Content about Studies and Surveys

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals on Tuesday announced it is working with the March of Dimes and television personality Vanessa Minnillo on a public health message to help educate all women of reproductive age about the importance of folate and folic acid through a national educational campaign called Girlfriends for Folate.

DailyCandy.com also has committed to engaging its extensive membership of women to help spread the word about daily folate supplementation, Bayer said.

PITTSBURGH — Patients that opt to fill their prescriptions through a $4 generic program could help garner societal savings of nearly $6 billion, a new study found.

NEW YORK — "Fake drugs are a big threat and an exploding threat," Kumar Kibble, deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told the news program "60 Minutes" in a segment that appeared Sunday night.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — According to a study presented Friday at the Natural Products Expo West, Boiron has found there is substantial opportunity for growth in the retail sales of homeopathic medicines with notable interest among consumers in trying homeopathic medicines.

Nearly half of all consumers have used a natural or alternative medicine successfully in the past, and there is strong consumer desire to minimize their usage of traditional over-the-counter medications because of safety and purity concerns.

SAN FRANCISCO — An informational and community website for people with diabetes has kicked off its fourth annual design challenge, a Web-based competition that calls for fresh ideas for new devices, Web applications or other instruments designed to help people live better with the disease.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A report by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General found that beneficiary premiums in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program are higher than than they should be, due to overpayments to plan sponsors, including pharmacy benefit managers.

CHICAGO — Consumers are just as interested in utilizing green services as they are in purchasing green products, according to new Mintel research.

WASHINGTON — A popular Irish holiday may give retailers some luck.

Boiron this past fall administered an online makeover across its Oscillo.com site and introduced three additional Internet destinations: ChildrensOscillo.com, Chestal.com and ChildrensChestal.com. The new websites all feature helpful tips for staying healthy and offer Web visitors money-saving coupons.

The core drug store shopper is a likely consumer of cell phone and computer accessories, according to research from the Consumer Electronics Association.

CEA research showed that while both men and women are likely to select a car charger as a desired accessory, women are more likely to choose extra batteries, hands-free kits and extra battery chargers. CEA research also revealed that women are more likely to purchase wireless mice and pads, zip drives and extra cables.

Alarming statistics are as common in the healthcare world as healthcare workers themselves, but some of the latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are particularly dramatic: Nearly 26 million Americans have diabetes, the agency said in late January, and an estimated 79 million U.S. adults — representing more than one-third of all adults in the country — have prediabetes.

SUPPLIER NEWS — Juicy Fruit has expanded its sugar-free gum offerings with new mystery-flavored Juicy Secret gum. The gum builds on the 2009 launch of Juicy Fruit’s foray into sugar-free treats with its pellet gum, available in parent company Wrigley’s Big E-pak. Juicy Secret will be available in a 15-stick slim pack nationwide.