Significant Decline in ADEs Bolsters Safety in Hospitals; 50,000 Deaths Averted 

Hospital errors declined significantly from 2010 to 2013, saving 50,000 lives and about $12 billion in healthcare costs. Hospital pharmacists can pat themselves on the back for the biggest contributor to that improvement: the decline in adverse drug events. Here are the details.

Pregabalin Not Effective for Common Lower Back Pain Despite ‘Off-Label’ Use

With lumbar spinal stenosis causing significant discomfort in older adults, the search for better therapies can be frustrating. That is one of the reason physicians sometimes go off-label to try drugs such as pregabalin. A new study finds, however, that the product approved for conditions such as shingles, spinal cord injury, fibromyalgia, and diabetic peripheral neuropathy doesn’t help the most common types of lower back pain.

While nutritional supplements are recommended in certain situations for slowing the advancement of age-related macular degeneration, the most popular brands sold in drugstores include a lot of hype with many of them failing to adhere to proven formulas, according to a new study. Find out when supplements could be helpful and what they should include.

PCPs Report They Are Less Likely to Prescribe Opioids Than a Year Ago 

This will come as no surprise to pharmacists: Even though primary care physicians expressed a litany of concerns about opioid prescribing in general, the vast majority expressed confidence in their own ability to avoid the pitfalls. Find out what else prescribers had to say about concerns related to painkillers.