Author: Peter

Omnicare and the federal government plan to settle a lawsuit accusing Omnicare of accepting millions of dollars in kickbacks from Abbott Laboratories in exchange for pushing doctors to prescribe a certain drug to dementia patients,..

PillPack..introduced its Medication Reminders mobile app..its the first health app of its kind to automatically import a customer's current medication list regardless of which pharmacy they currently use, and use geo-tracking sensors to create custom reminders based on location, activity or time to more naturally fit with people's daily routine.

In smaller geographical and local markets, small drug chains, competing with the…”big boys,” continue to thrive... They tend to employ pharmacists who have grown up in the communities they serve…these locally grown pharmacists interact with the public they serve in powerful ways.

Patients may expect cleaner than clean conditions in a hospital..In one of four hospitals across the country hand washing – the best-known way to prevent hospital infections – is apparently not a priority. "It puts patients, clinicians, and all health care workers at risk when hand washing is not a priority. Hospital-acquired infections kill about 10 percent of those afflicted…”

The recent concessions wrung from the CMS by the American Medical Association and other ICD-10 protesters are no panacea for a smooth transition to the voluminous and complex codes.

Albertsons Cos. is looking to go public..Owned by..Cerberus Capital Management, Albertsons operates 2,205 supermarkets, 1,698 pharmacies and 378 fuel centers in 33 states and the District of Columbia under 18 banners, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market and Carrs.

Urged on by the medical industry and patients' groups, the House overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan bill that would speed federal approval of drugs and medical devices and boost biomedical research...The new spending would be paid for, mostly by selling $7 billion worth of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the government's emergency oil stockpile...$2.5 billion would come from trimming federal Medicaid reimbursements to states.

Hospitals are increasingly adopting technologies aimed at reducing medication and other errors, but they continue to struggle with variation in the quality of care provided to patients and in adoption of safe practices...

Drug stores are showing their potential as sites for cancer screening technology, enhancing their value as a destination for preventive care...SIAscopy technology...part of the Walgreens Alliance Boots..in the United Kingdom...mole-scanning service is based on a successful model in...pharmacies in Norway as well as in a Swedish pharmacy chain,..

..public hospital districts in rural Eastern Washington have adopted an innovative technology solution that gives providers real-time data on patients with chronic conditions. The system not only promotes better care coordination, but positions the providers for the shift to value.(video)