American journal of hospital pharmacy
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Operation of an emergency department satellite pharmacy in which the pharmacist provided clinical, educational, and drug distribution services during patient visits is described. In a Detroit trauma and ambulatory-care center, drugs were dispensed to outpatients 24 hours a day from a satellite pharmacy located in the 75-bed emergency department. ⋯ When reductions in the work force were necessary, the institution chose to retain 24-hour pharmacist coverage during emergency department patient visits and to eliminate 24-hour dispensing to outpatients. In this urban trauma center, the emergency department pharmacist's clinical, distributive, and educational services contributed substantially to delivery of patient care.
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Recently enacted legislation involving patent terms and the approval of new generic equivalent drug products is described, and the law's potential repercussions are discussed. The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (PL 98-417) consists of two titles that affect introduction procedures and patent requirements for certain types of generic new drug products. Title I allows drug manufacturers to use an abbreviated new drug application when seeking approval to make generic copies of drug products that were approved by the FDA after 1962. ⋯ Since PL 98-417 was implemented in September 1984, little has been settled in the way of implementing its provisions or accurately measuring its nonregulatory impact. It seems certain that the bill will be difficult to regulate and that litigation will proliferate. Furthermore, the impact of the statute on the composition of the drug industry will undoubtedly be substantial.