Pepin’s Pharmaceutical Prattle for 01-24-2005

Quote of the day:    Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.  Carl Sandburg (1878 - 1967)

 Good morning ! 

Eat the frog!

I should explain before you think that the recent cold snap in Minnesota has penetrated my hairless pate. This topic relates to efficient use of time and anti-procrastination techniques. The link below outlines the concept espoused by the author of “EAT THAT FROG!”  If you were given $1440 each day and anything not spent would just disappear you might learn to make each dollar count. We are all given 1440 minutes in every day that we will never get back again. We can spend it on things that are easy to do which will not prove very useful (How many people on their deathbed say “I should have watched more TV!”?)  There is never “enough” time to do everything. There is enough for the really important things. Sure ther are URGENT things to do but they are not always the mosy important. Work on the important items first.  There are distasteful things we HAVE TO DO but avoid doing (eating the frog) even though they are the most important ones. Filing Taxes comes to mind as a “Bull frog” of a task. As April 15^th approaches it remains important and becomes more urgent. Break it down into smaller action items and pretty soon you be asking for dessert; having polished off the “frog”.  

From what I understand from other motivational characters and a quick read of this outline, http://home.earthlink.net/~denmartin/etf.html , it appears to be a great book…. I might even get around to buying it someday!

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ps. Best answer this week to the question "How are you?" was "Amazing"  (my son who is on break between semesters)

1) Hot off the presses… Medicare Part D final rules!

Why is this important? Because all of the potential PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFIT providers have to have all systems in place for marketing in less than 10 months. To market something, it has to be corporately built and government authorized. Sales of the plans to seniors (who are not notorious for being early adopters or for quick action ---especially if it means spending their money) will begin in mid November with a 1/1/06 start date. Seniors already on Medicaid will be automatically enrolled., I’ll make a bet that less than 20% of the rest of the eligible seniors will sign up and pay premiums. (Just an opinion… I could be wrong…. but betting in inertia seems “smart money”)

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050121/pl_nm/health_medicare_dc (digested news)

 and

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medicarereform/pdbma/general.asp (CMS official stuff)

2)  OTC  Zantac 150mg

 Pfizer’s Consumer division launched OTC Maximum Strength Zantac 150mg early this week (circa 1/18/05).

The GSK product is still prescription.

 CVS online http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/cvs/gateway/search?page=1&Query=zantac&ActiveCat=65 already has it on their website (but the phone reps will tell you it is not available or is Rx only) $22.99 for 65 tablets or $10.59 for 24 tablets

 I expect that we will see this appear on an OTC equivalent list and members to be forced to either OTC Zantac 150mg or omeprazole (OTC or RX).

 FDA announcement follows:

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/drugsatfda/index.cfm?fuseaction=Search.DrugDetails

3) Maybe CVS should not carry motor oil on isle 4…

Last week CVS was complaining about mail order (even though they run a mail order site). This week the rale against Toyota who has placed pharmacies onsite. CVS is free to build an auto assemble plant in each of their pharmacies….

http://www.freep.com/money/business/cvs20e_20050120.htm

 4) You would be just as dead but …Cancer kills more than heart disease.

 When I was attending classes in oncology at the Univeristy of Minnesota School of Medicine as part of my Pharm.D. training our oncologist/professor said that “If you live long enough, you’ll get cancer”. This data seems to back him up.(quick registration required) I’ll try to live as long as I can and take my chances.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/497956?src=mp

5) Cervical cancer linked to second hand smoke!

Yes another unhealthy effect of smoking… please stop… (You know who you are …… and I DO care about you!)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050106105740.htm

6) Plavix vs Aspirin and PPI

Previuos ulcer reactivated in 8% of Plavix patients but noy the aspirin patients given proton pump inhibitors. The study is relative small and may not be a fair assessment due to active TREATMENT of gastric acid. Don’t get riled up over this yet…. But you can just about bet that PUBLIC CITIZEN will “go off” on it.

http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2005/01/20/study_shows_plavix_has_higher_ulcer_risk/

7) A camp for alcohol?

It is tough to remember all of the new drug names and what they are used for. Hope this helps. Campral is for alcohol abstinence but the mechanism is unknown. We do know that it does not work like Antabuse which makes the patient violently ill if they take alcohol. This one reduces the desire to ingest alcohol. Potential patients include the 14 million Americans with alcohol problems. Be sure to refer to official labeling information before prescribing this and be assured that they don’t put a worm in the bottle!.

http://www.campral.com/

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