HEALTH

SEATTLE — Bartell Drugs is sponsoring "Health and Beauty" events this month at dozens of its stores, the regional retail pharmacy chain said.

Events will start Sunday and run for 13 days afterward, and will include blood-glucose testing, glucose-meter exchange and education, cholesterol testing, bone-density screenings, blood-pressure testing and others. In addition, there will be free "mini makeover" demonstrations and hair styling tips by Conair and product samplings ranging from cosmetics to supplements.

PITTSBURGH — Health and wellness products retailer GNC is sponsoring a 12-week effort to encourage consumers to transform eating and exercise habits for long-term weight management, the company said.

GNC Holdings, the retailer's parent company, announced the Total Lean Challenge and Sweepstakes, which offers a chance for consumers to win $25,000 in cash prizes, as well as serving as an introduction to the company's Lifestyle Diet approach to weight loss and a way to promote products like the Lean Shake and Total Lean Watertex.

WASHINGTON — Prescription-only pseudoephedrine laws result in well more than $278 million in additional burdens to taxpayers, according to a study published by Matrix Global Advisors on Monday. 

LOS ANGELES — The Nutritional Magnesium Association on Wednesday noted magnesium is an essential nutrient that helps absorb necessary nutritional supplements like vitamin D or calcium in response to a recent U.S. Preventive Services Task Force report that suggested supplementing with these ingredients may not help prevent bone fractures in postmenopausal women, while also increasing the risk of kidney stones. 

WASHINGTON — Nearly 98% of primary care physicians, nurse practitioners and pharmacists trust and recommend over-the-counter medicines to their patients, according to a new survey released Wednesday by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association. Nearly three-fourths of primary care physicians recommend OTC medicines to relieve symptoms before recommending a prescription treatment.

PITTSBURGH — GNC on Monday named Scott O'Hara to its board of directors. 

"[O'Hara's] wealth of knowledge and experience, particularly his international business expertise, should be a valuable resource to GNC as we move forward," stated Joe Fortunato, GNC chairman and CEO. 

WAUKESHA, Wis. — Hamacher Resource Group will present a session about pharmacy layout, design and OTC merchandising principles to first-year students at Campbell University's pharmacy school, the retail consumer healthcare industry market research firm said Wednesday.

You might want to make a note of this. On paper. Despite all the hoopla surrounding electronically generated prescriptions, e-communications and digitized patient recordkeeping over the past decade, most doctors still prefer to write prescriptions the old fashioned way, by hand, scrawled on a prescription pad and handed to the patient.