Prescription Drug Use by Children

ABC News reports that prescription drug use by children has increased in the past year by 5 percent. Overall prescription drug use increased only 1.3 percent.

It is concerning that children are being treated with drugs normally used by adults, such as cholesterol fighters and Type 2 diabetes.

...they noted that more children are being treated with cholesterol fighters or powerful anti-psychotics normally used by adults.

Wisconsin Prescription Drug Law

Wisconsin lawmakers are attempting to rid a 1939 law requiring a minimum mark-up on wholesale prescription drug prices. If passed, this will allow large companies like Wal-Mart and Target to sell prescriptions at a steep discount.

Community pharmacists are fighting this law hard.

Data Mining

Two Democratic Senators are attempting to end data mining of prescription records in order to prevent excessive influence from drug companies into prescription writing by physicians.

The amendment to the Senate health care bill would effectively ban pharmaceutical data mining, the drug company practice of buying prescription records to target sales pitches to doctors.

Sens. Herb Kohl of Wisconsin and Dick Durbin of Illinois say the measure will combat "harassing sales practices" and "restrain undue influence" of pharmaceutical salespersons.