Content about Health & Wellness

ENGLEWOOD, N.J. — Popcorn, Indiana and NBCUniversal's "The Biggest Loser" are teaming up for a nationwide health initiative called "Fit Across America 2013," the companies announced last week.

LISLE, Ill. — The Pharmacy Quality Alliance has given one of its top awards to pharmacy benefit manager Catamaran Corp., the PBM said Friday.

Catamaran announced that it received a 2013 PQA Quality Award recognizing its five-star rating on all PQA measures in the Part D Star Ratings program. The PQA's stated goal is to improve patient health by championing clear performance measures for medication management, and the recognition program for prescription drug plans recognizes Medicare plans that have demonstrated outstanding performance in medication-related quality.

SAN ANTONIO — During Thursday’s education breakout sessions, Jeremy Doak, director of reward and wellness solutions for Edenred North America, shared with attendees the building blocks to create a strategy for delivering effective programs that impact consumer health-and-wellness outcomes during his presentation titled, “How to encourage consumer participation in health and wellness programs.”

WASHINGTON — A group of 16 food and beverage suppliers, including PepsiCo, Kraft Foods and General Mills, has exceeded its goal of reducing trillions of calories from foods in the marketplace ahead of schedule, the group announced this week.

Antitrust attorney and pharmacy benefit management legal expert David Balto on Friday monitored a mini-summit helping supermarket pharmacy better navigate the PBM universe. And Balto updated attendees on the legislative landscape — three current bills pending in Congress; 29 states now regulate PBM activity; and 19 states have PBM legislation pending.

Issues surrounding regulations, including product-label requirements, ranked third as a 2013 priority among board members of FMI, according to a poll taken in January, noted Patty Packard, director of nutrition and regulatory for Vestcom International, during an education breakout session Thursday.

Only food safety (87%) and upcoming changes to healthcare regulations (79%) were identified as higher priority issues.

Out of all retail pharmacy outlets, food stores have slightly increased their prescription sales, generating March year-to-date sales of $5.7 billion, up 0.5%, according to IMS Health data. Including drug, mail and independents, prescription sales totaled $58.3 billion, down 4.7%, reported Doug Long, VP industry relations for IMS Health, at an FMI education breakout.

SAN ANTONIO — Looking to arm registered dietitians working in the retail food industry with the business skills and knowledge needed to succeed — such as developing an effective elevator pitch, dressing for success, obtaining a sponsor and a mentor, and having a confident handshake — Amy Myrdal Miller, director of programs and culinary nutrition at the Culinary Institute of America, and Annette Maggi, executive director of Retail Dietitians Business Alliance and president of Annette Maggi & Associates, headed up the education breakout session titled “Everything I

NEW YORK — Drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder don't appear to increase children's risk of abusing drugs and alcohol later in life, according to a new study.

NEW YORK — Mobile apps may be helping to boost an allergy sufferer's awareness of his or her condition, and potentially prompting them to seek relief at the local pharmacy, as apps tracking regional allergens become more prominent.

While cough-cold season 2012-2013 will go down in the record books as one of the better seasons in recent memory, the spring allergy season has been delayed into May thanks to recent storm systems traveling across the central United States into the Northeast that have triggered a "faux spring." Temperatures rose briefly and dipped, causing pollen counts to grow and then fall.

For the 52 weeks ended April 21, sales of the three leading allergy tablets were all down: Zyrtec down by 3.8%; Claritin down 1.2%; and Allegra down 14.9%.

BREINIGSVILLE, Pa. — Giant Food Stores of Carlisle, Pa., and Dole Food Co. have donated two salad bars to elementary schools as part of a program to promote healthy eating among children.

They are the latest of the more than 2,491 salad bars donated to schools across the country as part of the First Lady's Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative. Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., and Republican Pennsylvania state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie attended an event to mark the donation.