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Community pharmacy, also known as retail pharmacy, is the most common type of pharmacy that allows the public access to their medications and advice about their health. Traditionally known as a chemist, it is the healthcare facility that is responsible for the provision of pharmaceutical service to a specific community group or region.

Free brain health screenings at Sam's Club

Everyone forgets sometimes. A certain degree of memory problems are a common part of aging. There is a difference, however, between changes in memory and memory loss from Alzheimer's disease. One in eight adults over the age of 65 is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and 20 percent of the elderly population suffers from some form of dementia. If detected early, some memory loss can be manageable by taking simple steps to improve brain function.

7 Apr 2012

Aetna makes it easier for tornado affected members in Texas

In response to the tornadoes in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, Aetna (NYSE: AET) is making it easier for its affected members to refill prescriptions and access employee assistance and behavioral health programs. The company is also helping members who have evacuated find care outside their home areas.

7 Apr 2012

RepTrak Pulse ranks CVS Caremark among Most Reputable Companies in America

CVS Caremark has been named as one of the Most Reputable Companies in America by Reputation Institute, in partnership with Forbes Media. The survey rankings are based on Reputation Institute's 2012 U.S. RepTrak™ Pulse, a study that measures the 150 largest U.S. public companies.

7 Apr 2012

RemitDATA integrates WebScan PRO into Definitive Homecare's CPR+ workflow

RemitDATA Inc., the industry expert in reimbursement, productivity and utilization data and analysis solutions for the outpatient healthcare market, today announced a strategic partnership with Definitive Homecare Solutions, Ltd., the developers of the CPR+ billing and business management software for the HME, Home Infusion, and specialty pharmacy industries.

7 Apr 2012

Medicaid news: Oregon competitors working together; Calif. 'duals' project launches

A new push to reshape health care in greater Portland is reminiscent, its biggest booster says, of the race to land a man on the moon. Erstwhile health care competitors hope to set aside their differences to care for the region's 200,000 Oregon Health Plan members, says Legacy Health CEO George Brown. The task is happening in a timeline -- Brown snaps his fingers -- "that's like that long. It's a moon shot for sure. What we're trying to do, to my knowledge, has not been attempted any place in the country."

6 Apr 2012

Longer looks: Berwick calls for leaders to rise above 'political catechism'; Convincing the healthy to feel sick

Between July 2010 and December 2011, Dr. Donald Berwick was head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that runs the government's health insurance programs. In a sane world, he would be still. But Senate Republicans refused even to let his confirmation come up for a vote ... A pediatrician by training and a widely respected expert in health care policy, Berwick should have been a lock for the CMS job. But he was a backer of Obamacare; a believer in data and science; a proponent of universal health care.

6 Apr 2012

Costs for all types of medical plans are expected to increase by 9.9% for 2012

Costs for all types of medical plans are expected to increase by 9.9 percent for 2012, according to a survey by Buck Consultants, A Xerox Company.

6 Apr 2012

African-Americans and Hispanics with MDD less likely to get antidepressants

African-Americans and Hispanics with major depressive disorder are less likely to get antidepressants than Caucasian patients, and Medicare and Medicaid patients are less likely to get the newest generation of antidepressants.

6 Apr 2012

Understanding how key decision makers assess prescription drugs for health plan coverage

As medical advancements and an expanding pharmaceutical industry bring new prescription drugs into the market, deciding which ones to cover is becoming an even more difficult choice for health plans to make. How those decisions are made - and what information is used in the process - was the focus of a recent study by researchers at RTI International.

5 Apr 2012

Drug dispensing robots can harbor dangerous bacteria

Drug dispensing robots designed to quickly prepare intravenous medications in a sterile environment can harbor dangerous bacteria, according to a report in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

5 Apr 2012

Simbionix sponsors first fellowship at USF Health CAMLS

Simbionix, a leading global provider of medical education and simulation training, has sponsored the first fellowship at the USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS).

5 Apr 2012

CMS: Medicare Advantage, Part D to get 3 percent boost in 2013 reimbursements

Also in the news, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced nearly $50 million in grants to state agencies to help seniors better understand Medicare.

4 Apr 2012

FTC approval of Express Scripts-Medco merger triggers new battlegrounds

Drug Stores and community pharmacists have pledged to fight on in the courts, but some consumer advocates see a silver lining in the merger.

4 Apr 2012

Nurses empowered to administer oral steroids for asthma during emergency

Dr. Roger Zemek, Director of Emergency Research at the CHEO Research Institute and ED physician, and assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, has overseen the creation and implementation of a Medical Directive that now empowers nurses to administer an oral steroid treatment, which has reduced wait time and improved patient care. This research is published today in Pediatrics.

4 Apr 2012

Vitamin D deficiency may increase risk of mortality in intensive care patients

Scientists have long believed that vitamin D, which is naturally absorbed from sunlight, has an important role in the functioning of the body's autoimmune system. Now Prof. Howard Amital of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Sheba Medical Center has discovered that the vitamin may also affect the outcomes of patients in intensive care.

4 Apr 2012

Federal Trade Commission OKs $29 billion merger by Express Scripts, Medco

By a three-to-one vote, regulators approved Express Scripts' plan to purchase Medco, ending an eight-month inquiry into whether the deal would stifle competition in the pharmacy benefits industry.

3 Apr 2012

CompCare's 2011 revenues increase to $71,210,000

Comprehensive Care Corporation, a leading behavioral health, substance abuse and psychotropic pharmacy management services provider for managed care companies throughout the U.S., is pleased to announce that its revenues for 2011 more than doubled to $71,210,000 compared to revenues of $35,214,000 in 2010.

2 Apr 2012

USF Health opens $38M advanced medical learning and simulation center

Patients around the world will benefit from better training and testing of health professionals as USF Health opens its $38 million Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS) in downtown Tampa.

31 Mar 2012

ASI to present innovative technology solutions at ASA's Aging in America conference

Anthurium Solutions, Inc. (ASI), a technology and solutions company offering turnkey and custom in-the-cloud solutions that enable new health care delivery models, will present during the American Society on Aging (ASA)'s Aging in America, the largest multidisciplinary aging conference in the country.

31 Mar 2012

Staggering economic costs of autism will continue to rise

Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, today announced preliminary results of new research that estimates autism costs society a staggering $126 billion per year (U.S.) - a number that has more than tripled since 2006, and annually in the U.K. has reached more than -34 billion (equivalent to $54 billion U.S.).

30 Mar 2012