Content about Health care

A few months ago, I found myself commenting on another website focused on healthcare-related news about the future growth potential for retail clinics versus urgent care centers. Actually, I was on the verge of a full-on debate with some other user, saved only by the grace of a site error. It is an ironic example of how technology can make humans more efficient — even if by mistake.


WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — What if Moore's law — meaning the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits would double every two years — applied to healthcare applications? That actually was all the talk earlier this year at the TedMed conference, at least according to a blog written by Dave Copeland, a well-vetted business and technology journalist.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Two companies have signed a deal to provide access to real-time medication history to healthcare providers.

Pharmacy management services provider PDX and healthcare revenue and payment cycle management and clinical information exchange services provider Emdeon announced the deal Monday, whereby medication history will be delivered from PDX's Electronic Pharmacy Record to Emdeon's Clinical Exchange and then to hospitals, providers, health information exchanges, nursing facilities and ambulatory and acute inpatient facilities that request it.

PHILADELPHIA — The pharmaceuticals business will begin picking up in 2014, AmerisourceBergen president and CEO Steve Collis said last week at the wholesaler's ThinkLive Manufacturer's Summit held here. "Next year is a slower brand-to-generic [trend] and in 2014 we’re going to see a resumption in that top-line growth rate [across the pharmaceutical industry in the U.S.] to a modest 4% growth," Collis said. "That’s not too bad," he added, especially when you compare that growth up against what's happening worldwide.

The interest in healthcare reform has reached a new high, especially in light of the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, yet there's no denying that consumers are still unclear as to the impact on their personal healthcare and insurance issues. That being said, Americans see a need for change as they battle rising costs and a lack of access to care, and many are saying "aye" to healthcare reform, according to the most recent Patient Views infographic.

A lot of people have quite a few things to say about healthcare reform, whether they favor or oppose it. But supporters of the law show an altruistic sensibility and an understanding of how the law would benefit other Americans, according to an exclusive survey of nearly 800 patients conducted by AccentHealth and DSN in late July and early August.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation told a congressional panel Wednesday that the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury have used too much informal guidance and not enough formal rule-making in developing regulations to implement the new healthcare reform law, complicating retailers' and other employers' ability to plan for what will be required in 2014. NRF is concerned that the situation is the latest example of regulatory uncertainty that is hampering businesses' attempts to expand and create jobs.



Call it the Year of the Retail Clinic. 


As the Drug Store News Group and its partners at the Convenient Care Association played host to several hundred in-store based providers in Orlando, Fla., in late July for the fifth annual Retail Clinician Education Congress, several signs began to emerge that the retail clinic model had reached a critical tipping point. Not the least of which is that for the third year in a row, the U.S. Senate had resolved to name the week of Aug. 6 National Convenient Care Week.


WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — At the start of the year, Drug Store News predicted that 2012 would be a significant year for the convenient care industry as retail-based health clinics gear up for expansion and move closer to version 2.0. Well, that prediction is ringing true.

(THE NEWS: Mass. lawmakers pass healthcare bill that expands use of limited-service clinics. For the full story, click here)

DENVER, Colo. —Take Care Health Systems, which is owned by Walgreens, has launched a pilot program offering patients mobile and online appointment-scheduling services through consumer healthcare application iTriage.

The scheduling functionality now is available in both the Chicago and Denver markets.

NEW YORK — With the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act extending health insurance to some 30 million Americans amid an already fragile primary care network, retail-based health clinics are likely to see an influx of patients turning to them for healthcare services.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — The professional skin care products market realized a 5.3% gain in 2011, according to a new report from Kline.

In the latest "Professional Skin Care Global Series: Market Analysis and Opportunities" report,  Kline found that sales for the European market came close to pre-recession peak levels, rising 4%, while China and South Korea posted growth of 9.3% and 9.5%, respectively, within the professional sector.