BioPlus Specialty Pharmacy
Employer News
IVIG for Alzheimer’s: Potentially Helpful for Some Patients
When it comes to Alzheimer’s disease, treatment options remain scarce. This is why – when early results with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) showed promise for delaying disease progression – the scientific community anxiously awaited study results from a large IVIG Alzheimer’s study. Last year, a phase II clinical trial with IVIG showed promise for stabilizing Alzheimer’s … Continue reading
Don’t Delay, Get Tested Today!
The second annual national Hepatitis Testing Day arrives in just a few days, on May 19, 2013. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) spearheads this event as a call to action for health care providers and the public about testing for hepatitis infection. Who Should Get Tested for Hepatitis C? Anyone age 40 … Continue reading
Hemophilia and “Inhibitors”
Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder that interferes with the blood clotting process. Hemophilia A, also known as classic hemophilia, is the most common type – affecting one in 5,000 to 10,000 males worldwide. This condition is treated with infusions of clotting factor, which can either be derived from plasma or as a genetically engineered clotting … Continue reading
Prescription “Stretching” Harms Health
Health care costs for patients, including prescription medications, continue to rise. Out-of-pocket costs for prescriptions reached $45 billion for Americans in 2011 (the most recent year data is available). For a growing number of people, Rx costs simply exceed their ability to pay. Overburdened Americans rely on two less-than-healthy methods to stretch their health care … Continue reading
Connecting Patients in Need with $5.1 Million
As if getting a diagnosis for a complex or chronic disease wasn’t tough enough, some patients discover serious shortfalls in their insurance. In some cases, patients can’t start treatment because they are unable to financially bridge the difference of a very high deductible. This is where the Patient Foundation Assistance program at BioPlus Specialty Pharmacy … Continue reading
A New Day for Hepatitis C: Shorter Treatment, Better Outcomes
Hepatitis C medications – while being the best game in town for treating this life-threatening disease – admittedly come with a significant burden in side effects for most patients. Medication combinations that can shorten treatment time and cure more cases of acute hepatitis C infections are welcome news to both patients and physicians. Dr. Daniel … Continue reading
Wave of New FDA-Approved Drugs
Guest Blog: Sharon O. Ferrer, Director of Pharmaceutical Contracting at BioPlus Specialty Pharmacy The pharmaceutical industry’s hard work is paying off with a number of new drugs poised for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA approved 39 new pharmaceuticals last year, making 2012 the most prolific year for new drug … Continue reading
Going Nuts
Did you catch last Monday’s landmark study in the New England Journal of Medicine showing that nuts in the diet can protect against heart disease? Usually, I’m fairly critical of nutritional studies that are related to health, since so many are poorly designed and biased. This study, known as the PREDIMED trial and led by … Continue reading
Ready, Set…Activate!
Who doesn’t want to keep health care costs down? It’s not just prudent, but increasingly a necessity in these tight economic times. And when there’s a way to lower costs without a big initial investment, all the better. That’s exactly what University of Oregon researchers say they have found with the idea of “patient activation.” … Continue reading
Taking Away the Carrot: Alcohol Dependence Treatment
Guest Blog: Nick Maroulis, Pharm.D., Director of Pharmacy at BioPlus Specialty Pharmacy For all too many people, alcohol is not just a way to relax with friends at the end of a work day; it becomes a serious health threat. In fact, alcohol plays a role in more than 85,000 deaths yearly in the United … Continue reading
