Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. has the potential to save some patients $1.29 billion a year, according to a study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers that evaluated 2020 Medicare Part D expenses for the nine most popular urological drugs. 

HBO's popular zombie show The Last of Us is not the future for fungal infections, but thousands of Americans are hospitalized and hundreds die each year because of fungi, as there are no approved vaccines, NBC News reported Feb. 10. 

Growing resistance to antibiotics is nothing new, but the United Nations warned in a Feb. 7 press release that 10 million deaths could occur by 2050 if nothing is done to curb instances of drug resistance.

The CDC's recommended immunization schedules for adults and children now include the COVID-19 vaccine. 

The FDA warned healthcare workers and pharmacies on Feb. 9 not to use an unapproved potassium phosphates drug made by Hospira, a Pfizer company, in pediatric patients because the aluminum exposure can be up to double the agency's limit. 

Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk, Va., abruptly closed the retail pharmacy it leased to Hague Pharmacy Feb. 8 because its lease expired, according to NBC affiliate WAVY. the hospital's in-house pharmacy is still open.

The nation's first rule to ensure shipped medications are protected from heating up or cooling down too much is facing strong opposition, including CVS Health, healthcare organizations and trade groups, NBC News reported Feb. 8. 

An experimental COVID-19 antiviral has been shown to cut the risk of hospital admission in half and appears to work across variants. Despite its promising attributes, it's unlikely to reach the U.S. market anytime soon because of regulatory challenges and a lack of funding, The New York Times reported Feb. 8. 

Tyler Brisso, a pharmacy student and an employee at a Methodist Health System location, designed a drug compounding solution that has the potential to save the Omaha, Neb.-based system nearly $100,000 each year, NBC affiliate WOWT reported Feb. 8. 

The following 10 hospitals, health systems and hospital operators have posted job listings seeking pharmacy leaders in the last week.

About two months after AbbVie departed from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Teva Pharmaceuticals followed suit.

There's a $35,700 difference in pharmacists' pay between a West Coast state and one on the East Coast, and a $10,000 salary difference between North Dakota and South Dakota. 

Washington State University's pharmacy college is pioneering higher rural healthcare standards, according to a staff editorial published Feb. 7 in The Columbian, a Washington state news outlet.

The fill rate for oral antibiotics is nearing a second peak after falling since the end of 2022, GoodRx data shows. 

An investigative drug for treating postpartum depression is one step closer to being the first federally approved pill for the condition that affects 1 in 8 mothers, The Boston Globe reported Feb. 6. 

Other than the nationwide authority for pharmacists to administer COVID-19 vaccines, there is wide variation among states on which vaccines pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are authorized to administer, according to the American Disease Prevention Coalition. 

As a plethora of healthcare settings struggle with hiring and retaining pharmacy technicians, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists introduced an online tool Feb. 6 aimed at addressing the nationwide shortage. 

Technicalities on routine vaccinations and administrative timelines for hospital formulary processes could hinder children's protection against respiratory syncytial virus. 

A Pennsylvania law that went into effect Feb. 3 allows providers to write prescriptions in sexually transmitted disease cases for their patients' sex partners. 

Of the hundreds of drugs currently in short supply, there are four shortages to keep an eye on in February, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.