BioPlus Specialty Pharmacy
Latest Post
I’ll Say It Again: Reminders Work
Taking each and every pill at the right time, every time is not as easy as it sounds. Most patients treating a disease find it hard to remember to take their medications completely in accord with the care plan. In fact, forgetfulness is one of the top barriers to compliance, especially for complex or chronic … Continue reading
Featured Posts
Guest Blog: Nick Maroulis, Pharm.D. It’s only a few days until the first-ever national “Hepatitis Testing Day” in the United States. As this day approaches (May 19th, 2012) I can’t help but think of the millions of Americans who do not know that they have chronic viral hepatitis. I hope that as many of them … Continue reading
In the future will your doctor prescribe gut bugs to treat type 2 diabetes? It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. More than 400 different species of bacteria call the human gut “home.” These colonies of gut flora can contribute to the health of the host in numerous ways, such as limiting the growth of … Continue reading
In just a few weeks, my son Josh will graduate from medical school and head off to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester to spend three years training in internal medicine. His final clinical rotation in medical school will be hepatology. I may be biased, but I believe he saved the best for last. Last night, … Continue reading
Patient education is one of the keys to optimizing patient adherence. In short: the more patients know about their disease and medication treatment plan, they more likely they are to adhere to their treatment. Patient concerns about side effects are a significant barrier in patient adherence. Here at BioPlus Specialty Pharmacy, we know that the … Continue reading
Chronic diseases affect nearly half of the population, yet physician shortages and unbalanced distribution of health care providers mean that as many as 56 million Americans do not have adequate access to primary health care in their communities. An elegant solution to this problem is suggested in a report entitled “Improving Patient and Health System … Continue reading
Medication adherence is the most important predictor of patient outcome. Poor compliance to a prescribed treatment plan not only affects the individual patient, but affects the entire healthcare system. Improving medication adherence can result in substantial cost savings and improved outcomes, which are topics that I covered in my recent blog “Knocking Down Adherence Barriers” … Continue reading
Hepatitis C has pulled into the lead, but it’s not good news for anyone. New data confirms that hepatitis C causes more deaths in the United States than HIV. Hepatitis C deaths are expected to rise even higher, unless more people get tested and treated for this disease. After reviewing 22 million death certificates from … Continue reading
Baby Boomers have one more item to add to their to-do list, and it’s an important one: get screened for the hepatitis C virus (HCV). More than 3 million Americans are infected with HCV, but the vast majority of them don’t know it. In my blog last May, Call for Wider Hepatitis Screenings, I first … Continue reading
It doesn’t matter how good a medication is for treating a disease, it can’t work if a patient doesn’t take it. There are many barriers that can get in the way of a patient complying with their treatment plan. This “medication adherence” topic was the focus of a seminar earlier this month hosted by the … Continue reading
When you hear the disease “hepatitis C,” you most likely think of the liver. It makes sense, since the liver is ground zero of hepatitis C viral damage. However, about three-quarters of people infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) will also have symptoms beyond their livers. The best documented non-liver problem caused by hepatitis … Continue reading
Deaths due to hepatitis C in the United States have already reached 15,000 deaths each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This number is expected to rise to 35,000 hepatitis C deaths per year within the next two decades. Baby Boomers account for 75 percent of hepatitis C virus (HCV) … Continue reading
It’s shocking enough that more than 3 million people in the United States are infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), but what really blows me away is that most of these people have no idea about their infection status. In fact, just considering adults ages 40-64, there’s an estimated 1.6 million in the U.S. … Continue reading
With hemophilia, the old adage about “an ounce of prevention” certainly rings true. People with hemophilia lack a clotting factor that is needed to stop bleeding. An infusion of clotting factor can be provided to a bleeding person (called “on-demand therapy”). Way back in 1958, the Swedish doctor Inga Marie Nilsson tried a new idea: … Continue reading
How often do you get an offer like that? A few years back, after meeting with a city municipality about their specialty pharmacy needs, I was able to offer this incredible savings to the city. This particular city municipality relied on a mail-order company to meet their specialty pharmacy needs. Each city employee needing medications … Continue reading
Following the valid advice to stay out of the sun and apply sunscreen when outside has left a surprising number of U.S. adults with a vitamin D deficit, according to recent research. American youth also fall short with this “sunshine vitamin.” So what’s the big deal if someone’s tank is a bit low when it … Continue reading
For the first time ever, gene therapy successfully treated hemophilia B and even allowed some patients to give up their regular injections of clotting factor altogether. This landmark study spearheaded by researchers from the University College London and the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis injected six hemophilia B patients with a virus that … Continue reading
Finding ways to increase patient adherence during treatment for hepatitis C is important. Following in the footsteps of several recent studies confirming this fact is yet another report about how better medication adherence leads to more patients clearing the hepatitis C virus (HCV). This time, it’s from University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers who … Continue reading
Patient adherence – getting patients to stick with the plan of care – comes close to an obsession for us at BioPlus Specialty Pharmacy. I know, from my 22+ years of pharmacy experience (along with common sense!), that actually taking medications for a disease makes for better patient outcomes. BioPlus has developed very effective tools … Continue reading
Supplying important medications to patients facing treatment for complex diseases (such as hepatitis, bleeding disorders, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and other conditions) is just the beginning in our role as a specialty pharmacy…not the end. When pills or injectables arrive on a patient’s doorstep, it doesn’t mean that their disease has been treated. That’s because medications, … Continue reading
Just a few days ago, a group of leading cardiologists listened as Niteesh Choudhry, M.D. from Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, presented data at the American Heart Association meeting in Orlando about lowering the risk of a second heart attack. The audience was stunned and appalled to learn of Dr. Choudhry and colleagues’ … Continue reading
A trip to the nail salon or the barbershop sounds innocent enough, but a new report shared at last week’s annual scientific meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology warns that bloodborne pathogens such as hepatitis B and C viruses could be transmitted along with your mani/pedi or buzz cut. The problem lies in the potential … Continue reading
