OctariusRx, LLC

10/24/2025

Excited to be at the New England ASC Conference this morning!

I’ll be presenting “Protecting Your Patients, Your Practice, and Your License: Avoiding Controlled Substance Diversion” at 10:00 AM.

Looking forward to sharing practical strategies to prevent diversion and protect patients—while connecting with so many dedicated ASC professionals.

Big thanks to MAASC for the invitation and for hosting such a great event!

10/20/2025

Happy National Pharmacy Week!

Happy Pharmacy Week to our team members and colleagues!
This week, we’re celebrating our incredible Consultant Pharmacists, as well as supporting team members who are essential to patient safety and improving patient outcomes.

From providing expert advice on safe medication management, to managing chronic conditions, our team consistently goes above and beyond.

Thank you for your dedication, knowledge, and compassion in:

Ensuring medication safety and optimal outcomes.
Collaborating with other healthcare providers to deliver the best possible patient care.
Embracing innovation and adapting to the evolving healthcare landscape.

To all the pharmacy heroes out there: we see your hard work and appreciate everything you do!

This is a great week for us to once again say THANK YOU!

About National Pharmacy Week

National Pharmacy Week — October 19-25, 2025 — is an annual observance that acknowledges the invaluable contributions that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians make to patient care in hospitals, ambulatory care clinics, and other healthcare settings.

Join OctariusRx in celebration of National Pharmacy Week. This week we celebrate the accomplishments of our team and our pharmacy colleagues.

10/13/2025

Drug Shortages Update: October 2025

This week we are once again providing an update on the most recent drug shortages.

Drug shortages are just below 80 different medications, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) noting 77 products as being unavailable. Some of these shortages are short term, or limited availability, while others are completely unavailable with unknown release dates.

As noted above, the current list stands at 77 products, which is down 11 from our last update in July. In this week’s client newsletter, we have two separate lists of medications in short supply. The first list covers the most commonly used medications in ambulatory surgery centers, while the second addresses medications commonly used long-term care facilities.

In addition to the two lists of unavailable medications, we are also providing a link to Ten Steps to Dealing with Drug Shortages.

If you’re not a client and would like to benefit from all the resources and updates we provide, contact us today.

This week we discuss the most recent drug shortages, currently just under 80 different medications, and how you can minimize impact on patient care.

09/29/2025

FDA requires opioid manufacturers to update prescribing information

Opioids are responsible for the overwhelming majority of overdose deaths in recent years. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken an additional step to further emphasize and characterize risks of long-term opioid use by requiring manufacturers to update their prescribing information. What changes are being made and what can your facility do to keep patients safe?

https://octariusrx.com/fda-requires-opioid-manufacturers-to-update-prescribing-information/

This week we discuss how the FDA is requiring manufacturer's to update the prescribing information for opioid drugs.

09/15/2025

Victor Alves Presenting at the 2025 New England ASC Conference

OctariusRx President and Consultant Pharmacist Victor Alves is presenting “Protecting Your Patients, Your Practice, and Your License: Avoiding Controlled Substance Diversion” at the 2025 New England ASC Conference, presented by the Massachusetts Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers.

He will discuss the basics of medication security, how it can impact patient safety and the steps facilities can take to minimize the risks. Additionally, he will address the most common survey issues related to medication security and provide practical tips for improving patient safety and survey success. Some of the topics to be discussed include regulatory requirements/standards, the most often cited standards, medication security, ways to identify drug diversion, tips to help prevent diversion and what steps to take when a diversion is suspected. Finally, he will discuss the process for reporting a diversion, should one occur.

This year the conference is being held at the Boston Marriott Newton in Newton, MA. The conference takes place on October 24th from 8am to 4:30pm.

OctariusRx Founder Victor Alves will be presenting "Protecting Your Patients, Your Practice, and Your License: Avoiding Controlled Substance Diversion.

08/26/2025

Medication Safety Quiz 2025

The 2025 version of the OctariusRx medication safety quiz is about to be released. How are you assessing your staff? Use our tool to help enhance patient safety and satisfy the regulatory requirement.

https://octariusrx.com/medication-safety-quiz-2025/

Take the medication safety quiz to test your knowledge.

08/04/2025

Anesthesiologist stealing drugs

A federal jury in Oklahoma City found an anesthesiologist guilty on 18 counts of obtaining a controlled substance by deceit or subterfuge.

The anesthesiologist took advantage of his role to divert controlled substances, including fentanyl, ketamine, Dilaudid, and midazolam. The anesthesiologist in this case was faced with a maximum sentence of 72 years in federal prison. What steps is your facility taking to help protect patients and minimize the risk of diversion?

In this week’s client newsletter, we discuss the most common points of diversion, the negative impact diversion can have on patients and the facility, as well as ways to help minimize the risk of diversion.

https://octariusrx.com/anesthesiologist-stealing-drugs/

Anesthesiologist stealing drugs This week we discuss how diversion can harm patients and steps you can take to minimize your risk.

07/21/2025

Preview the New Medications of 2025

Because the medication reconciliation process is so critical to patient safety, each year we provide our clients with a reference tool of the newest medications on the market. The 2025 list is now available. Let us help you enhance patient safety.

https://octariusrx.com/preview-the-new-medications-of-2025/

This week we take a look at the new medications of 2025. These are the newest medications approved by the FDA so far this year.

07/07/2025

Drug Shortages Update: July 2025

This week we are once again providing an update on the most recent drug shortages.

Drug shortages are just below 90 different medications, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) noting 88 products as being unavailable. Some of these shortages are short term, or limited availability, while others are completely unavailable with unknown release dates.

As noted above, the current list stands at 88 products, which is down two from our last update in April. In this week’s client newsletter, we have two separate lists of medications in short supply. The first list covers the most commonly used medications in ambulatory surgery centers, while the second addresses medications commonly used long-term care facilities.

In addition to the two lists of unavailable medications, we are also providing a link to Ten Steps to Dealing with Drug Shortages.

If you’re not a client and would like to benefit from all the resources and updates we provide, contact us today.

This week we discuss the most recent drug shortages, currently just under 90 different medications, and how you can minimize impact on patient care.

07/03/2025

Happy Independence Day!

With liberty and justice for all!

From all of us at OctariusRx, Happy Independence Day!
On this day, we celebrate the freedom and sacrifices that built this great nation.

Here’s to the stars and stripes!

“I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”—Patrick Henry

https://octariusrx.com/happy-independence-day-3/

Happy Independence Day! Join the OctariusRx team as we celebrate America's independence.

06/23/2025

How we saved our client $23,000 in five minutes

Would you like to make or save a lot of money in a short period of time? Sounds like a trick question, right? We’ve often heard that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. In this case, we helped a client save $23,000. All it took was reviewing our benchmarking studies, a three-minute conversation and an email. Read on to learn how...

https://octariusrx.com/how-we-saved-our-client-23000-in-five-minutes/

How we saved our client $23,000 in five minutes. This week we discuss how to use our benchmarking studies to save thousands of dollars.

06/02/2025

June is National Safety Month

June is National Safety Month and at OctariusRx we recognize and support the National Safety Council’s efforts to build and advocate for a culture of safety. Have you assessed your risks? Do you have a plan in place to mitigate those risks? Let’s look at some of the most common risks and how we can help.

https://octariusrx.com/june-is-national-safety-month-3-2/

June is National Safety Month. Let the OctariusRx team of consultant pharmacists help you enhance patient and staff safety.