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CHICAGO — Bolstered by a strong recent uptrend in sales and earnings and by clear signs that its massive realignment is beginning to bear real fruit, Walgreens’ top executives delivered an upbeat assessment of the company’s progress and its potential as a multichannel retail and healthcare powerhouse at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting Wednesday.

BALTIMORE — If the government paid for drug cost incentives for Medicare patients with congestive heart failure, the program could recoup those costs and more by spending less on expensive hospitalizations for patients. 


That finding was one of several to emerge from research conducted by pharmacy students at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. The four students presented their findings on elderly drug adherence at the annual meeting of the Gerontology Society of America in New Orleans.

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.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Blending the power of one of the most widely used pharmacy automation systems with a massive database of prescribing physicians, two major pharmacy technology providers have unveiled a new partnership designed to give dispensing pharmacists immediate access to real-time prescriber data.


Retail pharmacy technology provider PDX and Healthcare Data Solutions announced the alliance in November. The goal, according to both companies, is to link users of the PDX Pharmacy System with a real-time prescriber verification process.


PARIS — The Consumer Goods Forum on Monday announced two major initiatives on climate change — to work toward ending deforestation and to phase out the use of refrigerant gases with high global warming potential — on the opening day of the sixth United Nations Climate Change Conference held here.

DALLAS — In the first half of 2010, consumers continued to shift to less-expensive private-label products in all categories, including the personal care and baby care segments, according to a recent survey by Epsilon Targeting, a provider of consumer information for targeted marketing solutions.

WAYNE, Pa. The Emerson Group recently announced that 37-year industry veteran Daryl Beck has joined the company and will manage the company’s military sales business, as well as call on Walmart.

NEW YORK Risks of counterfeiting, contamination and intellectual property theft could increase with the globalization of the pharmaceutical supply chain, according to a new report.

OXFORD, Mich. A straw that prevents juice box spills soon may be found on retail shelves nationwide.

Strawzzles are reusable and dishwasher-safe straws that assure no spillage will take place. The one-piece straws are ideal for children of all ages on the go and those who have difficulty drinking from adult-sized cups without spilling.

LOS ANGELES ­Freeman Beauty Labs, whose brands include Vita-K skin care, Psssst! instant dry shampoo and Freeman Papaya hair care, has hired Patrick Bridges as its new SVP sales.

In his role, Bridges will continue to build and manage the sales department across most major mass channels in the United States, as well as in such international markets as Russia, the Netherlands and the Middle East.

WILMINGTON, Del. AstraZeneca is launching a new campaign focused on depression, the Anglo-Swedish drug maker said Thursday.

The campaign, “Take on Depression,” consists of a Facebook page and Twitter feed designed to provide information on bipolar depression and major depressive disorder.