News & Updates

Smith Drug company donates $6,000 of naloxone (opiate antidote)

October 7, 2016 - The Georgia Board of Pharmacy has just released a policy statement for dispensing of drugs under Governor Deal's emergency order. The code section allowing the order is narrow in scope, and the policy reflects that. As in the past (Katrina, Albany floods) the Governor may at a later time expand the scope of the emergency. If so, the board may expand the authority. Currently, a pharmacist may dispense 3 day supplies of needed meds repeatedly, up to a total of a 30 day supply. NO CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES may be dispensed under the current policy. Please see our attached document for more information. Our thoughts remain with those in the areas affected by Hurricane Matthew and we will continue to provide superior service to ensure you have the support you require to fulfill the needs of your patients. Georgia Pharmacy Policy for State of Emergency

Customers can now offer comprehensive patient care and clinical expertise for specialty prescriptions SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Smith Drug Company (SDC) and Diplomat Pharmacy Inc. (Diplomat) have come together to offer SDC customers access to specialty pharmacy services through the Diplomat Retail Specialty Network. This agreement, unique in the independent retail pharmacy market, enables pharmacies to provide full service specialty pharmacy for patients with complex chronic diseases.

Winter is the peak season for full-time college students to start non-medical use of prescription drugs, such as pain relievers and stimulants, indicates a new study by SAMHSA. The study, which tracks initiation by month, reveals that in the past year, approximately 251,000 full-time college students started the non-medical use of pain relievers, with an average of 700 initiates a day. However, this rate rises to 850 initiates a day during December, according the study. Further, more students start non-medical use of stimulant medications in November, December, and April. Specifically, about 500 students per day start abusing stimulants during those months, compared with 400 students on an average day. SAMHSA notes that because the rise in the initiation of non-medical use of prescription stimulants coincides with the times of the year that many college final exams and midterm exams occur, this may suggest that students believe non-medical use of stimulants can benefit academic performance.

As if health insurance wasn’t already expensive enough, health insurance companies are seeking to raise the cost 20 to 40 percent.