Content about Health care

SUPPLIER NEWS — Pacific World is launching exclusively at Walmart in March its new GeoGirl eco-friendly beauty line for tweens. The 69-SKU collection, which has suggested retail pricing between $3.98 and $5.98, includes makeup for face, lips, cheeks and eyes, as well as skin and body care. The formulas are made with 100%-natural fragrances, and the packaging is made of recyc­lable materials.



With pharmaceutical and healthcare expenditures on the rise, a primary care shortage at hand and an expected upswing in patients diagnosed with chronic diseases, there’s no denying that the marketplace is in the midst of an evolution. Despite the challenges, Walgreens’ health-and-wellness division has positioned itself for such changes and, according to headquarter executives, has a winning strategy in place — broadening and deepening its payer relationships.


WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — As much as the Affordable Care Act was a tough pill to swallow for many conservatives, the flexible spending account changes may be the first piece of what many consider to be "bad medicine" to be reversed this year. Incentivizing self-care is better medicine for all constituents.

(THE NEWS: Report: Legislation restoring FSA OTC coverage is coming. For the full story, click here)

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — As CEO of Katz Group Canada and its flagship Rexall chain, Andy Giancamilli has spearheaded a transformation of the company’s approach to drug store retailing and health-and-wellness merchandising. That renewal has spawned a new Rexall prototype store and a new approach to customer segmentation.


NEW YORK — Convenience and cost savings offered by retail-based health clinics are attractive to urban patients. Given sufficient cost savings, those urban patients are likely to seek care at such facilities, causing possible further growth and employment opportunities for nurse practitioners in these clinics, according to research published in the Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

HILLSBORO, Ore. — Intel is helping its employees gain convenient access to health care with the opening this week of an on-site medical center at its Jones Farm Campus in Hillsboro, which will be operated by Walgreens' Take Care Health Systems, according to local news reports.

Later this year, Intel is looking to open a second worksite medical clinic at is Ronler Acres Campus, according to reports.

NEW YORK — The healthcare industry could see an “extreme makeover” next year, according to a new report by PwC.

The research firm’s "Top Health Industry Issues of 2011" report, based on a nationwide survey of 1,000 adults in the United States, identified six major issues facing health organizations:

1. Record spending on health information technology will drive demand for skilled professionals in this area, increased roles for chief information officers and industry consolidation.

PHILADELPHIA — The specialty pharmacy market is set to reach $90 billion this year, so it’s clear that managed care organizations have a lot at stake.

That was the overarching theme at a symposium organized by specialty pharmacy provider ACRO Pharmaceutical Services, in conjunction with Armada Health Care, last Thursday at the Hyatt Regency at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — There’s been quite an uproar following healthcare reform’s flexible spending account proposal that in January will force consumers to spend upward of $40 on doctor visit co-pays in order to save some $2.50 for every $10 spent on nonprescription items.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Retail pharmacy operators continue to expand their presence in the burgeoning market for retail-based walk-in clinics, and the services those convenient-care centers provide. And there’s growing evidence that the nation’s overwrought, cash-crunched healthcare system desperately needs those services in a time of dwindling resources, overworked primary care physicians and unsustainable cost hikes.

As I write this column, it’s the final Super Tuesday primaries in eight states, including here in New York, before the big mid-term elections in November. And if the Sunday morning news shows are right, the Democrats are in for a spanking. Given the present state of the economy, the stagnant job market and the American electorate’s need to find someone to blame, it’s really kind of inevitable.