INSIGHTS AND PERSPECTIVES

NEW YORK — Oral blood samples drawn from periodontal inflammation can be used to measure HbA1C levels, a factor that indicates a patient's diabetes status, according to a New York University study.

NEW YORK — Results of a new survey released Thursday by the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest found that the majority of adult consumers and parents in the United States rely on over-the-counter cough medicines: 68% of adult consumers agreed that OTC cough medicines allow them to stay productive at work and school, and 60% of parents reported that these medicines allowed their children to stay productive at school.

WASHINGTON — Retailers are set to build customer engagement by investing in information technology and e-commerce, as well as enhancing customer service initiatives and building on mobile platforms, a new report from the National Retail Federation and KPMG found.

SHELTON, Conn. — Organic food sales are continuing on an upward trend as more shoppers frequented mainstream stores for the products and younger consumers were the most loyal to purchasing such items, a TABS Group survey found.

PHOENIX — Managed care and prescription plans are working to switch patients to generic versions of Pfizer's Lipitor despite the drug maker's efforts to reduce costs for the branded version, a new study suggested.

According to a report released Wednesday by Wolters Kluwer Pharma Solutions' inThought research group, while Lipitor (atorvastatin) has 41% of the market share of all dispensed prescriptions of atorvastatin, it has 35% of the payer approval volume.

WABAN, MASS. — Research results released Tuesday by Temkin Group, which rates the customer experience of 206 large companies across 18 industries, showed that only eight companies deliver excellent customer experience.

Sam's Club and Publix led the pack, followed by Starbucks, Subway, Chick-fil-A, Aldi, Winn-Dixie, H-E-B and credit unions.

According to the 2012 Temkin Experience Ratings, in its second year, 76 companies (37% of the total) earned "poor" or "very poor" ratings.

ATLANTA — People that are genetically predisposed to developing a condition that causes high blood cholesterol levels may be at an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — The regulatory review of the Express Scripts-Medco merger now is in its final stages, and with the clock ticking down to that 30-day deadline, you can expect a full court-press from retail pharmacy interests looking to block the deal. The time for the three-point finesse shots from the corners of the court has passed, it's now time to charge the net and jam the message home; an Express Scripts-Medco merger is bad both for the retail pharmacy business and for consumers. However, it just might be good for CVS Caremark.