Speculation about a potential CVS Health acquisition of health insurer Aetna has been mounting over the past month, and now it may have reached a crescendo. Published reports say the companies are in advanced negotiations and that a CVS-Aetna deal could be announced as soon as next week, according to an anonymous source cited in
NACDS president and CEO Steve Anderson co-authored an article appearing in Morning Consult that highlights the role of pharmacy in public health. Written with Gigi Kwik Gronvall, senior associate at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the column explains how community pharmacy is helping to address the threat of anti-microbial resistance as it has
For prescribers and pharmacists, the reduced levels for defining a person as having high blood pressure bring new guidelines for hypertension medication. This week, the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology announced that high blood pressure is now defined as a systolic reading of 130 mm Hg and higher or a diatolic measure
There’s no slowing down the proliferation of mobile health technology. Currently, consumers can choose from more than 318,500 health-related mobile apps — almost double the number two years ago — and about 200 new apps are launched daily. What’s more, over 340 consumer wearable devices are now on the market globally. And supporting the burgeoning
Some recently released research uncovered a couple of disconcerting trends concerning prescription drugs. Lawsuit ads targeting prescription drugs and medical devices have caused at least 61 serious medical events, including six deaths, according to a report from the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR). This marks an increase from previous reports, ILR said. Titled
Amazon has quietly received approvals for pharmacy wholesale licenses from at least a dozen state pharmacy boards, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Thursday. Those states are Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon and Tennessee. Another pharmacy distribution license application is pending in Maine, the report said. Amazon
Published reports said Thursday that CVS Health is in negotiations to acquire health insurer Aetna. CVS reportedly will offer more than $200 share, or about $66 billion, to purchase the health benefits giant, according to anonymous sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, which originated the story about a potential CVS-Aetna deal. Bloomberg reported that
No one claims to hold “the solution” to soaring costs for prescription drugs and how Americans and payers — including government — can afford to pay for them. But strides toward unraveling the tangle of problems behind this issue won’t be made without determined attempts at substantive discussion between the public and private sectors, according
CVS Health continues to back up its mantra of getting people “on the path to better health” with action. Having dropped tobacco from its stores and refocused its front end on better-for-you products, CVS is taking aim at e-cigarettes. The company has made a three-year, $500,000 grant to bring the CATCH Global Foundation’s youth e-cigarette
There may be a “new normal” for the segment of Americans shouldering astronomical prescription drug costs, a study by Express Scripts reveals. Between 2014 and 2016, the number of people with annual medication costs of $50,000 or more jumped 35%, and in 2016 about three out of every 1,000 people accounted for over 20% of
With Americans agog over social media, who do you think they’d like to hear more from? Celebrities? Pro athletes? Presidents? (Actually, we’ve got enough of that one.) For many, it’s pharmacists. The PrescribeWellness 2017 Pharmacy Social Media Survey found that 42% of the 1,000-plus U.S. adults polled want their pharmacist to be more active on
Liberia-born and -raised Richelieu Dennis, CEO of Sundial Brands Inc., shared the story behind the origins of his skin and hair care company in a recent Q&A with the New York Times. After coming to the U.S. and then graduating from business school Babson College in 1991, Dennis wasn’t able to return to Liberia, which
Travel health care products and services have been a popular addition in recent years at both chain and independent drug stores, including those with retail clinics. But another health care operator is going to where the travelers are. Code 3 Emergency Partners LLC, a Frisco, Texas-based privately owned and operated group of over 100 physicians
Pharmacy patients in Quebec now have a better idea of what’s behind pricing when they pick up prescriptions. The province on Sept. 15 began having pharmacies issue a more detailed invoice to provide cost transparency for the drugs dispensed. The new invoice itemizes the pharmacist’s fee, the price of the medication and the wholesaler’s margin.
