Content about healthcare

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. — Take Care Health Systems, which is owned by Walgreens, has made a “founder’s gift” of $100,000 to the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Foundation to help further nurse practitioner education by supporting the Foundation’s Scholarship and Grant Fund.

As leaders in primary and acute care, the 140,000 NPs in the United States play a vital role in the healthcare system and are a key component of the solution for increasing the public’s access to high-quality, affordable care post-reform.

WASHINGTON — The mayor of the nation's capital announced Thursday plans to include calorie information on vending machines in municipal buildings.

Washington mayor Vincent Gray said the rollout of the Calories Count Vending Program would give workers and visitors the information they need to make wise lifestyle choices and would ultimately help reduce healthcare costs.

"This program is a great example of a public-private partnership that empowers consumers," Gray said.

NEW YORK — The makers of a pill bottle that uses wireless technology to keep patients adherent won the grand prize at a recent healthcare innovation contest.

AdhereTech developers Josh Stein, John Langhauser and Mike Morena will receive $50,000 in prize money as winners in the Healthcare Innovation World Cup, an international diabetes innovation challenge funded by Boehringer Ingelheim and organized by HITLAB.

BERN, Switzerland — Alliance Boots on Wednesday reported a double-digit profit gain for its year ended March 31. Underlying profit after tax was up 12.7% to $1.2 billion, though revenue was down slightly by 2.6% to $34.2 billion. 

LAS VEGAS — Healthcare professionals working within the growing field of convenient care convened here Tuesday for the sixth annual Retail Clinician Education Congress, a three-day educational and networking forum that is accredited for both nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

The 2013 RCEC conference, which is hosted by Drug Store News Group in conjunction with the Convenient Care Association and Partners in Healthcare Education, is being held at the Planet Hollywood Resort in Las Vegas. It runs from May 14 to May 16.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — A study conducted by researchers at CVS Caremark and Brigham and Women's Hospital and published in the May issue of the American Heart Journal found that non-white patients had 50% greater odds of statin medication nonadherence compared with white patients, while women had 10% greater odds of statin nonadherence compared with men.

NANUET, N.Y. — AllerMates on Thursday launched an online community at AllerMates.com for parents and healthcare professionals to exchange experiences, seek advice, post recipes, get breaking news and alerts, make friends, share photos and videos, use the “ask the doctor platform” and create a strong support network of allies among others dealing with allergies and asthma. 

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Declining use overall of healthcare services drove down spending on medicines in the United States by 3.5% per capita last year, according to a new study.

The November 2011 expiration of Pfizer's patent on the cholesterol drug Lipitor and Ranbaxy Labs' release of the generic version received significant play in the media, particularly due to the theretofore status of Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium) as the drug with the highest sales in the country, $7.7 billion in the United States, according to healthcare analytics firm IMS Health.

WASHINGTON — The National Community Pharmacists Association is expecting its highest turnout in two years for the association's 2013 Legislative and Government Affairs conference being held Tuesday and Wednesday. NCPA intends to address many key issues impacting community pharmacy with legislators during the two-day conference. 

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. — PrescribeWellness on Tuesday announced a partnership with the American Pharmacy Alliance to provide independent retail pharmacies with a low-cost, easy-to-implement patient engagement solution. The APA is a consortium of leading pharmacy software providers for more than 12,000 independent and small chain pharmacies in the United States.

CVS Caremark executives were upbeat during last week’s conference call with analysts, as the company pulled in a “strong” first quarter and narrowed its 2013 guidance to reflect higher-than-expected performance.

The positive start to 2013 is important as it further demonstrates that CVS Caremark’s distinctive, integrated healthcare model is resonating and spelling success for this pharmacy innovation company.