmalee, PharmD, a PGY-2 oncology pharmacy resident, and Tamanna Talwar, PharmD, a PGY-1 ambulatory pharmacy resident, both at UNC Health, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, spoke with Infectious Disease Special Edition at the conf

AXS26 Panel: Keep Cybersecurity Top of Mind

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 05:58:00 +0200

Originally published by our sister publication Specialty Pharmacy ContinuumBy Marcus A. BanksRansomware attacks that prevent e-prescribing and firewall breaches that provide a direct line to protected health information are among cybersecurity risks pharmacists face daily, whether operating independently, within a chain, or in a health system. Speakers at Asembia’s AXS26 Summit, in Las Vegas, stressed the importance of cybersecurity strategy.“As a pharmacist myself, I know how comple

Smart Pump–EHR Interoperability: Big Promise, Thin Evidence to Date

Mon, 19 Oct 2026 14:30:00 +0200

By Marcus A. BanksConnecting smart infusion pumps directly to the electronic health record (EHR) has the potential to reduce medication errors, streamline nursing workflow, and improve charge capture, but the evidence supporting these gains is still immature, according to a recent systematic review (Intensive Crit Care Nurs 2026;97:104475).Interoperability allows a verified EHR order to auto-program the infusion pump and pump to auto-document the infusion back into the record, reducing manual ke

Building a CAR-T Bridge With Bispecifics for Lymphoma

Sun, 18 Oct 2026 02:00:00 +0200

By Gina ShawBispecific antibodies (BiAbs) are achieving impressive results, in some cases more than doubling the survival gains seen with conventional chemotherapy. These advances are pushing oncology teams to reconsider whether these powerful anticancer drugs can be used earlier to carry more patients to potentially curative cellular therapy, speakers noted during a session at HOPA26, in New Orleans.Glofitamab-gxbm (Columvi, Genentech) is a case in point. When added to gemcitabine and oxaliplat

Ascension Error Exposes Gaps Hospitals Should Audit Now

Sat, 17 Oct 2026 14:00:00 +0200

By Gina ShawPharmacy leaders should use the medication error that severely injured four joint replacement patients at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown, in Nashville, Tennessee, as a prompt to examine their own sterile compounding safeguards—particularly barcode overrides, batch preparation, high-alert medication storage, technician competency assessment, and final pharmacist verification, medication safety experts said.The Tennessee Health Facilities Commission’s 80-page surve

SCCM Speakers: AI Tools Require Strong Governance and Rigorous Vetting

Sat, 17 Oct 2026 02:03:00 +0200

Originally published by our sister publication Specialty Pharmacy ContinuumBy Marcus A. BanksArtificial intelligence tools for clinical decision-making hold promise but may not be ready for everyday use, according to a discussion forum at the 2026 Critical Care Congress, in Chicago. Financial limitations may impede AI adoption as well.“The AI tools that are the most validated, as with sepsis detection, require institutional purchase before people can access them. Given financial constraint

SenderraRx Earns ACHC Reaccreditation in Specialty Pharmacy and Oncology Distinction

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:29:00 +0200

Originally published by our sister publication Specialty Pharmacy ContinuumSenderra Specialty Pharmacy announced that it has earned reaccreditation in Specialty Pharmacy from the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC), including a Distinction in Oncology. Reaccreditation reflects an independent evaluation against nationally recognized standards for specialty pharmacy quality, safety, and patient care. The Oncology Distinction recognizes Senderra’s oncology-focused clinical oversig

Digital Supply Chain Pilot Targets Oncology Drug Shortages

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 03:55:00 +0200

Originally published by our sister publication Specialty Pharmacy ContinuumBy Gina Shaw April GilesA first-of-its-kind supply chain transparency initiative has demonstrated that hospitals, distributors, and other stakeholders can share sensitive inventory data across organizational boundaries—and that doing so creates real planning value even when no drug shortage is underway.The Drug Resiliency & Transparency Pilot, led by the End Drug Shortages Alliance (EDSA), emerged from an August

Perioperative Apalutamide Improves Outcomes in High-Risk Localized Prostate Cancer

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 20:59:00 +0200

Originally published by our sister publication Clinical Oncology NewsCHICAGO—Adding perioperative apalutamide (Erleada, Johnson & Johnson) to androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) delays the risk for metastasis or death and significantly improves pathologic response rates in patients with high-risk localized or locally advanced prostate cancer undergoing radical prostatectomy, according to the phase 3 PROTEUS trial.Investigators said the results, which were presented at the 2026 American

FDA Finalizes Guidance to Broaden Cancer Trial Eligibility

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 02:00:00 +0200

By Jennifer KulpaThe FDA has finalized three guidance documents urging sponsors to ease overly restrictive eligibility criteria in cancer clinical trials. The recommendations address performance status, washout periods and concomitant medications, and laboratory values, potentially expanding enrollment to more patients treated in ambulatory settings.Issued in July 2026 by the FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, and Center for Biologics Evaluation a

FDA Approves Hovilpri for Refractory HSV Lesions

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 13:26:00 +0200

Originally published by our sister publication Infectious Disease Special EditionBy Meaghan Lee CallaghanThe FDA has approved pritelivir (Hovilpri, Asahi Kasei) for the treatment of mucocutaneous lesions caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection that is refractory (with or without documented resistance) to treatment with acyclovir, famciclovir, or valacyclovir in immunocompromised adults.figure { display:inline-block; margin:0.5em; border:thin silver solid; padding:0.5em; font-size:smaller;