We’ve all heard news stories at some point that proclaim the recall of certain drugs. But what does that mean and should we be concerned? Basically, recalls are protective measures taken by drug manufacturers or the federal government to ensure the safety of those individuals taking a medication that could be potentially dangerous.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a branch of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It is responsible for protecting the health of the US public by assuring the safety, effectiveness and security of human and veterinary drugs among other things. To accomplish this end, the FDA requires each new drug that is developed be subjected to extensive laboratory and clinical testing prior to them granting approval. Their Center for Drug Evaluation and Research regulates over the counter drugs (OTC), prescription only medication (POM) and generic drugs. Drug companies must test their drugs in the lab on animal subjects first before moving on to human clinical trials. After thorough testing, the company is eligible to submit an application to the FDA for approval. This application includes the testing results, label and warning information and manufacturing information. Upon the application’s review the FDA can approve the drug if the benefits outweigh the risks.

After a drug has been on the market, the FDA will continue to monitor its progress. Should any new safety concerns arise, it will inform the drug company of the issue and three possible actions can occur: a company can recall the drug on its own initiative, the FDA can request the company to recall the drug, or the FDA can order a recall under statutory authority. The four types of recalls include, Class I, Class II, Class III and Market Withdrawal. Class I recalls define a situation in which the FDA believes there is reasonable probability that exposure to a certain drug could cause serious health problems or even death. Class II recalls are situations where exposure to drugs have a possibility of causing temporary or medically reversible adverse health problems. Class III recall are cases in which use of the drug is unlikely to cause any adverse risks. And finally market withdrawals occur when products have minor violations and the company can remove the medications from the market, correct the problem and reintroduce the product at a later time.

Next time you hear that a drug you are taking has been recalled or withdrawn from the market, contact your physician for more information. Whether it is a major or minor recall, it is always smart to be informed about the medication you take and their risks.

Donating blood has turned into a countrywide effort supported by businesses, churches and worship centers, college campuses, nonprofit groups and government agencies. From helping with natural disasters and widespread emergencies to saving individuals’ lives after car accidents or as they suffer from specific health conditions, donated blood is a significant life-giving cycle that keeps us all connected and healthy. But no matter how much it’s needed or how excited you are to do your part, there are some circumstances when giving blood is dangerous and can hurt either you or the person who will eventually receive blood. Do you know when you should sit out the next donation drive?

The basic eligibility requirements for U.S. blood drives state that you can’t give blood more than once every 56 days, although donating platelets can be done every three days, and donating two units of red blood cells means that you will have to wait 112 days before your next donation. Most states also require that you are 17 years of age, and that you weigh at least 110 lbs. This requirement is for your own safety and will help you recover from the donation process more quickly and without complications.

If you’re surprised to see the blood donation bus at your work or school one day and you meet the general requirements, you should still consider a few factors. Did you eat a good breakfast or lunch that day? Are you taking antibiotics or still have symptoms of an infection? Hepatitis B immune injections require you to wait one year since your last dose, and other medicines and treatments also require you to wait a certain amount of time before giving blood.

More eligibility questions:

• Have you used a needle for non-prescription drugs?
• Have you been at risk for HIV?
• Traveled to a malarial area in the past 12 months?
• Are you pregnant?
• Had a tattoo in the last 12 months? (Some centers have a lower waiting period for tattoos)

Download the FastTrack form from the United Blood Services website to see a complete list.

Implying that you’re lazy is a bit harsh. But even if you’re physically energetic, your mind might be lagging behind when it comes to exercise. While some people love the mindlessness of running miles on end, others can’t stand the monotony of jogging in place, or even running cross country. If you’re feeling stuck because exercise just bores you, we’ve got some options for making your workout a little more interesting, if not fun.

Start by figuring out what kinds of activities you like to do, and list as many as are reasonably available to you: hiking, cardio, yoga, dance classes, swimming and/or tennis are just a few options. Next, pledge to do something different each day, or every few days. If you already have a tennis buddy and a cardio workout video but don’t have access to a pool, consider joining a gym. Don’t go overboard with buying new equipment and paying high fees right away, however. Try finding a balance between what you already do regularly, what’s nearby, and what’s free or at least budget-friendly. Giving yourself a new activity each day works out all the different muscles in your body — which is the ideal way to exercise — and keeps your mind guessing, too.

If you’re easily bored by workouts, turn it into a social event. Get a group of friends together to go rollerblading in the park, find a running buddy who wants to train for a half-marathon, or join a dance class with a friend who wants to try something new or get back into an old activity. Give yourself something to look forward to after the workout, like laying out by the pool, going on a shopping trip, or just grabbing tea or coffee after working out.

A few little tricks you can use to spice up your exercise routine each day or week is to concentrate on the accessories. Create a new mix for your iPod every month at least, treat yourself to a new pair of workout shorts or yoga mat every so often, and invest in a good pair of shoes that will make you feel excited to work out. While you exercise, keep your mind off the routines and the repetition by thinking of all the things you’re able to do because you’re healthy and strong, and all of the great clothes or bathing suits you can fit into since you’re keeping your body in shape. From switching up your activities, to being more social during a workout, to playing little tricks on yourself, even lazy-minded people have a reason to get excited to exercise.

Every state board of pharmacy requires certain prerequisites from students hoping to enter a pharmacy program in the state and receive their license, including the number of hours they have earned, the number of years in the program, etc.  Louisiana is no different, although it does not require as extensive prerequisites as other states.  The state’s requirements include 15 hours of study, resulting in only one year, a lesser amount than many programs which require 2-4 years of study.  The state additionally requires three hours of “live” continuing education requirement hours or five non-live course hours.  Once again, this is different from most states which do not require “live” continuing education hours in pharmacy for licensure.  Finally, the state of Louisiana does not require any further requirements in HIV or medication safety, whereas other states typically require some background knowledge of these topics or a refresher course every few years.  Regardless of the requirements of other states, Louisi
ana determines its own source of requirements for pharmacy licensure and thus far has exhibited a program that attracts pharmacy programs from around the state.

Louisiana is one state that is in dire need of pharmacists and other medical specialists in general, with a rising population that exists underneath the poverty line and a higher emergence of the H1N1 virus.  Only last month, the state was able to secure a large batch of the vaccine that became available in Walgreens stores across the state.  This is one step in the pharmacy program that is constantly looking for ways to improve and to reach the masses within the state.  While the state has been ravaged by hurricanes over the past years, the spirit has not broken and the population continues to persevere despite all odds, producing a fierce pride of the state that is evident from a conversation with any native citizen.  While the pharmacy program in the state can only do so much to help the citizens of Louisiana, the requirements for licensure by the board of pharmacy is one step in the right direction for a state that is almost trying to prove itself to the nation. 

The pharmaceutical industry is constantly changing and evolving in order to bring the best medicine and vaccines to the people of the nation.  The state board of pharmacy in Louisiana is no different in this regard and strives to bring the best possible service to the citizens of the state as they continue to rebuild their coastal cities to become better than they ever were.
 

The eight pharmacy schools of California have made a name for themselves mostly because California has the most pharmacy schools over any other state.  Whether this is due to the large population of the state or simply because many pharmacy programs started out in the state, it is clear that students of California pharmacy schools pride themselves on their acceptance to the school.  Ohio is surprisingly the state with the second highest number of pharmacy schools (six), although California is still known for its research and ability to attract students from around the world. 

Ranging from the University of California to the new Touro University School of Pharmacy, it is clear that California is ever expanding in the pharmaceutical industry.  The eight pharmacy schools are as follows:
•    University of California School of Pharmacy
•    University of the Pacific School of Pharmacy
•    University of Southern California
•    Western University of Health Sciences
•    California Northstate College of Pharmacy
•    Touro University School of Pharmacy
•    Loma Linda University and the School of Pharmacy
•    University of California in San Diego – the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Touro University School of Pharmacy, California Northstate, and Loma Linda are the three newest pharmacy programs in the state and have exhibited the understanding that California nearly runs the pharmacy school industry in the country.  California Northstate College of Pharmacy emphasizes active learning, patient care, and research within their mission statement, and as a new pharmacy school, they have set about to expand the pharmaceutical industry through the amount of research in their program.  Setting a goal to advance the science of pharmacy, this school has already attracted a wide entering class and offers many opportunities within the pharmaceutical industry.

Touro University has a similar mission statement, as they strive to serve society through the programs in its pharmacy school as well as prepare its students for a future in the health care industry.  This pharmacy school prides itself on the small size of classes, especially compared with the large lecture-like classes of larger California schools.  Because Touro is a new school, it is still in the process of expanding its programs, and its student population will undoubtedly grow within the next few years, although its still in the beginning years of the program. 

Loma Linda is a little bit older than the other two schools, and had its first introductory class in 2002 although in an entirely different setting than most other pharmacy programs in California.  Loma Linda prides itself on educating its students in a 7th day advent Christian schedule, thereby allowing students of the like religious minds to come together in pharmacy school.  This program is four years as well although is the first such program to offer the degree in an Adventist setting. 
Regardless of whether you go with the older public schools throughout California, or try out one of the newer schools, chances are that as an incoming pharmacy school student, you will receive an exemplary education in the state of California. 

Earlier this month, Louisiana took precautions with the flu season upon them and shipped vaccinations for H1N1 throughout the state: more than 50 pharmacies in 31 parishes received the vaccination just in time for the winter months.  Louisiana has always been a state that is the hardest hit when diseases invade the country and federal programs have taken notice of this, indicating a shift in the structure of the vaccine’s release into the state. 

Walgreens locations in Louisiana began offering the vaccine to priority groups at the beginning of December in order to combat the rise of flu season later in the month.  Additionally, the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy authorized the release of the H1N1 vaccine into the many parishes so that they would not fall into an “at-risk” state later on in winter.   The board then teamed up with Walgreens to get the vaccine a speedy distribution to the parishes of Louisiana that were the highest priority and contained the most at-risk citizens. 

The inoculation effort of Louisiana has been followed by a number of states since the release of the vaccine.  The initiative which the board demonstrated by releasing the vaccine before the height of flu season is a telling sign of the preparedness and anxiety the state has, regarding the H1N1 virus.  The Louisiana Board of Pharmacy is only one of 50 boards that is in charge of the well-being of each state’s citizens and looks over the potential risks that may creep their way into the state.  The rise of H1N1 is one virus every state is currently looking at, and stock piles of the vaccines have run dry within many populous states around the country as worried parents and citizens have waited in lines for their vaccination shot (or spray). 

Many higher tiered pharmacy schools boast their extensive research facilities that help contribute to new discoveries in the drug industry every year.  While pharmaceutical companies are the main force of the pharmacy industry, pharmacy schools across the country attract students who are interested in the research process of pharmacy and contribute to discoveries in new beneficial drugs.

The process toward discovering and manufacturing a new drug is time consuming and requires millions to billions of dollars from the health care industry.  Therefore, pharmacy schools help lessen the burden by requiring their students to complete a certain amount of research hours which may result in a new discovery within the drug.  MIT is one school that has helped pharmaceutical companies by developing a pharmaceutical innovation program that adapts successful approaches toward the production of new drugs.  The health industry still has a lot to work out for itself in regards to the manufacture of expensive new drugs while still keeping costs low, which is where pharmacy schools come into the picture. 

Pharmacy schools can produce either students who want to work exclusively in a pharmacy or students who want to research into new drug developments and ways to quell disease symptoms.  With new viruses being discovered every year, the country (and world) are in need of as many researchers as we can get in order to discover new remedies for the illnesses that plague mankind.  While pharmacists only seem to mix chemicals together, they do much more than that and understand the science that brings these chemical compounds together.  The ability to use more resources to combat ongoing diseases such as HIV and H1N1 is important in a world where boundaries have fallen and globalization has taken over.  People are closer than ever to each other, which means diseases are more apt to be spread and can jump from continent to continent.

Pharmacy school is more than just research, but the fact that budding pharmacy students can help contribute to the battle against global diseases is vastly important in the long run and can prove to be a lasting indication of the power of pharmacy schools.  Pharmacy schools have greatly contributed to lessening the cost of drug manufacturing over the years and the next few years are bound to see the same trend continuing throughout pharmacy schools across the nation.  Attending pharmacy school therefore means contributing to a step in human history and can help many poverty stricken nations receive the drugs they need to maintain their battle against disease. 

U.S. News recently came out with a study of the best pharmacy schools ranked in 2008, focusing on expert opinions about the program quality and statistical indicators tat measure the quality of the school’s faculty, research, and students.  Every year, U.S. News conducts various rankings of professional graduate school programs, including pharmacy schools, which allows students to make an informed decision of the school that will best mold to their future goals. 

Rankings provide students a way to compare the many different choices for pharmacy schools that exist around the country.  However, U.S. News releases a disclaimer of sorts on their rankings list to ensure that students do not use their rankings to replace careful thought, and instead treat them as a tool to supplement to further research.  Since U.S. News ranks many other graduate degree programs, the magazine strives to offer their own assessment of the many degree programs so that students have the opportunity to take the rankings into account, as well as the way the programs are ranked.  Typically, the rankings involve an extensive four year process of gathering research and surveys from around the many campuses, additionally asking experts within the field to evaluate their peer programs. 

Within pharmacy schools, the rankings occur as a result of extensive research into students’ perspective of their quality of education.  Rankings are judged on a 5-point scale, ranging from 1 (‘marginal’) to 5 (‘outstanding’). Many times, the rankings only vary slightly over the years, possibly moving in position after a school funds a new degree program.  Furthermore, U.S. News in particular ranks many schools as tied with other schools, meaning that many times (as is seen within the pharmacy school rankings), five different schools hold the same number of rank, such as the six schools ranked number nine on the list.  Within schools that are tied, they are subsequently listed in alphabetical order. 
  

Thus far, the top 25 rankings as of April 2009 for 2008 are as follows:
1.    The University of California – San Francisco
2.    University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
3.    University of Minnesota
4.    University of Texas – Austin
5.    Ohio State University
5.    University of Kentucky
5.    University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
5.   University of Washington
9.   Purdue University
9.   University of Arizona
9.   University of Florida
9.   University of Illinois – Chicago
9.   University of Maryland – Baltimore
9.   University of Wisconsin – Madison
15. University of Southern California
16. University of Iowa
16. University of Tennessee Health Science Center
16. University of Utah
19. University of Kansas
19. University of Pittsburgh
21. University at Buffalo – SUNY
21. Virginia Commonwealth University
23. University of Colorado – Denver
24. Auburn University (Harrison)
24. Medical University of South Carolina
 

Pharmacy school has always drawn those students who have a desire to study chemical formulas and the like, landing them with a secure career choice.  Many pharmacy schools allow students to complete three years of undergraduate study and then transfer to a larger school which has a pharmacy program, thereby transferring their credits and allowing them a more reputable degree in the end.  However, pharmacy school requires a great deal of work from its students, and they become responsible for knowing complicated chemical compounds and which drugs are formed from each computation. 

Pharmacy school is one career choice which does not receive the respect it deserves.  Pharmacists have become a major part of the health care industry and are in charge of delivering patients the medication which can cure them of illnesses.  As a result, the recent health care reform has revolved around the sky-rocketing price of prescription medication, much of which has little to do with the pharmacists. However, pharmacists have recently carried much of the brunt of unhappy customers, although they have only continued their occupation in mixing various chemicals to produce medications.  The health care industry in general is what customers should be angry at, but it is much easier to yell at your neighborhood pharmacist for the high price of medication.

Despite all these recent revelations, pharmacy school has continued to be a profitable degree which is sure to land nearly every student a career within a pharmacy program.  The health care industry is one which has not been affected by the economy, and while pharmacists are somewhat excluded from the typical health care field of doctors and nurses, they are still a part of the field, if only at the end of treatment.  Regardless, there has been and will be a demand for skilled pharmacists who can work in Walgreens, CVS, and other pharmacy stores across the country.  Pharmacy school is no easy task for students, and usually involves two to three years of additional school which is grueling work in order to prepare students for pharmacy life.  The Doctor of Pharmacy degree is relatively new within the United States, and has only been in existence for the past three years, thereby allowing students to continue their pharmaceutical degree and gain the professional degree.  Pharmacy school has quickly become as demanding as medical school in some aspects but has yet to attain the notoriety associated with medical school.  However, pharmacy students should not lose hope, because regardless of the acclaim they may get, they too are helping save lives by their many prescriptions and new discoveries within the pharmacy community. 

In 2006, people across the world spent an astonishing $643 billion on prescription drugs and the United States accounted for almost half of that total. Obviously the pharmaceutical industry is booming thanks in part to the continuous development of new medications. Below is a look at how new drugs are researched, discovered and developed.

The first step to creating a new drug occurs when it is discovered or designed. The majority of past discoveries occurred when researchers isolated an active ingredient from a traditional remedy used to combat a malady or by shear luck. Today, researchers use biotechnology to understand the human body’s metabolic pathways and how diseases and infections can be controlled at the molecular level.

Drug development involves all the activities after a drug compound has been discovered or designed that make it a suitable and safe medication. This includes finding the appropriate formulation of chemicals and appropriate dosing. Drug companies must conduct exhaustive tests on new drugs to test their effectiveness, potential side effects and risks. In vitro testing is performed in a controlled setting using a test tube or Petri dish rather than a living organism or human. In vivo testing involves a whole, living organism which can include animals and human clinical testing. Clinical trials involve human subjects and are conducted to ensure drugs’ safety and effectiveness. These types of clinical trials are often the source of great controversy in the pharmaceutical world. Many drug research and development companies have drawn scrutiny for reporting only the positive results of their testing.

The cost incurred by pharmaceutical companies for drug research and development can be astronomical. One study suggests that uniquely new medications can cost around $1 billion by the time they are successfully approved by the Food and Drug Administration. And very few of them are approved each year, only around 25. But should one medication a drug company creates actually succeed, it can produce remarkable revenue for the company.

It is a long process drug companies endure to produce medications from discover to development to manufacturing and finally marketing to consumers like us. While the time, effort and costs can be weighty, the payoff is creating a product that might save lives while also bringing in huge profits. As long as the medications are safe and effective, it’s a winning situation for everyone.