Content about Social Issues

OKLAHOMA CITY — Following the sale of ApothecaryRx pharmacies to Walgreens, Graymark Healthcare said it is shifting its focus to sleep disorders, including obstructive sleep apnea.

Graymark is one of the largest providers of sleep medicine diagnosis and treatment, owning and operating diagnostic sleep centers that treat a wide range of sleep disorders, and also operates a medical equipment supply company that provides disposable and durable medical equipment.


BENTONVILLE, Ark. — It’s the kind of low-price power play that gives smaller-scale independent pharmacy owners — and chain drug store operators too, for that matter — the willies. In what promises to be another potent and potentially market-altering exercise in massive scale and competitive clout, Walmart has linked up with insurance heavyweight Humana to launch what it says will be the lowest-cost prescription drug plan for seniors who rely on Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage.


AUSTIN, Texas — An overwhelming majority of respondents to a recent poll want to choose which companies and government agencies can view and use their health information.



DUBLIN, Ohio — Say goodbye to Kinray, the service-obsessed regional drug wholesaler. But say hello to a more muscular and diversified Cardinal Health.


The wholesale and health services giant announced Nov. 18 it will buy Kinray for $1.3 billion. The buyout, set for completion in early 2011, will be a boon to Cardinal, boosting its customer base to more than 7,000 independent drug stores, extending its reach in the Northeast and adding scale versus its wholesale rivals, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen.


ALEXANDRIA, Va., and WASHINGTON — The war of words between independent pharmacies and the pharmacy benefit management industry again is heating up. And again, the two groups are at odds over the question of how transparent — or opaque — the PBM industry’s business dealings with its clients are, and whether those business practices demand reform.

New York — Given the high costs of medication nonadherence to the healthcare system and its responsibility for numerous hospitalizations every year, a number of companies have devised means to combat the problem. One pharmacy benefit manager is doing it online.


ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Simplify, simplify.


The results of the 2010 mid-term elections were dramatic, putting the Republican party firmly in control of the House of Representatives. And the GOP’s “Pledge to America” promises big spending and tax cuts, as well as a repeal of the health-reform law, in direct opposition to the goals of the Obama administration and most Democrats. To gauge the election results and what they mean for pharmacy retailing, Drug Store News interviewed Steve Anderson, president and CEO of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.

Supplier News — Cirrus Healthcare Products recently introduced its ClearEars product, earplugs that contain a polymer that draws water from the ears. ClearEars also is appropriate to alleviate symptoms of glue ear, a condition in which thick, sticky fluid collects behind the eardrum.


NEW YORK — The power of a professionally driven social networking and information platform is now within reach of pharmacists and pharmacy students. And students are taking a lead role in its development and growth.


The new network is called Pharmacist Society. It was conceived and developed as a Web-based networking, information and practice tool by pharmacist Ted Search, president of Skipta — a provider of networking technology for health professionals — and by pharmacy students and educators.


PITTSBURGH — The Food and Drug Administration has given tentative approval to a generic drug for HIV/AIDS made by Mylan subsidiary Matrix Labs for distribution in developing countries under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, Mylan said Tuesday.

The tentative approval under PEPFAR covers Matrix’s abacavir sulfate tablets in the 60-mg strength. The drug is a generic version of ViiV Healthcare’s Ziagen, and is used to treat the disease in children.

WASHINGTON — Proclaiming the potential cost-saving benefits of its signature legislative accomplishment, the massive health-reform bill enacted earlier this year, the White House is projecting that the Affordable Care Act will reduce average costs per patient enrolled in Medicare by thousands of dollars over the next decade.