Current medical news and unique business news for anyone who cares about healthcare.
Walmart label promotes healthier foods. In its efforts to promote good nutrition and prevent childhood obesity, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is adding a new nutritional seal to the packages of some of its healthiest house-brand products. The new green “Great for You” icon is intended to be a quick, easy indicator to shoppers that what they’re picking up is healthy for them without have to look at the nutrition label. The seal won’t make any specific claims about nutrition content of food, but it will be placed on items lower in fat, sugar and artificial additives, the nation’s largest grocer said.
Walmart officials said they consulted with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which announced in 2009 it would develop its own standards for health claims on food packaging, while creating standards for the label. It will begin appearing in stores in April.
2012 drug prices to go up. Although they remained relatively flat in 2011, drug prices are forecast to rise 3 to 5 percent in 2012. The American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy’s annual report cites several reasons for the increase in drug prices, including the particular drugs in development, emergence of new generics, recent drug shortages, and the use of biosimilars.
The voice of the patient. HealthTap, the Experience Project and PatientsLikeMe are some of the most forward-thinking online communities for patients, according to Forbes contributor David Shaywitz. But, the voice that’s missing is that of patients who live with diseases every day but don’t identifying themselves by their condition and aren’t likely to join these communities. How do we engage those patients?
Part of assisted suicide law overturned in Georgia. A unanimous Georgia Supreme Court ruling overturned a state law that made promoting assisted suicide part of the crime. “Had the state truly been interested in the preservation of human life, it could have imposed a ban on all assisted suicides with no restriction on protected speech whatsoever,” the ruling reads. This decision is likely to shape the national debate on physician-assisted suicide.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Walgreens acquisition. Walgreens will acquire parts of BioScrip pharmacy businesses for $225 million to help grow its centralized specialty and mail-service pharmacy operations. It will also take over BioScrip’s 30 community specialty pharmacy locations, which serve HIV, oncology and transplant patients.
