Content about Chronic

NEW YORK — Those older than 40 years may be making a negative impact on the future of the U.S. economy with the way they eat, live and keep track of their health, according to a white paper released Wednesday by the MetLife Mature Market Institute and co-authored by the Center for Healthy Aging. 

Retail clinic operator Take Care Clinics, which is owned by Walgreens, is expanding the scope of services within its 300-plus clinics to include management for such chronic conditions as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and asthma, as well as additional preventive health services.

WASHINGTON — A new Medicare Chronic Conditions Dashboard announced today by Marilyn Tavenner, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), furthers the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s goals for health promotion and the prevention and management of multiple chronic conditions.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Pat Roberts, R-Kan. and Kay Hagan, D-N.C. on Thursday introduced legislation written to lower healthcare costs by helping more seniors better manage their prescriptions. The Medication Therapy Management Empowerment Act will allow seniors with any high-cost chronic illness to review all their medication and develop a plan of action with a pharmacist.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark has announced the extension of its Pharmacy Advisor program to cover an additional five chronic conditions, including asthma, breast cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression and osteoporosis.

WASHINGTON — As many as 7-in-10 U.S. adults track a health indicator for themselves or for a loved one, according to a Pew Research Center study released Monday. 

NEW YORK — Thousands of patients in Los Angeles with serious, chronic diseases could soon find themselves unable to get their drugs from community pharmacies, advocates for the pharmacies said.

LEXINGTON, Mass. — Drug maker Shire has started a research program focused on rare diseases and their effects on patients and healthcare professionals, the company said Monday.

Shire announced the launch of the Shire Rare Disease Impact Report, which includes surveys of patients, caregivers, physicians, payers and others in the United States and United Kingdom, with results expected in the first half of 2013.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Employees with such chronic diseases as asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure spend fewer days out of the office when they are adherent to their medications, according to new research conducted by CVS Caremark and Truven Health Analytics (previously the healthcare business of Thomson Reuters).

Taken together, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema — affect nearly 50 million Americans, or about 15% of the total U.S. population, according to statistics from such organizations as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And combined, the two diseases cause more than 100,000 deaths per year. Fortunately, however, there is a wide range of treatments available for both, many of which work for both diseases.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark announced on Wednesday that it is supporting Million Hearts during National High Blood Pressure Education Month in May through a number of patient-focused initiatives.

Launched by the Department of Health and Human Services and led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Million Hearts is a national initiative to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes in the United States over the next five years.