Employment outlook

Not great, not terrible.

The latest edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook says that pharmacist employment overall is likely not to change over the next 10 years — i.e., growth with be zero.

But… that’s because growth in jobs in hospitals and clinics will increase, offset by a decline in retail jobs.

[R]etail pharmacies will be affected by increasing sales via mail order and online pharmacies. In addition, pharmacy technicians will be taking a greater role in pharmacy operations.

Speaking of which, job opportunities for pharmacy technicians are expected to increase about 7% over that same period.

But you knew that already

“When Pharmacies Close, Low-Income Neighborhoods Lose” from Forbes.

Duck

Walgreens has made its first “store to door” drone delivery — a pack of cold remedies sent to a family in Christiansburg, Virginia.

Not to be left alone on the ground, looking wistfully at the clouds, CVS is partnering with UPS to offer its own drone-delivery service, presumably using the chain’s famous mile-long receipts to lower packages onto customers’ porches.

Want a little more about the whole pharmacy-drone thing? Fast Company’s got you covered.

Another (potential) opioid settlement

Hot on the heels of the $260 million opioid settlement with two Ohio counties comes word of a potential $48 billion deal — an “agreement in principle” — between drug companies (AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, and Teva) and four states (North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas).

But … the lawyer for the 2,000+ cities, counties, towns, and tribes says it’s not enough.

The deal in two sentences:

• The companies would pay “$22 billion in cash and $26 billion worth of addiction treatment.
• Money would be divided between states and local governments.

The danger of polypharmacy and Parkinson’s

If you have patients who’ve recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, watch out for how many meds they’re taking. A new study finds that taking too many meds appears to be linked with cognitive decline.

“This is the first study to demonstrate an association between polypharmacy and cognitive decline in patients with newly diagnosed PD [Parkinson’s disease], as well as in community-dwelling older adults. […] Medication reduction might be a promising intervention to prevent the development of dementia in patients with early PD.”

Give us your tired, your hungry, your e-cigs….

At this Saturday’s National Drug Take-Back Day, the DEA says it will for the first time accept vaping devices and cartridges.

The price we pay

The opioid epidemic has cost the U.S. more than $600 billion over the last four years combating the opioid epidemic, according to a report from the Society of Actuaries. That’s money spent on emergency services, extra medical care, criminal justice, and family assistance programs*, but also includes lost wages and lower productivity.

Of that $600+ billion, about $283 billion is in actual spending, so at least that’s going back into the economy — paying for products and services. But there are certainly better ways to use that cash.

For 2019, the society expects the country to take an $188 billion hit.

Elsewhere: Empire State edition

New York is now requiring pharmacists to inform their patients when a drug has been recalled.

According to a justification attached to the bill, pharmacies are ideal messengers for these recalls because they often act as the most direct point of contact for patients.