Top 5 Pharmacy Stories You May Have Missed Last Month

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Here are the top trending pharmacy stories you may have missed in May:

#5. Pharmacist Allegedly Tried to Poison Coworker He Admired

A pharmacy assistant sought help from police after she noticed she felt sick at work and the beverages she drank there tended to have a strange, bitter taste.

One of her coworkers, a 33-year-old male pharmacist, was arrested and charged for allegedly using poison to injure or cause distress or pain, as well as tampering with evidence, ABC reported.

The 26-year-old pharmacy assistant told police on May 11, 2016, that she suspected she was being drugged. Surveillance footage inside the Australian pharmacy provided evidence that the male pharmacist had been pouring Phenergan into the woman’s drinks.

An overdose of Phenergan can lead to severe drowsiness or weakness, fainting, shallow breathing, and convulsions.

#4. Quiz: Could You Pass NAPLEX Now?

If it’s been a while since you’ve taken the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX), click here to test yourself on NAPLEX questions to see how well you’d do on the test today.

Sample questions courtesy of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.

#3. 5 Notable Drug Name Changes

Brintellix isn’t the only drug that underwent a brand name change in order to curb confusion with another drug.

The FDA recently announced that the brand name of the antidepressant Brintellix has been changed to Trintellix in order to avoid prescribing and dispensing errors related to the drug’s confusion with the blood thinner Brilinta.

Pharmacy Times’ Facebook followers responded to the news by reminiscing about the following noteworthy brand name changes:

1. Losec changed to Prilosec

2. Celebra changed to Celebrex

3. Reminyl changed to Razadyne

4. Kapidex changed to Dexilant

5. Omacor changed to Lovaza

#2. New Heart Failure Guidelines: What Pharmacists Need to Know

The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) published updated heart failure (HF) guidelines on May 20, 2016.

The ACC/AHA guidelines is a focused update on 2 new drug therapies for patients with HF and a reduced ejection fraction, while the ESC guideline is a much more comprehensive overview of the management of both acute and chronic HF.

Noteworthy updates include:

1. Entresto received a Class I recommendation over ACE inhibitors and ARBs. ^.

2. Corlanor was given a Class IIa recommendation for use with a beta-blocker.

#1. 14 Things Pharmacists Should Never Say to Pharmacy Technicians

Being a pharmacy technician can be a stressful, thankless job, which is why it’s so important for pharmacists to treat their technicians well and recognize them for everything they do. A good technician keeps everything running smoothly and is a valued member of the pharmacy team, but sometimes, pharmacists don’t realize that the things they say to their techs suggest otherwise.

We asked 12,000 technicians what they wish pharmacists would stop saying to them. Here are their top 14 responses:

1. “You’re just a technician.”

2. “Don’t bother me.”

3. “I’m cutting your hours.”

4. “Did you hear what [insert coworker’s name] did yesterday?”

5. “You don’t know what [insert medication] does?”

6. “I get paid too much to do that.”

7. “It’s the ones you trust the most who will steal from you.”

8. “Why are you working on that? I need this done now!”

9. “Don’t interrupt me unless it’s urgent.”

10. “Our manager is an idiot.”

11. “Don’t you understand?”