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PwC’s (PricewaterhouseCoopers) Health Research Institute asserted that the reforms spawned by the ACA have left "an indelible mark on the $2.9 trillion health sector."… Those reforms are forcing industry leaders to "rethink strategies to remain relevant in a post-ACA world" as they roil every facet of health care and drive a gradual but sweeping transformation of the way health services are provided and paid for…

• A massive shifting of risk among different health provider sectors as the ACA drives "new payment models that reward outcomes and penalize poor performance."
• A "back to basics" movement that’s "making primary care once again the critical touchpoint."
• A surge of new, innovative companies that are rushing "to meet the demand for lower-cost, consumer-oriented care options
• A shift in the health insurance industry "from wholesale to retail" as insurers adapt to the demands of consumers, federal and state health administrators
• The emergence of states "as key players in the reconfigured healthcare landscape."

..big worries on growth hanging over the pharmaceuticals industry are poles apart…Pressure on U.S. drug pricing is casting a shadow over the sector’s most lucrative market. But slowing emerging-market growth, notably in China, shouldn’t be ignored…Emerging-market sales for the big pharmaceuticals firms…increased by about 5.5%, year over year, in the second quarter, well below the 9% average of the prior four quarters. Macroeconomic pressures are increasing. Weaker currencies hurt sales, a factor put into clear focus by China’s devaluation of the yuan.

Italian Ministry of Health has banned compounding pharmacies from preparing drugs containing any of seven APIs after chemists were discovered making dangerous off-label weight loss treatments....ban, backed by the Italian Drug Agency, comes after some compounding pharmacies created unregistered slimming drugs from combinations of APIs not intended for weight control.

• TRIAC/tiratricol 
• fluoxetine and bupropion
• clorazepate
• furosemide
• metformin
• topiramate

Nye County Emergency Management Office…has developed an emergency response plan to support the needs of the communities directly affected by the closure…"Our number one priority is to ensure the long-term safety to the residents of this community..."

NCEM said it has executed the following procedures to mitigate some of the impact the NRMC (Nye Regional Medical Center ) closure:

1. Life Guard Air Ambulance service has brought in an additional plane to double its air ambulance capability
2. Nye County has reportedly reached agreements with neighboring Nevada counties and Inyo County in California to meet the Nye county ambulances half way to cut patient transport times. The following locations have also been included in the response plan: Battle Mountain, Banner-Churchill, Esmeralda, Goldfield, Beatty, Bishop and Hawthorne
3. Nye County is reportedly in negotiations with Humboldt General Hospital for an additional mutual aid ambulance crew

Grassroots advocacy is essential in getting pharmacy’s message to elected officials to effect change…it’s a consistent, compelling, year-round drumbeat of communication and conversation that tells the story of the value of pharmacy and its impact on advancing pro-patient, pro-pharmacy initiatives…NACDS (National Association of Chain Drug Stores) RxImpact grassroots advocacy program is a highly effective resource for pharmacy professionals to learn how to engage and educate lawmakers about key pharmacy issues.

Medical errors happen everywhere. But in the world's largest democracy, stories of doctors being drunk, using rusty instruments or bicycle pumps during surgery, or ordering unjustified procedures are increasingly common… hard data are emerging that show how dismal medical care is for many in India, with providers routinely failing to diagnose common diseases and frequently prescribing useless and hazardous drugs.

The approval of Sprout Pharma’s Addyi (flibanserin) is emerging as one of the most significant biopharma stories of 2015. Addyi has managed to touch a collective nerve that speaks to the pent-up demand for a women’s libido-enhancing drug, but also our societal anxiety about female sexuality in general. Those issues notwithstanding, some experienced biopharma marketers predict robust uptake in a fairly short period of time..

• The pros and the cons
• Are women willing to give up alcohol?
• Why Addyi is not Viagra
• Let’s talk about sex
• A good month for sexual satisfaction
• Addyi could open the doors to better MD-patient communication
• The challenge for marketers
• Reframing sexuality

It could be worse. A lot worse. Biotech and pharma stocks crashed early amidst a global market sell off but are recovering mid-day. Some sentinel stocks -- Gilead Sciences, Celgene, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Vertex Pharma -- are actually trading a tiny bit higher or down fractionally…The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (IBB), the most closely followed biotech sector index, is down less than 1% to 339.61. That's an almost miraculous recovery considering the IBB plunged briefly to 283 at the start of trading Monday -- erasing all the gains made this year and then some.

A&P is seeking approval to sell pharmacy assets for several of the stores it is immediately closing to Rite Aid in a transaction valued at $8.1 million, Rite Aid has agreed to buy the prescription files for 12 stores that are closing…"When a pharmacy is closing, the value of pharmacy related assets, particularly customer prescriptions, is unstable and the transactions must occur on an accelerated timeline to avoid permanent and significant diminution of value,"

...when medical care providers aren’t forced to accept bundled payments…that could cost them money if the care isn’t better and costs aren’t in check, they are willing to embrace such new reimbursement…about 9% of U.S. acute care hospitals and 7% of skilled nursing facilities are voluntarily assuming financial risk by participating in the latest phase of the… Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative…This means these providers have agreed — long before it’s mandated — to take on financial risk that they can provide the necessary quality medical care for one bundled fee, grouping all of the services involved in an episode.