A new study published in The Milbank Quarterly finds a number of similarities between Canadian drug coverage and that of the United States, despite their publicized differences. Looking at Quebec’s Prescription Drug Insurance Program and the United States’ Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act (MMA), the study suggests that the older Canadian plan may provide valuable insights for American decision-makers.

A leading epidemiologist has attacked Swedish research that looked at inequalities in patients’ access to cancer drugs across Europe and the world.

Not everyone needs a genetic test before taking the cancer drug irinotecan, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should modify its prescription guidelines to say so, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

On August 16, the Food and Drug Administration approved new labeling information for the blood-thinner warfarin, sold under the brand name Coumadin. The new label suggests that one can prescribe higher or lower doses that may be safer for patients with variations in two genes, CYP2C9 or VKORC1.

More than 90 percent of Americans age 65 and older now have prescription drug coverage, compared to more than 75 percent who were covered in 2004, according to a University of Michigan analysis. And poor seniors are as likely to have coverage as the rich.

As national spending on prescription drugs rose faster than any other segment of health care spending, the health plan at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center was able to maintain constant spending, resulting in savings of more than $6.6 million over three years.

An analysis of Milwaukee County pharmacies shows that about half don’t provide prescription labels and instructions in languages other than English, and almost two-thirds are unable to communicate to patients who don’t speak English. The study, included in the upcoming edition of Pediatrics, is unusual in that its lead author is a Medical College of Wisconsin 4th-year medical student.

A federal grand jury in San Diego has indicted 18 individuals on racketeering and related charges for allegedly operating an Internet business that generated more than $126 million in gross revenues from the illegal sale of prescription drugs, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Karen P. Hewitt for the Southern District of California announced today.

Physicians frequently prescribe medications for sleep difficulties in children in U.S. outpatient settings, according to a study published in the August 1st issue of the journal SLEEP.

Regular prescribing of antibiotics to children in the community is sufficient to sustain a high level of antibiotic resistance in the population, warn experts in a study published on bmj.com today.

The adverse effects of using prescription drugs side by side with natural health products (NHP) are being under-reported, so the potential risks may be underestimated by health-care professionals and the public, a study from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada shows.

Pushing more of the cost of prescription drugs onto consumers causes patients to cut back, sometimes with adverse health consequences, according to a review of two decades worth of studies published on Tuesday.