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Allergan and Pfizer Inc. confirmed Thursday that they are in talks about a potential combination, in what would be a blockbuster merger capping off a torrid stretch for health-care and other takeovers…The drug makers, in separate statements using similar wording, said they are in "preliminary friendly discussions" about a potential tie-up… A tie-up with Allergan could be a way for New York-based Pfizer to lower its corporate tax rate. Allergan, because it is based in Dublin, has a significantly lower tax rate than companies in the U.S…Pfizer is at a "tremendous disadvantage" under the U.S. corporate tax code and that his company is competing against foreign companies "with one hand tied behind my back."

UnitedHealth Group Inc is nearing a deal to buy Helios for more than $1.6 billion...The takeover of Helios, which is owned by Kelso & Company and Stone Point Capital LLC, could be announced as early as this week…Helios provides workers' compensation and pharmacy benefit management to some of the largest U.S. insurers and third-party administrators. It manages more than 7 million prescriptions annually…A takeover of Helios would follow UnitedHealth's recent $12.8 billion acquisition of Catamaran Corp in an attempt to boost its pharmacy benefit business.

Blair Green Thielemier, PharmD…specializes in marketing and implementing new clinical services, such as Medication Therapy Management, in community retail pharmacies. Blair helps to identify opportunities for clinical services, increase workflow efficiency and train pharmacy staff members to offer these services in a sustainable, systematized way…Part D Enhanced Medication Therapy Management model will test methods of optimizing medication use and improving care coordination among Medicare Part D beneficiaries in hopes of finding the most effective ways to attain the objectives of MTM programs. CMS is granting basic, stand-alone prescription drug plans the flexibility to design enhanced MTM programs that include interventions beyond the traditional approach. (podcast 29:19)

Michigan health professionals said… the state's recommendations for curbing prescription drug abuse are on the right track, particularly the call for overhauling or replacing the current prescription monitoring program…The…Michigan Prescription Drug and Opioid Abuse Task Force…released a report with about three dozen recommendations. They included a revamped, stricter prescription monitoring program, more training for physicians and an increase in the number of drug addiction treatment specialists in the state…CEO of the Michigan Pharmacists Association…said it was important to develop regulations around the state's automated prescription service, called MAPS. The system is currently not mandated and has had technical issues in the past…Recommendations for updating or replacing the system as well as requiring all licensed prescribers to register were key…

Mischaracterization of Specialty Pharmacies: NASP (National Association of Specialty Pharmacy) Corrects the Record….published recently in the New York Times mischaracterize specialty pharmacies. The fact that a company calls itself a specialty pharmacy does not make it so. Simply stated, charging high prices for medications does not define a specialty pharmacy…A specialty pharmacy is a state-licensed pharmacy that solely or largely provides only medications for people with serious health conditions such as cancer, hepatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDs, multiple sclerosis, organ transplantation, or bleeding disorders…specialty pharmacies are often accredited by independent third parties such as URAC (Utilization Review Accreditation Commission) or the Accreditation Commission for Health Care…Specialty pharmacies provide medications and related high touch health care services to seriously ill people who need complex medications, assistance in using these medications properly and not infrequently, assistance with reimbursement. Specialty medications have a complex profile, often requiring intensive patient management as well as special handling and administration assistance…

Expecting a flurry of legislative activity in Congress in the weeks ahead, and a highly aggressive 2016 election season, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores is making a major push for its NACDS RxIMPACT Pharmacy Advocates group on LinkedIn…On Wednesday, the group had 934 members, with a goal to reach 2,500 by Nov. 3. The purpose of the group is to connect grassroots pharmacy advocates from across the country, and grow its ranks to be poised for action when critical issues arise in Congress, the White House or in the states…“Engagement by pharmacy advocates breathes life into the policy making process. As a constituent, when you meld care stories with issue positions you really personify the impact of legislation. That type of powerful communication can be a game-changer for pharmacy”...

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. agreed to acquire Rite Aid Corp. for about $9.4 billion in cash… The…deal…would combine the second- and third-largest drugstore chains in the U.S., with a total of about 12,800 locations, helping Walgreens vault past market leader CVS Health Corp. The acquisition will… will produce more than $1 billion in savings from cost overlaps…the deal is valued at $17.2 billion… Rite Aid shares fell 8.1 percent to $7.97 at 9:55 a.m. in New York, below Walgreens’ offer of $9 a share, reflecting speculation that the transaction will face antitrust scrutiny…Walgreens shares slumped 6.6 percent to $88.90. The deal creates financial savings but does little to change the drugstore chain’s strategic position in the rapidly evolving health-care industry…

Two influential  senators called for close scrutiny of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc's plan to buy Rite Aid Corp for $9.4 billion, a deal that would unite two of the three biggest U.S. drugstore chains...Walgreens Chief Executive Stefano Pessina said the company had analyzed the antitrust aspect of the deal but would not speculate on the number of drugstores it might need to divest in order to win regulatory approval...The top two antitrust lawmakers in the Senate...urged antitrust enforcers to give the plan careful scrutiny because of the importance of healthcare in the U.S. economy..."I have fought tirelessly to promote competition in the health sector and I believe the proposed merger of two of the three largest drug store chains in the country raises serious issues," Senator Amy Klobuchar...on the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee...subcommittee's chair...Senator Mike Lee, said he hoped antitrust agencies would "closely scrutinize" the deal....

Kno2…announced that Surescripts had selected the company’s platform to connect health technology vendors and their users, allowing them to exchange information through Surescripts’ Clinical Direct Messaging…Kno2's platform makes any documents interoperable, allowing clinical documents move between different health care professionals and vendors. Additionally, the company makes APIs available to vendors who want to connect to Surescripts’ network, which can reduce costs associated with implementing direct messaging and getting Electronic Health Record certification. Kno2 also streamlines the process of verifying identities for providers, which takes that responsibility off of vendors.

The Leapfrog Group has released the second round of its bi-annual hospital safety scores, which show “sluggish” improvement in patient safety among the nation's hospitals…Despite some improvement…hospitals are performing worse in critical areas like the rate of foreign objects left in a patient after surgery and other critical measures that cause hospital acquired conditions. But 133 hospitals, about 5% of all graded facilities, have earned an A, the highest grade, in every score since spring 2012.